MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY *** STUDENT THESIS VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS TO CLIMATE CHANGE FOR ECOSYSTEM BASED ADAPTATION: CASE STUDY IN VAN LONG WETLAND NATURAL RESERVE, GIA VIEN DISTRICT, NINH BINH PROVINCE Major: Natural Resources Management Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management Student: Mai Phuong Thao Student ID: 145309881 Class: K59A Natural Resources Management Course: 2014 - 2018 Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thanh An Abstract During months conducted this study, I received lots of help and encouragement from many people without whom this study would have never happened First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Mrs Nguyen Thi Thanh An for the continuous support of my student thesis study and research, for her motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis Beside my advisor, I would like to thank the administration of Vietnam Forestry University, Faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management, Department of Environmental with enthusiasm to impart valuable knowledge for us My sincere thanks also goes to many people for their contribution to this research; Mr.Mai Van Quyen- Manager in Van Long NR, Ninh Binh province; in Gia Vien district who provided me many useful knowledge about local knowledge about ecosystems, management system and create some great opportunities for me to meet and work with local people in Van Long NR I would especially like to thank local people in communes, they spent more time answering lots of question related to climate change impacts and preparedness and help me to understand situation and challenges they are facing Finally, I would further like to thank my family, who always support and helped me in my research Hanoi, 29 August 2017 Mai Phuong Thao Table of contents List of figure thesis Climate change (CC): the change of climate status from the average state and/or the climate variability in a long period of time, usually several decades or longer Climate change may be due to the internal natural processes or external impacts, or human activities including land use process which cause changes in the composition of the atmosphere CAM: A method of assessing the vulnerability to climate change based upon the factors of Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive capacity EbA: Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbA) are defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)1 as “the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, as part of an overall adaptation strategy” (CBD Secretariat, 2009) Exposure: degree of climate stress upon a particular unit (of populations, resources, property, and so on); it may be represented as changes in climate conditions It is characterized by intensity, frequency, or the magnitude of climate of variation events or patterns Sensitivity: degree to which a system will be affected by, positively or negatively, climate change The consequence can be direct (such as changes in plant productivity due to changes in temperature) or indirect (such as damages caused by increased flood frequency, which is a result of sea level rise) Ecosystem: A dynamic complex of plants or animals, and microorganism’s population and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit Humans make an integral part of the ecosystem Socio-ecological systems (SESs) Socio-ecological systems (referred also as humanenvironment systems, or human -nature systems) emphasize that human beings and the nature are interconnected, interactive in a continuous manner and mutually develop, thus, become integral systems There is no single definition of SESs Systems theory differentiates various types of systems, which include functional, structural and hierarchical systems with different attributes such as being closed, open, static, dynamic, simple or complex SESs is characterized by dynamic complexity with multi-forms and multi-variables The specific attributes of a system depends on the selected definition (Hummel et al 2011) In term of vulnerability assessment, researcher developed approach to identify and analyze SESs for the purpose of vulnerability assessment and identification of Ecosystem based Adaptation solutions, not recommending on how to recognize and identify Social-Ecological System separately Adaptive Capacity: The ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences Adaptation: adjustment in natural or human systems in response to the current or expected impacts of climate change to mitigate climate change risks Climate Change Adaptation (CCA): is the adjustment in the natural systems or in human activities in order to cope with the current or expected impacts of climate to mitigate climate change risks in the future and to recognize and take advantages of the benefits from climate change Vulnerability: the extent that a system is vulnerable or unable to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change, including climate change and extreme weather events (IPCC 2014) Abbreviation AC CC CCA CAM CBD EbA ICEM IMHEN MONRE NR SESs VA VND Adaptive capacity Climate change Climate Change Adaptation Climate change adaptation and mitigation methodology Convention on Biodiversity Ecosystem-based Adaptation International Centre for Environmental Management Institute for Meteorology, Hydrology, and Environment Ministry of Natural resources and Environment Nature reserve Social-ecological systems Vulnerability Assessment Vietnam Dong Keyword: Ecosystem-based Adaptation, Vulnerability, Social Ecology System CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction and problem statement Climate change, include sea level rise and unpredictable extreme