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. Local perspectives on conservation
From the previous sections of this report it is apparent that biodiversity is high
in the Khe Tran area and that natural resources still play an important role in
local people’s livelihoods. During our survey we observed that villagers gather
these products from wild and domesticated sources and sometime even purchase
them. Even if domesticated sources are perceived as the most important product
sources, many products from the natural forest are still collected for several uses.
In all, 134 plant and 29 animal species are considered important species of the
forest (see Site description, Chapter 5).
Considering the presence of a conservation area close to the village, local
people’s relations to their natural environment, and the ban on extractive activities
in the reserve, we organized a small workshop with the villagers to better
understand their perceptions concerning forest and biodiversity conservation as
well as their perspectives and priorities concerning Phong Dien Nature Reserve
development. The villagers were divided into two groups, according to the part
of the village in which they live (lower and upper part of the village). The groups
had more or less similar perspectives on the meaning of conservation (Table 30).
Villagers from the lower part defined conservation as forest protection, which bans
any activities that disturb it, such as hunting, logging, making fire or gold mining.
They considered conservation more along its management perspectives, whereby
all villagers should share responsibilities, with a task force available to solve
urgent forest problems. Clear demarcation between conservation and production
forests should be available, with a concrete management strategy at all levels.
The upper village group also perceived conservation as forest protection, but they
considered it according to their willingness to protect it and as an opportunity for
employment.
Apart from the local definition of conservation, we asked both groups how they
would imagine their life and activities in Khe Tran if there were no conservation
area. Both groups agreed that, without a conservation area, they would have free