In Vietnam as elsewhere, protection of natural spaces is often favoured by total, inclusive involvement of local populations, who depend on natural resources and their conservation. In order to achieve objective 15 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and promote greater social justice and means of action for the most vulnerable, GRET is conducting a project for inclusive protection and management of the Pu Luong nature reserve, favouring protection of the common good made up by this natural space, while improving living conditions for women from ethnic minorities.

Despite positives changes in legislation in recent years, Vietnamese women, in particular women from ethnic minorities, are still experiencing discriminatory behaviour and many difficulties in their daily lives: poverty, limited access to higher education and employment possibilities in particular. Some of these women live in or on the outskirts of nature reserves such as the Pu Luong nature reserve (17,662 ha) in Thanh Hoa province, in north-central Vietnam. This nature reserve is home to a wealth of biodiversity in substantial forests that are currently being ecologically restored, and it protects the drainage of the Ma river.

Restoring fair access to natural resources 

The transition from access to natural spaces previously managed by communities to strict control by the government increases the vulnerability and marginalisation of the poorest. Local communities own little or no agricultural land and live mainly off livestock farming and forest products that account for 60 to 80 % of their income. Women from minorities are particularly affected, because men benefit from professional opportunities outside of the agricultural sector, locally or in other regions. Women, who are traditionally responsible for households’ livelihoods, are often limited to working in the home. Because of cultural norms and gender bias, they have less access to and control over natural resources. In Vietnam, approximately 38 % of women and 62 % of men possess land use certificates; women are therefore rarely fully included in decision-making on management of resources.

This is the context in which the Quan Hoa Rural development cooperative (RDC) and GRET are launching the Pu Luong project, supported by the Audemars Piguet Foundation and the RAJA-Danièle Marcovici Foundation. The objective is to improve living conditions and economic empowerment for women from the Thai and Muong ethnic minorities, and to ensure inclusive, sustainable management of forests in the protected spaces and buffer zones of the Pu Luong nature reserve. For Susan Simmons Lagreau, general secretary of the Audemars Piguet Foundation, this project “is perfectly aligned with our philosophy aimed at favouring virtuous circles between humans and nature. It combines the safeguarding of ecosystems with the implementation of value chains enabling inhabitants, and women in particular, to live sustainable in, with and off their environment”.

New long-term economic opportunities

In order to promote tourism-related community-based activities and fair sharing of benefits, while at the same time conserving forests, the project plans to:

• Support the creation of a consultation framework. This governance body involves local authorities, the nature reserve management authorities and women from local communities. This legal framework enables women to take part in decisions concerning the nature reserve so that they can receive a fair share of tourism-generated income.
• In parallel, community groups made up of women from ethnic minorities are created to develop sustainable tourism services in the reserve, such as accommodation, catering, transport in the reserve via motorbike taxis, and artisan and agricultural activities (duck farming and vegetable growing). This leads to diversification of their sources of income, while decreasing their dependence on forest resources and over-exploitation of the latter. In this way, the women are supported to structure their production and with their institutional organisation.
• Lastly, a cross-cutting communication and awareness-raising programme on gender equality, environmental conservation and responsible “zero-waste” tourism is also implemented in villages, in order to strengthen the role of women from ethnic minorities in the community.

For who?

In all, 6,770 women from the Thai and Muong minorities (51 % of the population) living in the 31 villages in the reserve and the surrounding buffer zones will be supported. 70 people representing local authorities and the nature reserve management authorities will also be involved, and the awareness of 20,000 people coming to visit the reserve will be raised.