Lessons for Protected Area Management in Vietnam: Outcomes of Local Ethnic Minority Participation in Forest Protection of Cat Tien National Park

Abstract

<p>While protected areas are a measure for forest conservation, they pose a number of key challenges to local people's livelihoods. One solution to the tension between conservation objectives and liveli-hoods in protected areas is involving local people in forest protec-tion activities. The research examined the performance of one initiative, involving Forest Protection Teams (FPTs), on the livelihoods of local people and participating members, and on forest conserva-tion. The research revealed that FPT activities had some benefits for team members but limited impact on local livelihoods. Additionally, most households stated that there was no detectable change in for-est condition because of team members' activities in forest protec-tion. For FPT members to take greater ownership of forest protection outcomes and communication of these outcomes, the program needs to be designed and implemented in a more partici-patory manner.</p>