Na Hang Nature Reserve, Tat Ke Sector - Frontier-publications.co.uk

Na Hang Nature Reserve, Tat Ke Sector 1997
that bird-related tourism attracted 78 million travellers and generated US$78 billion
for the countries they visited.
12.4 Discussion
The communities within the Tat Ke sector of Na Hang reserve lead a traditional
lifestyle based on agriculture. They face problems of food and land shortages which
tend to create an uneven distribution of wealth between the minorities and within each
village as populations grow. There is currently no alternative source of income
available to villagers and because the expansion of agricultural land is prohibited, the
problems are addressed through the use of new seed strains and agricultural
chemicals. However, these are expensive and may only prove to be a short-term
solution with serious implications to both the environment and health.
The local people are strongly dependent on the forest resource. If the present rate of
encroachment continues, it will have serious implications for the quality and survival
of the reserve. Hunting and fishing can have serious ramifications for biodiversity (for
example, the elimination of large fish species in the stream by Tat Ke village), and the
decline of primate populations in the area is thought to be from hunting and forest
encroachment.
The Na Hang reserve appears to fulfil the conditions which would allow a certain
amount of tourism, particularly ecotourism by dedicated groups. However, this kind of
tourism is relatively new to Vietnam, and there are at present no long-term plans to
develop tourism projects in Na Hang. Much of Vietnam's experience with overseas
tourism has involved low-budget travellers, whose requirements are very different to
those of ecotourist groups. Only when there has been a proper consideration of the
impacts of tourists on the reserve, and how this can be minimised, should any visitors
be allowed in the reserve.
Frontier-Vietnam Environment Research Report 9 52