Ecotourism Feasibility Study - Que Phuoc, Quang Nam

Thu Bon River from Dui Chieng Village

Que Phuoc is one of the few relatively stable homes of the critically endangered Grey-Shanked Douc Langur.  Que Phuoc is located in central Vietnam, only about two hours from the growing tourism Hub of Hoi An, Vietnam's third most visited location, after Saigon and Hanoi.  There is a huge potential market for developing a sustainable, community based ecotourism initiative based around these beautiful primates, but of course, this must be managed extremely well.

Explaining village tourism assets

My role in this was to conduct a detailed feasibility study into developing an appropriate type of tourism initiative, with a high involvement from the local community, to meet the conservation objectives of the Douc population.

 My work has been centered around three main areas: market analysis, site based tourism resource analysis, and community workshops and consultations.

The team wades to the Douc habitat

The feasibility study has identified possible interventions for three different project options, one based upon best practice Douc viewing tourism, one around village based cultural tourism, and one around  private sector based concession.  In each case a system financial benefits for conservation (through a local Village Patrol team) and communities (through a Village Development Fund) has been suggested.  The study also develops an outline donor plan and budget.

Click here for pictures.

Sustainable Tourism Development for UNDP Con Dao Sustainable Use Project

Con Dao has many undeveloped beaches

Con Dao is a small group of islands off the southern coast of Vietnam, and was once home to the notorious "tiger cages": prisons where political and regular criminals were held during the French and American times.  The island is unusual in Vietnam conservation terms, as it has a relatively low level of poverty and subsistence fishers and farmers due to the high government population (it is also a military garrison).  Con Dao has a surprising level of marine biodiversity in Vietnam, with possibly South East Asia's best Turtle nesting beaches, a small population of Dugongs, as well as Dolphins regularly visiting its waters.  There is a good amount of coral and reef associated species.  The island is also home to a crumbling French colonial town that is rapidly being replaced with modern buildings.

Park Patrol Boat

My role within the project was to represent WWF in providing sustainable tourism advice and input into the development of the Management Plan for Con Dao.  This involved working closely with the National Park Authority, stakeholders and other Tourism Development planners working in the islands.  As part of my work I identified key project interventions and a system of marine wildlife viewing, water-sport and tour guiding regulations and codes of practice.

Click here for pictures.

Tour Guide and Leading Skills Training for Rangers and Private Sector Guides in Con Dao

Group leading in the forest

As part of the UNDP Con Dao Sustainable Use Project, WWF asked me to develop curriculum and deliver an ecotourism and guiding training programme for staff of Con Dao National Park and tour guides from the main hotels and resorts on the island.

The course was a week long vocational training programme, backed up with theory in a classroom situation followed by practical sessions in the National Park.  Key knowledge and skills included:

Classroom discussion

Basics of tourism
Introduction to Ecotourism
Objectives of Guiding - Who, where, when and why
Cultural awareness
Interpretation skills
Risk assessment planning
Emergency scenario planning
Guiding skills
Delivering a good talk

Team building excercise

Environmental education skills
Specialist groups
Leading school groups
Follow up training

The course was well received by participants, especially tour guides from the commercial sector.  Click here for pictures.

Transport for Tourism Project, Con Dao

Suggestions for improving fishing boats

As part of the larger UNDP Con Dao Project, local boat operators had expressed an interest in becoming involved in the tourism industry.  These were originally mostly in-shore waters fishermen who would be affected by zoning withing the Marine Protected Area boundaries.

A market analysis showed there was currently only one boat on the island available for boat trips, and that there was a demand for boat trips from an increasing number of both international and domestic tourists, who were often unable to take a trip on the sea.

By far the largest challenge was to convince the local authorities that fisherman could be involved in tourism - citing legislation stating it was illegal for fishermen to transport tourists, and that new boats would have to be purchased, thus making it near impossible for the target group to be involved in tourism.  The UNDP project had already purchased a boat for the Con Dao National Park - initially cited as a patrol boat, a glass-bottom tourist boat was purchased instead, at high cost.  This may have encouraged decision makers to place barriers in the hope of additional boat purchases from the project and subsequent commissions.  Needless to say this put the National Park Authority Tourism department in a perceived direct competition with potential small scale operators.

Workshop with the Island leadership

Citing stated goals of the UNDP Project AND District poverty alleviation decrees, a multi-stakeholder workshop was held to alleviate these issues, and provide a way to allow poor fishermen to be involved in tourism.  Solutions were suggested that included boat training from the military, economic support from the department of finance, access support from the National Park Authority, and rescue support from the Border Military.  It was agreed that existing boats could be upgraded to provide more comfort for tourists, and each agency publicly stated their full support for the local fishermen, which was recorded and shown on TV that evening.

A simple project which allowed local fishermen to continue what they were good at, with some extra training support and interpretive materials added in the process too.  By far the most successful aspect of the project was to "create an enabling environment" to allow the activity to take place.  Click here for pictures.

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.