weather events such as thunderstorms, storms, tropical low pressures will be the most serious challenge to low and relatively flat areas, especially fresh wetland areas Wetland conservation to against climate change and maintaining the ecosystem services from it is crucial Wetlands have high biodiversity and play an important role in economic and social development because it brings several ecosystem services such as: environmental protection and disaster prevention, the accumulation and limitation of environmental pollution, climate regulation, maintaining biodiversity and protecting the environment, balance of O2, atmospheric CO2, local climate regulation (rainfall, temperature, humidity) and reduce the greenhouse effect Wetlands also make communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change They reduce the impacts from floods, droughts, and cyclones and provide buffers against sea level rise and storm surges Wetlands conservation, sustainable use, and restoration can contribute significantly as efficient and effective nature-based solutions for local community to mitigate and adapt with climate change impacts This is idea of Ecosystembased Adaptation: take advantage of ecosystem to mitigate or adapt with adverse effects from climate change Ecosystem- based adaptation solutions have been applied in many regions Viet Nam is a natural disaster-prone country, which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change Growth population, urbanization, and rapid economic development impact issues have collided to threaten the country’s sustainable development Regarding wetland management, wetlands play a vital role in the lives of the local people and the socio-economic development of the country Wetland is very diverse with an area of approximately 5,810,000 ha, accounting for about 8% of all wetlands in Asia, of which freshwater wetland accounts for about 10% of total wetlands Among Vietnam's wetlands, there are 68 wetland areas (341,833 ha) with biodiversity and environmental importance in many different forms (Ministry of Technology and Environment, 2001) However, available data and information about the location and status of wetlands, as well as legal frameworks and management policies relating to wetlands have been dispersed and incomplete The lack of a common framework for vulnerability assessment and measuring adaptive capacity has led to gaps in mainstreaming of potential solutions in policy and society to help social-economical system as well as ecosystem deal with climate change due to shortage of information and approaches to implement or monitor the contribution of ecosystems to adaptation There is need for a common framework, methodology and indicators to be used for vulnerability and adaptive capacity assessment, which should include both socioeconomic and biophysical variables and measures of economic strengths, human capacities and environmental capabilities for wetland nature reserve Also, there are only few researches and studies about vulnerability of inland wetland areas for effective responses to climate change There is also need for vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning in a participatory manner And in term of proposing nature-based solutions response to climate change adverse effects for Van Long NR in sustainable manners, I conducts the study:” Vulnerability Assessments to climate change for Ecosystem based Adaptation: Case study in Van Long Wetland Natural Reserve, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province” 1.2 Study site Van Long is one of the largest North Vietnam inland wetland, is located in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province It is about 90 kilometers from Hanoi to the south and 20 kilometers from Ninh Binh city to Van Long nature reserve Since 1960, more than 30 km of a dike system was built on the left bank of the river that made 3,500 in Van Long became a wetland, allowing migratory birds feeding and promoting biodiversity In 1999, it became a nature reserve, listed as a wetland protected area and special-use forest in Vietnam The isolated limestone mountains surround by watercourse "accidentally" became the salvation of many animals and plants escape from human destruction Van Long NR is located on the administrative boundary of communes of Gia Vien district: Gia Hung, Lien Son, Gia Van, Gia Lap, Gia Tan and Gia Thanh In the north, it adjacent to Hoa Binh province; southward is Cot lagoon; east side is Ha Nam province and the west is Xich Tho commune, Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province Van Long has been put into operation since 1998 and now it is an attractive tourist destination of Vietnam with largest white-tailed langur population in Vietnam Van Long has the craggy and steep terrain with more than three-quarters of the nature reserve area is limestone ridge This ridge has many peaks: Sum (233 m), Mao Ga (308 m), Ba Chon (428 m), Co Tien ( 116 m ), Meo Cao (206 m), Dong Quyen (328 m), May ( 138 m ), Luong (128 m) and Mieu ( 72 m ), stretch from Northwest-Southeast There are some vegetation types: natural-regenerated secondary forest on limestone; formation class shrub and herbaceous vegetation in the dry valley; vegetation at slope and top of limestone; hygrophilous and aquatic plants Most of the land area is covered by vegetation In addition, cultivation areas, villages in the region are also the provide food and shelters for many groups of plants and animal Wetlands area strongly affected by the hydrological regime of river systems: Day River, Dap River, Lang River, Boi River, and Hoang Long River The hydrological regime is also dependent on seasonal rainfall in the year During the growing season, aquatic plants often absorb all