Nui Chua Sustainable Tourism Plan

The park has interesting geological features

Nui Chua is a beautiful National Park and Marine Protected Area situated in Ninh Thuan Province, on the south-central coast of Vietnam.  It consists of Vietnam unique dry forest with a mountainous landscape that includes large glacial deposited boulders.  It is home to a population of 2,000 Rag Lai ethnic minorities, as well as a significant population of Black Shanked Douc Langurs and considerable birdlife.  The park is under serious encroachment pressure from the surrounding population living in the Park's buffer zone, and has a plethora of heavy development projects targeted, many already approved by government.  The park also has a significant problem with goats introduced by a previous NGO project.

Squid fishing in the core zone

Proposed developments include:

• 750 room hotel and casino "ecotourism" complex, located in the centre of the core zone, on Nui Cuha mountain, the namesake of the Park.
• 1,000 room resort complex and golf course on the Park's northern beach.
• Road building through the core zone for tourism.
• Two 250 room hotel/resort complexes in the southern part of the park.
• Vietnam's first Nuclear Power Station

I was requested by WWF to lead a small team to compile a sustainable tourism plan for the National Park Management Authority and the Provincial People's Committee to strongly discourage the proposed developments for the national park and to suggest what perhaps may be considered as more appropriate alternatives.

Turtle nesting beach

Developing the plan had three main stages:

1. Gathering development information from provincial departments

2. Conducting site visit, rapid biodiversity assessment and community consultations

We conducted community consultations in the 4 communes within the Park and Buffer Zone.  This was to establish what changes they would like to see in their landscape, and what tourism activities, accommodation and infrastructure they considered appropriate.  The community clearly did not support massive development, but did seek improvements in livelihoods.

Map planning

3. Drafting outline plan

Naturally the plan called for provincial decision makers to reconsider large development projects, perhaps relocating them outside of the National Park.  20 detailed action points were suggested, the priorities including:

• Implement clear development zoning and regulations for the Park
• Ensure heavy development was situated outside of the core zone, with the park used for recreation and light tourism supported by local communities
• Implement tourism awareness training for key stakeholders
• Setting up a forum where local communities were informed of, and involved in all tourism development planned for the Park
• Set up a marketing team to encourage visits from the adjacent Nha Trang Hub
• Provide support to local entrepreneurs wishing to become involved in the tourism industry

4. Delivering the plan through a formal provincial level workshop

A Vietnamese meeting room is
not complete without Uncle Ho

Key challenges in a project such as this is to maintain good-will with partner agencies, especially the Provincial People's Committee and the National Park Management Authority, who supported and sponsored the heavy development in the park.  Clearly from the start, WWF could not support such development in a national park.  However, support from the local community favoured less intensive development, although there was a strong wish to create local employment.  At the present stage, little development has so far taken place, though a community has been relocated from the northern beach, pending construction.  Where plans to build the casino resort and road in the core zone have been scrapped, it is likely that construction of the nuclear power station will go ahead within the next decade.

Click here for pictures.