In Vietnam, as elsewhere, protection of natural spaces is often favoured by total, inclusive involvement of local populations, who are as dependent on natural resources as much as on their conservation. In order to achieve sustainable development goal 15 and promote greater social justice and channels of action for the most vulnerable populations, GRET is conducting a project for protection and inclusive management of the Pu Luong nature reserve, favouring protection of the common good made up by this natural space, while improving the living conditions of women from ethnic minorities.
Despite positive evolutions in legislation over recent years, Vietnamese women, in particular women from ethnic minorities, are still encountering discriminatory behaviour and numerous difficulties in their daily lives: poverty, limited access to higher education and employment opportunities. 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 reserve is home to large forests that are currently being ecologically restored. It is rich in biodiversity and protects the water catchment areas of the Ma River.
Restoring fairness in access to natural resources
The transition from access to natural areas previously managed by communities to strict government control is increasing vulnerability and marginalisation of the poorest sections of the population. Local communities possess 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 minority groups are particularly affected, because men have professional opportunities outside the agriculture sector locally or migrate to other regions. In most cases, women, who are traditionally responsible for families’ livelihoods, stay in the home. Because of cultural norms and gender-based prejudices, women 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 seldom fully included in decisions on natural resource management.
This is the context in which the Quan Hoa Rural Development Cooperative and GRET are launching the Pu Luong project, supported by the Audemars Piguet Foundation and RAJA – Danièle Macovici. The objective is to economically empower women from the Muong and Thai ethnic minorities, improve their living conditions, and ensure inclusive sustainable management of forests in protected areas and buffer zones in the Pu Luong nature reserve. For Susan Simmons Lagreau, general secretary of the Audemars Piguet Foundation, this project “is perfectly aligned with our philosophy, which aims to foster virtuous circles between human beings and nature. It combines protection of ecosystems and implementation of value chains enabling inhabitants – and women in particular – to live sustainably in, with and thanks to their environment”.
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New sustainable economic opportunities
So, at the request of the Thanh Hoa Province People’s Committee, a GRET team conducted a field mission in November 2019 to evaluate the situation and develop a framework for consultation with local authorities, the nature reserve management authorities and women from the local communities. This framework for consultation promotes community-based activities around tourism and forest preservation, implementing equitable sharing of profits.
In parallel, community groups of women from ethnic minorities will be set up to develop sustainable tourist services in the reserve. This will result in diversification of their sources of income while reducing their dependency on forest resources and over-exploitation of these resources. In this way, the women will receive support to structure their production and their institutional organisation. Lastly, a programme for transversal communication and awareness-raising on gender equality, environmental preservation and responsible “zero waste” tourism will be deployed in villages to strengthen the role of women from ethnic minorities in the community.
In all, 6,770 women from the Thai and Muong minorities (51 % of the population) living in 31 villages in the reserve and the buffer zones around it will be supported. 70 representatives from local authorities and the nature reserve management authorities will be involved, and 20,000 tourists visiting the reserve will have greater awareness of these issues.