nutrients in the photic zone, limit the biomass development of phytoplankton and lead to the food shortage in the aphotic zone In contrast, during the dry season, vegetation degradation often causes the anaerobic benthic zone, hinder the life of oxygenated and edible species Thus, dominant animals in the lagoon are herbivorous, plant-based scraps consumers, mud swallowers, and low oxygen-tolerant species, such as crabs, snails, catfishes CHAPTER RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 2.1 Research goal To analyze vulnerability of social ecological systems to climate change to climate change to propose Ecosystem-based solutions for sustainable management in Van Long Nature Wetland Reserve, Gia Vien dítrict, Ninh Binh province 2.2 Research objectives – To define social-ecological systems (SESs) profile in Van Long Nature Reserve – To assess potential impacts and vulnerability of social-ecological systems in Van Long Nature Reserve to climate change – To propose Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) intervention(s) for Van Long Nature Reserve 2.3 Research questions - What is current state of SESs in Van Long NR? - What is the vulnerable social ecological system in Van Long NR? - Which recommendations should be considered to benefits both human and ecosystems for both sustainable development and climate change adaptation? CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research framework There are three main steps in this thesis, include data collection, data analysis to find the result is vulnerability and give recommendations to reduce it Vulnerability assessment is the central idea of this thesis Vulnerability assessment provides the most important output is the vulnerability level of defined systems Social ecological system is the object this vulnerability assessment working on The first step is data collection Two types of data are primary data and secondary data is collected Sources and expected outcomes are detailed in section 3.2 Figure Research framework The second step is data analysis This thesis follows CAM process, which includes tasks Identifying and analyzing SESs is just the first and second tasks, defining systems 10 accounts about 10% of total annual rainfall From February to March, drizzle lasts for - 40 days, making the air humidity increase to 80% In the northeast monsoon season (April November), rainfall occupies 88-90% of total rainfall The peak season is August – September, sometimes it reaches 451mm/day The average temperature is quite high, July has the highest temperature, above 29oC, with the absolute maximum temperature of 41.3oC in Nho Quan There are many storms go through in July and September In extreme rainfall, flood drainage capability is low which caused floods to the whole area, from Nho Quan and Gia Vien districts, creating a typical wetland area 73 Future trend of climate Figure Precipitation in dry season December - May (CC scenario) Source: Climate model, Institute of Meteorological and Hydrological Environment, MONRE, 2012 74 Figure Precipitation in Wetseason July-November (CC scenario) Source: Climate model, Institute of Meteorological and Hydrological Environment, MONRE, 2012 75 Figure Average daily maximum temperature in dry season December-May (CC scenario) Source: Climate model, Institute of Meteorological and Hydrological Environment, MONRE, 2012 76 Figure Average daily maximum temperature in wet season June-November Source: Climate model, Institute of Meteorological and Hydrological Environment, MONRE, 2012 77 Appendix 78 Sensitivity 1) Floods and rains Flood is always the highest risk threatening the livelihoods It heavy rains in the rainy season with very long flooding duration, thus, it results in isolation and pose high flood risk to the low-lying areas, irrigation constructions and pumping system Paddy rice, maize and cassava are at risk of complete loss or low output due to flood impacts, including waterlogged and killed Heavy rains in early rainy season during April – May of the lunar year, wash away germinated seeds, paddy rice and other crops, kill perennial trees, fruit trees, earlier crop season These impacts bring down production yield and output, and require crops repeated sowing Eventually, higher cost is borne Flood not only affect crops but also livestock and local people’s lives Flood prolonged for days in July or October of the lunar year, damage in agriculture products also reduces the profits Farmers cannot preserve and protect cereal and agricultural products from getting wet Floods cause loss of physical assets and domestic animals due to river and wetland water level rise Bad sanitary, clean water and food shortage make livestock and poultry (pigs, chickens, and cows) suffer from diseases and death People not go to work nor to the forest due to the traffic fragment, limit power and communication accessibility in accommodations 2) Storms and tropical depressions Even the effects from storms and Tropical depressions are not directed, but they are accompanied by heavy rain when they occur and cause risks of reducing crop yields and increase costs for the restoration of housing and infrastructure The local people said that heavy rains and flooding, ruined production trees and crops, fragmented traffic, storms cause serious impacts to livelihood activities Floods caused by storms with serious damage to production activities and infrastructure, like crops and rice were broken, and affected people's lives, damage buildings, sometimes swept away cattle 3) Heat wave and drought Due to intensive rainfall concentrate on rainy season and high evaporation rate in dry season, infertile soil occurs in many regions It cannot hold necessary nutrients and moisture for crops and caused soil