Le Thi Thu Ha
The project is going to implement in Cau Ngang District, Tra Vinh Province of Vietnam with the aim to support local people in recognizing the real economic and environmental values of nypa ecosystem that they did not know before.
i) Background
Nypa palms are very dense among mangrove community in most coastal regions of Vietnam but they have been degraded rapidly for shrimp aquaculture. In Tra Vinh province, 20 - 25% of nypa now are in good condition (as described by the GAMBAS project, 2004). Many people have been destroying this resource because they did not find real values from the ecosystem. Main use of these resources is nypa leaves for roofing house purpose only while many other economic benefits such as sap for producing sugar and alcohol, young leaves for wrapping cigarette and so on are ignored by local people.
ii) Objectives
The project is going to implement in Cau Ngang District, Tra Vinh Province of Vietnam with the aim to support local people in recognizing the real economic and environmental values of nypa ecosystem that they did not know before. In terms of knowing the benefits, local people will be educated to utilize this natural resource (including rehabilitating and using nypa palms for their livelihood creation). They will be taught the way to collect sap, fruits, trunks and also leaves and the processes to convert these materials to become nypa products that can generate income. Moreover, local people will be provided with some management methods such as community based management and sustainable utilisation of nypa resource.
iii) Methodology
The project will use questionnaires, checklists and interview techniques to collect data on the economic and environmental values of Nypa resource. The Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) are to evaluate the current situation of nypa forest in order to gain background information about nypa ecosystem. Market Prices, Changes in Production, Opportunity-cost Approach, Replacement Cost Method and Costs-Benefits Analysis are useful tools in analysing nypa values. Community-based resource management is recommended to apply for nypa palms’ users.
iv) Expected Results
- Current situation of mangrove ecosystem (Nypa fruticans) in Cau Ngang district.
- Environmental and economic values of Nypa palms.
- Local people, especially poor people in Cau Ngang Districts, Tra Vinh province will be trained to use and extract nypa palms for as their alternative livelihood.
- Recommendations for sustainable management nypa resources to managers, decision makers