[Report 17 (in Vietnamese). Full report 3.0 MB. pdf format]

Executive Summary

The proposed Ke Go Nature Reserve is located in Huong Khe, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh Districts inHa Tinh Province. It comprises a 24,800 ha area within the largest remaining block of broad-leavedevergreen forest in the level lowlands of central Vietnam. The Nature Reserve will conserve a representative example of the lowland forest habitat which formerly extended throughout the coastalplain of central Vietnam but which has now largely been cleared for agriculture. These forests ofcentral Vietnam comprise a biodiversity "hotspot", the so-called Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area (ICBP 1992). The richness of the region's biodiversity is reflected in high levels of bird endemism and four species of bird have their global ranges confined to this small region. The Ke Go Nature Reserve aims to conserve populations of the two species which are confined to the northernpart of this region: The boundaries of the nature reserve encompass all the recent forested localities inHa Tinh Province for Vietnamese Pheasant Lophura hatinhensis and the locality from which Imperial Pheasant Lophura imperialis was collected in 1990.

The topography of most of the Ke Go Nature Reserve is gently undulating and below 300 m asl. Almost the entire area is forested but has been logged and undisturbed primary forest is virtually absent. Whilst the hill-tracts support logged primary forest, the more accessible lowland areas support secondary forest formations of varying successional stages. To date 270 species of bird and 567 species of plant have been recorded in the Ke Go Nature Reserve. The recently described Giant Muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis is among 47 species of mammal recorded from the Nature Reserve. Ke Go Nature Reserve also conserves populations of 10 species of bird and 18 species of mammal now threatened with extinction (Anon. 1992, Collar et al. 1994). The species diversity and levels of endemism within Ke Go Nature Reserve make its conservation a priority of international importance.

The forests of the Ke Go Nature Reserve have previously been classified as production forests and as a result been subject to commercial logging for a number of years. However, their commercial timber value has declined significantly to the extent that these Forest Enterprises are of dubious economic viability. Commercial extraction by Ky Anh and Ha Dong Logging Enterprises continues in only a few forest compartments adjoining the border with Quang Binh Province.

Although there are no human settlements inside the Nature Reserve, villagers from seven adjacent sub-districts utilise forest resources, including timber, palm leaves and rattan canes from the protected area. Shortfalls in household rice production and thus the requirement to generate a cash income provides the major justification for these activities.

Much of the Ke Go Nature Reserve lies within the watershed of the Ke Go Reservoir which provides irrigation water to villages in Cam Xuyen District. Watercourses in the south-eastern part of the Nature Reserve drain into the Gianh River watershed which forms the major river system in northern Quang Binh Province. Thus the Nature Reserve has a great economic value maintaining the agricultural viability of the surrounding agricultural areas. The Nature Reserve offers some potential for environmental education and promoting public awareness. The protected area is considered to have a low potential for tourism.

The Nature Reserve's principle aim and management actions centre on wildlife conservation, particularly the protection of Vietnamese Pheasant and watershed protection. To be successful priority must be given to reconciling these management objectives with current resource use by local villagers within the Nature Reserve.

The aforementioned reasons provide the justification that the area be designated a nature reserve rather than a national park. The Nature Reserve will be created by the amalgamation of 5,905 ha currently managed by Ha Dong Forest Enterprise, 11,385 ha currently included in Ke Go Lake Watershed Protection Project and 7,511 ha currently managed by Ky Anh Forest Enterprise.

The management plan proposes to divide the park into two zones comprising a core zone of 20,537 ha and a habitat rehabilitation zone of 4,264 ha. These areas were identified on the basis of their biodiversity value, the current condition of the vegetation and present land-use.

It is proposed to establish a headquarters on the south-eastern boundary of the Nature Reserve in Ky Thuong sub-district at or near the point at which road number 22 enters the protected area. Four new guard stations would be constructed and two existing guard stations up-graded. Ke Go Nature Reserve and the surrounding forests form part of the largest block of lowland forest in central Vietnam. This entire forest area is under State ownership and under the jurisdiction and management of the Ha Tinh Provincial Forest Department and Forest Protection Department, either as production forests or watershed protection forest. Much of the forest area surrounding the Nature Reserve is additionally subject to various levels of exploitation by villagers from adjoining subdistricts.

As a result of high levels of rural population density, it is unusual in Vietnam for a protected area to be adjacent to or contiguous with other forest areas, which often seriously compromises land management options in the surrounding buffer zone. In this respect Ke Go Nature Reserve presents an almost unique opportunity to develop management strategies for the sustainable development of the entire forest block. To ensure the long-term viability of the Nature Reserve and the surrounding forest areas, it is important that forest management in the buffer zone is sustainable and compatible with the aims of the Nature Reserve. This will require the revision of the existing management plans for the Ha Dong and Tuyen Hoa Forest Enterprises. However, priority management recommendations for these areas would include an immediate moratorium on all logging in those forest compartments which border the Nature Reserve; strict adherence to the 30 year felling cycle and rigorous attention to the minimum DBH size of trees in all forest compartments; prohibition on establishment of permanent settlements and a hunting ban. It is additionally proposed that reforestation with alien species be phased-out and further reforestation in the Forest Enterprises and the Ke Go Lake Watershed Protection be undertaken with locally obtained seed from native tree species.

More difficult to reconcile will be the utilization of timber and non-timber forest resources both in the Nature Reserve and surrounding forest areas, by the villages from the adjoining seven sub-districts. In the buffer zone 39% of households are not self-sufficient in rice production. The situation is particularly severe in Cam Son sub-district where 63% of households face shortfalls in rice production. Most of these households meet the shortfall by collecting and selling forest products. Those villages with the highest degree of dependency on the nature reserve should then be targeted for development assistance. The provision of resources and opportunities should be conditional on villagers recognizing the Nature Reserve and pledging to discontinue activities which are non-sustainable. The type of development assistance which could be considered includes introduction of higher yielding rice varieties and fertilizers, improved paddy irrigation, introduction of new agro-forestry practices, provision of small-scale infra-structure projects such as wells, bridges and stream hydro-electric units, road improvement, increasing the teacher:child ratio, improving quality of life for teachers, increasing resources for schools and savings and credit schemes. To more accurately assess the needs and aspirations of the communities concerned participatory rural appraisals must be conducted in the key villages. It is envisaged that this consultation process would result in project proposals which could be bilaterally funded and jointly implemented by development NGOs in collaboration with local institutions.

This plan recommends the establishment of an advisory Nature Reserve Management Committee, comprising representatives from village to province level as well as other central government and NGO organizations involved with or possessing a direct interest in Ke Go Nature Reserve, who would work together with the Nature Reserve management authority to implement and revise the management plan, in addition to developing and initiating buffer zone activities.

The creation of Ke Go Nature Reserve will have numerous and varied benefits: It will conserve the world's only known population of Lophura hatinhensis and the only currently known locality for Lophura imperialis, in addition to conserving populations of other endemic and threatened wildlife: It will protect a significant part of the watershed of the Ke Go Reservoir, thereby maintaining the supply of water to villages for irrigation in Cam Xuyen District. The introduction of a sustainable system of forest management throughout the Nature Reserve and buffer zone area will in addition to providing a source of forest products, assist climatic and hydrological stabilization, thereby maintaining the quality of life for those villages in adjacent and surrounding sub-districts.

The establishment of Ke Go Nature Reserve will fill an important gap in the protected areas system, and by addressing an issue of international conservation concern, will assist Vietnam fulfil Vietnam's obligations under the Convention on Biodiversity.

[Report 17 (in Vietnamese). Full report 3.0 MB. pdf format]