erosion From February to May (at the end of the spring and early summer), due to low rainfall, low air humidity, when temperature rise and higher evaporation, the water is easier to deplete which causes serious impacts on local people’s lives and activities The people had to find water for human domestic needs and for animals The droughts lead to reduced crop yield and losses Maize, rice and vegetable died because of water shortage Rice and maize sowed could not germinate Forest is threated in higher forest fire risks Even the drought duration is short, impacts from drought are still significant 78 4) Chilly cold weather Damaging cold spells (usually in December-January of the lunar year) have occurred in study site affects the livestock and poultry (some died of cold weather and epidemics) Appendix 79 Adaptive capacity 1) Enable environment Strengths and opportunities Study site has numerous religion, they participate in social development programs and authority They have their own criteria (de facto) for developments, good models and financial supports for parishioners and other groups There is good relationship and mutual assistance in livelihood and daily life among the villagers, family relations, and communities They usually mutually share and support each other in life and in need They network when they farming and prepare for natural disasters Another factor also improves community engagement and participation is ecotourism Ecotourism become a new livelihood, reduces community dependence on forests, changing their livelihood and contribute to sustainable forest management Local community contribute a major responsibility in resource-conserving There are 10 forest ranger stations inside Van Long NR boundary Van Long NR has also received attentions and supports through government development programs and projects from Provincial People's Committees (PPCs) and Provincial Forest Protection Department (Provincial FPDs) Pursuant to Decree 7/2015/ NDCP, decree on mechanism and policy of forest development associated with the policy on sustainable and rapid poverty reduction and assistance for the period 2015 – 2020, due to residing in the nature reserve of many inhabitants, about 30ha of forest was allocated for a household to manage and protect with 100,000 VND/ha/year Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 28, Decree 117/2010, ND-CP dated December 24th 2010, promulgating the Regulation on management of forests, the number of forest rangers is sufficient for the Van Long NR (500 special-use forest/forest ranger) In fact, there are many stakeholders take part in forest protection, wildlife conservation, manage and get benefits from Nature Reserve, not only Nature Reserve management board Participatory assessment of local communes shows supportive attitude to these programs The participation of local people can be advantages in natural disaster prevention and preparedness as well as forest sustainable management The local community has been receiving support from the Government and organizations with projects and programs (credit for the poor program, new rural area program, Green productivity, forest allocation, payment for ecosystem services, etc.) These programs and projects may be of low effectiveness, focus on training and building capacity in conservation forest rangers skills as well as local people’s awareness, help improve the responsive capacity for local authority and people The local communities receive support from organizations such as FZS, Endanger Primate Rescue Center, international donations with many sustainable 79 development programs and projects For example, Vuon Thi village and Gia Hung commune was received 250 million VND from Netherland government to launch Eco-village project for tourism and “Green productivity” project with 20 million VND through a number of small constructions: 11 smoke-less stoves, biogas tank, 10 waste water container tanks, 13 public wastebaskets These supports provide not only funds but also institutional capacity that all benefit the local people Nature reserve also received many investments from international conservation associations and non-profit organizations In recently years, infrastructure facilities in the national target program on building new countryside is a comprehensive development program of social-economic, political and security defense are high quality and synchronous, the communes have reached 12/19 criteria on Decision 1980/QD-TTg Ecotourism promotes public awareness about value of forest that make community response to climate change better In addition, the forest allocation program is also a great opportunity for local people to protect and manage forests This approach has shown initial positive outcomes of better forest protection and development forest Weaknesses and challenges In the context of climate change difficulties, the cooperation between stakeholders is not strong and responsibility is not well-defined The local authority and people are still reactive with poor organizational and management capacity The societies and organizations, such as Women’s Union, Youth Union, Agro-forestry extension at commune level, among others, are not extensively engaged in local activities In term of sustainable development, many programs are ineffective For example, forest allocation program has just started and has some shortcomings, for example, boundary is not clear with many conflicts and forested area is not used in accordance with planning and the appropriate purpose The local people are not trained or guided on agricultural, agro-forest and forest production extension Together with, programs on prohibit extension cropland and free-grazing cattle is not strict The payment from forest