Tropentag, September 16 - 18, 2015 in Berlin, Germany "Management of land use systems for enhanced food security – conflicts, controversies and resolutions"

A Political Analysis of the Conflicts among Stakeholders in the Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam

¹Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia
²Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Dept. of Forestry and Forest Ecology, Germany

Abstract

The stakeholders' interests in the forests are as diverse as the products and services that forests offer. In fact some of those interests go beyond the potential of forests products and services. This research was conducted in the Cuc Phuong National Park (CPNP), Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam at a time when there is a great need to show the interests of all forest actors as driving forces in the management of forests. The understanding of interests supports the forest community to provide sound solutions to the conflicts resulting from contrary interests.
The data was collected through questionnaires and interviews with the local people living in the vicinity of the CPNP. The obtained data was analysed and interpreted in charts, the result matrix and diagrams which map the actors, the interests and the conflicts that occur in the CPNP.
The results demonstrate that a conflict exists between the Vietnamese government with the main objectives of protecting the natural resources, scientific research and ecotourism development on the one hand and the local villagers on the other hand. As the villagers' livelihood largely depends on the forest they apply huge pressure on its resources and consequently their interests (farming, grazing, NTFP-extraction, fuel wood, timber, poaching, hunting, etc.) run contrary to nature conservation.
It was concluded that if the situation in the CPNP is left unaltered, there will eventually be an overexploitation which in long-term ends in the encroachment and loss of biodiversity in the CPNP. However, a proper cooperation of forest actors might improve the current situation considerably.

Keywords: Cuc Phuong National park, forest actors, interests, local villagers, result matrix, stakeholders

Contact Address: Santi Pratiwi, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Jl. Halim Perdana Kusuma Basecamp 1 Dd.10, 15124 Tangerang, Indonesia, e-mail: santi.pratiwi04gmail.com