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| Conclusion and recommendations
participatory mapping are also relevant to a context where local people have
shifted from forest-oriented activities to more sedentary agriculture. They show
the evolution and transformation of the local people’s priorities and knowledge
on natural resources. The set of methods used during our survey provided a large
set of data and results on Khe Tran villagers and their perspectives and options
concerning the management of the future Phong Dien Nature Reserve.
An important database is available containing the data we collected through 11
plot samplings and 20 household surveys undertaken in Khe Tran on ethnobotany,
forest landscapes characterization, local importance of natural resources and all
socio-economic data necessary to the project achievement. This database helps us
to provide an overview of the forest condition and on how forests still influence
the local livelihood of the Pahy.
Soil analysis, which could not be implemented in the frame of our activities
for logistical reasons, may provide relevant information on land suitability for the
different land use options proposed by the government to the local people.
The MLA survey and the participatory development of future scenarios have
also helped to facilitate discussions with local villagers about their options in the
context of living at the edge of a nature reserve. The results of these discussions
provide an informed case study and can help the government to make betterinformed
decisions on Khe Tran–specific land and forest management. A June
2006 workshop in Thua Thien Hue will give us the opportunity to share this
information with provincial and local institutions. During the workshop we will
report the project results at the provincial and local levels. We will present the
results to government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and villagers, and
we will collect feedback on the way these results, and more generally the MLA set
of tools, can be used by each participant in the frame of their own activities and
projects in Vietnam.
Based on previous presentation and on interactions with various stakeholders
during project implementation, it is clear that the method has already raised
interest.
• District and commune officers consider MLA a valuable source of information
on socio-economy, land use and local point of view on land management.
• Educational institutions such as the Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry
have expressed interest to integrate the method into their curriculum.
• Conservation institutions such as the FPD consider MLA a valuable source
of information for future forest land allocation, natural resource management
and forest conservation.
• The international nongovernmental organizations Helvetas, SNV (Netherland
Development Organization), TBI and WWF consider it an interesting way to
gather information on local perceptions and priorities in the context of their
own projects. Some partners have argued that a systematic implementation
might be difficult in Vietnam because the land use planning and land allocation
processes are already following specific procedures and because some parts
of MLA may be considered time consuming and dependent on specialized
expertise. Nevertheless they have expressed interest to compare the results