allocation is, indeed, not effective and not encouraging The industrial development and inadequate/ no attention paid to treatment of farming waste and domestic garbage (solid wastes and wastewater), from inhabitants and tourist, emission from cement plant, is giving rise to pollution, become threats to livelihood and the eco-environment, causing negative health and environmental impacts There is no solution or regulation to deal with trash from tourist and garbage treatment plant Travel agencies also not give any pollution preventive solutions 2) The rights and ability to access and control local natural resources Strength and opportunities Natural resources in Van Long NR, include rich natural ecosystem and valuable ecological services (climate regulation, conservation of many wildlife species, flood prevention, etc.) is available Food availability for cattle makes animal husbandry is 80 one of the local strengths which planning to further development Livestock can be considered as a potential advantage due to availability of aquatic plants, which are able to feed pigs and the large area of grassland and forest that is why it is potential pattern for growth and climate change adaptation Water source is available with various types of fishes Forest ecosystem also adapt to lasting cold weather, impacts from in the growth of non-timber forest products is insignificant Rural infrastructure in Van Long NR includes electrical systems, roads, schools, health stations are quite convenient for transportation with road systems inter-village and inter-communal The road system was considerably upgraded in 2000 Furthermore, Van Long NR connect national waterways are Day and Boi river It is suitable for ecotourism and cultural and economic exchanges, with nearby Hoa Binh and Ha Nam province Transport system within the NR is relatively complete and uniform This is a potential local availability for tourism and economic development The electricity grid system is invested and upgraded for production, business and services Electricity is an important source of energy for production, economic development and people's livelihood In 2012, 93.5% of households use the national grid And in 2015, this number was 100% There are post offices in center of communes Base Transceiver Stations System with Network Service Provider (Viettel and Vinaphone) has high degree of coverage Posts and telecommunications diversify in forms of service, basically ensure the communication security The largest local irrigation constructions are Cut Swamp dams There are pumping stations, which are used for flood prevention and irrigate crops for the farmers There are health stations in communes, 35 doctors, 37 medical beds capable to aid tourists and indigenous people To some extent, the investment enabled local people’s better access to basic necessities, which are also basic requirements for climate change adaptation The infrastructure has power grid with 100% of households All households have electricity with TV and communication system in various forms so the connection with and access to climate change information from outside the community is accurate and timely Together with, the road system upgrading, especially the provincial road (in 2000) and Gian Khau industrial park create opportunities for economic development as well as opportunities for residential and land use planning Most of fields locate close their houses which are easily to access Concrete road system gives better access to cultivation areas, they can go by motorbikes or bicycles There is only one local market next to Van Long NR ticket booth This local market can be a helpful solution for the local people to trade in goods, add values to their products and improve their market capacity Weaknesses and challenges Access to clean water supplement is limited The water supply system is ineffective The water quality is low without processing In addition, domestic waste is not collected and treated thoroughly, mainly from tourists and local people Waste from tourists affects the environment in the NR and habitats of rare species Air quality is affected by emission from surrounding factories and Gian Khau industrial parks Free grazing remains the main modality of animal husbandry without captive facilities at present, which slow down limestone forest regeneration rate There is no drainage system, rainwater and sewage pouring directly into lakes, ponds, canals in surrounding areas and ditches in residential areas, affecting water sources and the environment Even 81 with local market next to tourist destination, but only few street vendors with some industrial or imported souvenirs, because number of buyers is limited so it seldom opens up Some communes can be isolated due to flooded road system when extreme rainfall events occur 3) Local authorities and people knowledge Strengths and opportunities The educational background level of local people is quite uniform and easy to attract them to participate in the management, protection and development programs of forest, conservation and development projects There is a high school, secondary schools, primary schools and pre-schools Total number of students is 7798 including 1130 high school students, 1962 secondary school students, 2444 primary school students, 2262 preschool children The abundant youngsters have high education level, well-adapt to new technologies and willing to use these techniques in production, takes part in both manual works and services Some of them have higher educational background, able to speak foreign languages, making big differences between the older and current generations The people have settled here long People work hard and have a lot of experience to adapt to the local climate conditions Almost 100% are Kinh people, with farming skills, since Dinh dynasty Understanding about local advantages, about forests and natural conditions is one of the strengths of local people These experiences have been accumulated from generation to generation; they know how to live on forest, natural characteristics to forest products distribution The cultivation on seasonal wetland area is a traditional strength which is adapted to the local geographical, and land conditions The local cultivation well adapts to different climatic and weather conditions For example, planting rice during rainy seasons (January and can be harvested in May-June and June-July to September) because during this time, water is abundant and wetland area is large, other crops die due to waterlogging In addition, the crops need to be harvested before the first storm of the year Meanwhile in dry season, when water level drop, less water for irrigation, they shifts to less water demanding crops like maize and cassava This will help increase harvesting potential and reduce the risks of crop losses due to difficult weather Ecotourism also enhance market economy experience for ecotourism workers Along with infrastructure development (electricity, roads, schools, clinics, etc.), the ecotourism has not only brought benefits for education, communication capacity, and connection with international society Forest allocation program also bring many contributions, due to communication activities and local people engagement Besides physical and technical assistance, forest allocation program, like any sustainable development programs also provide them knowledge, and management capacity Projects and programs determined some suitable tree species for the study site conditions, provide high productivity adapt with different growing and nursing technical application on other site conditions This helps increase the capacity to respond to climate change, and the ability to combat difficulties Forest protection 82 contracting to the community and facilitate awareness changing among the people about forest protection, ecosystem services and wild fire prevention and control Besides, they have more knowledge and experience in participatory approach Local inhabitants have started their demands for purchasing goods, familiarizing with the market economy Although transport connection and the advantage of bordering with other provinces, close to 1A national road and industrial park, demand from tourists which is beneficial for local specialties, can add values to their agriculture product Weaknesses and challenges Nature dependence poses difficulties for climate change response Livelihood activities including cultivation, husbandry and forest production are completely dependent on nature without technological and technical applications Lack of investment and the veterinary shortage, technology transfer is limited, leading to slow development of livestock Cultivation depends on the district seasonal calendar, without weather forecast For animal husbandry, there is no or limited veterinary assistance or disease treatments for cattle There has been no extension program to improve the cultivating and livestock skills and capacity for the local people Public understanding and knowledge about climate change, in general, are limited There has been no communication campaign or project related climate change mitigation and climate change response solutions There is not preparation for climate change and extreme weather or situation, too Understanding of stakeholders to climate change is limited For very long time, most of local livelihood is typically self-sufficient That is the reason why they have no or limited market economy or promotion experience It is common that retail businessman go to the communes, villages buy agriculture products and sell them along 1A national road Local inhabitants have started their demands for purchasing goods, familiarizing with the market economy but their income is not commensurate with the real price due to the fact that their market capacity remains very poor Together with, production is still uncertain, the output of the product is not guaranteed, or lack of access to potential markets Climate change response solutions should take this weakness into account There has been no preparation for ecotourism workers in emergent situations Besides the benefits from the ecotourism, negative impacts have also been created to the local people It does not only bring job opportunities and higher income but also in terms of culture diversity loss, social evils and bad behaviors (cheating, no transparency) Those will be bad impressive for international tourists and able to reduce number of tourists This is where the local authority should take proactive control over the negative impacts 4) Innovations and experience of response to climate change Strengths and opportunities 83 The forest fire prevention is paid much attention They have forest fire early warning system In case that forest fire occurs, both forest station staffs and local people who have participated in this program responsible for fire extinguishing as well as forest fire prevention If fire is detected, they will announce the nature reserve management board on the phone or face-to-face communication In response to unpredictable and severe climatic conditions, local people are experienced in using planting rice during rainy seasons (January and can be harvested in May-June and June-July to September) because during this time, water is abundant and wetland area is large, other crops die due to waterlogging In addition, the crops need to be harvested before the first storm Meanwhile in dry season, when water level drop, less water for irrigation, they shifts to less water demanding crops like maize and cassava This will help increase harvesting potential and reduce the risks of crop losses due to difficult weather Early harvesting is the solution of local people However, in the case of early storm and diluvial (small floods), the local people still suffered from complete loss of crops Some households select custard-apple because it is well-adapted to soil condition Custard-apple is cold resistant and drought tolerant In the winter it shed the leaves, limits or stop growth During April - June (late spring) new leaves regrow and flowering After 4-5 years, it can be harvested Custard-apple is able to grown in hard conditions, such as highland areas encounter severe dry season Some farmers also plant lotus or but the revenue from these activities is not official recorded In recently years, goat farming became new livelihoods of many natives Goat is more resistant to diseases, resilient to adverse weather with high economic value It is also well-adapt to limestone mountain terrain In the southern region, which suffer drought in late spring - early summer, irrigation water supply shortage occur, switch crops from paddy rice, to less water demanding crops such as cassava and maize Local farmer also tend to select cold resistant and diseases resistant species (custard-apple, goat) for the farming Local communities have taken pro-active preparations in response to climate change for livestock and cultivation (see the Table 10) 84 Table 0.6 Experiences to response to extreme events Event Storm/typhoon, flood Responses - Early harvesting/ re-growth rice from old roots Discharge excessed water to irrigation systems Keep livestock shelters clean/hygienic Carry out additional plantation on rice-field after the storm/flood if the rice plants are still at the young stage - Cover custard apple by (dried) banana leaves - Preparedness for response to storm such as cutting big branches of big trees, reinforcing houses by using poles and steel strings, prepare charging battery, using bicycle instead of motorbike in flooded area, select other ways - Move to other places Hot weather Drought - Replant crops - Cover the fruit trees and garden to reduce evaporation - Experience in weather forecast and adjustment of seasonal calendar - Pump/carry the water from other places - Storage water - Collect non-timber forest products from the forest to feed cattle - Use banana stems and young maize to feed cattle/poultry - Diversifying food sources (industrial foodstuff, agriculture leftover, plants in forest, algae) Cold front/ - Replant crops cold spells - Using cold tolerant species (custard-apple) - Weather forecast is based on some indicative species (migrant birds), but the accuracy is low - Provide cattle with warm & salty water - Provide enough feed, especially more starch food for cattle - Cover cattle shelters carefully to minimize cold air and keep cattle inside shelters - Keep livestock in barns/shelters during days with low temperature - Provide warm up livestock using firewood/light Sources: local people interview With the aim to reduce erosion in lowland area around wetland area, mitigate the risk of floods caused by typhoons and floods and gaining additional material for construction, the local people plant bamboo trees round their fields and along wetland zones and streams However, this activity is not popular Sometimes, bamboo is soaked into water and used to build cattle shelters, and quality 85 of shelters is low Some farmers also plant bean/ trees in Fabaceace family to improve soil quality or reuse agriculture leftovers to protect soil by cover it with crops residual The local people have some experiences in forecasting weather by indicator species, for example, monitoring migratory birds and response to natural disasters, particularly to floods: reinforcing facilities, early harvesting and trees/fruit trees foodstuff preparation, water storage Some local people are initially familiar to the market economy, promotion and ecotourism They have had demands to sell more products to support the family Moreover, they have diversified ecotourism service: motorbike/ bicycle for rent, accommodations, restaurants, etc Weaknesses and challenges Up to now, local authority and people have no solutions to prevent floods and flood storm They depend on the Government’s support instead of actively find solutions to developing and responding The disaster prevention program including “4 on the spot” motto (leadership on the spot, human resource on the spot, materials on the spot and logistics on the spot) and “3 at ready” (active prevention, timely response and rapid and effective recovery” are popular in many localities, but has not started here It is partly because this area is not seriously affected by extreme events Major productive activity is livelihoods However, livestock lack veterinary assistance, unmanaged free-grazing and cultivation totally depend on nature Cattle of shelter made up by old woods and bamboo, quiet rudimentary and can be damaged easily Appendix 80 Some pictures about field trips 86 ... solutions for sustainable management in Van Long Nature Wetland Reserve, Gia Vien dítrict, Ninh Binh province 2.2 Research objectives – To define social-ecological systems (SESs) profile in Van Long Nature. .. District, Ninh Binh Province? ?? 1.2 Study site Van Long is one of the largest North Vietnam inland wetland, is located in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province It is about 90 kilometers from Hanoi to. .. activities in Van Long NR? ?, “Flora biodiversity in Van Long NR? ?, “Status and Recommendations for sustainable ecotourism development in Van Long, nature wetland reserve? ? ?, “Evaluating and assessing community