CarBi Project Summary

Transcription

1 CarBi Project Summary Avoidance of deforestation and forest degradation in the border area of southern Laos and central Vietnam for the long-term preservation of carbon sinks and biodiversity Degradation and conversion of natural forests in Vietnam continue at unprecedented speed due to illegal logging, agriculture and a lack of forest protection. Despite reforestation successes in Vietnam, its increasing demand for timber has shifted deforestation and emissions from forest conversion and degradation to regions with rich forest cover in neighbouring countries, particularly in Laos. It is the goal of the project to develop sustainable management options for a high biodiversity and high carbon, trans-boundary forest complex of around 200,000 hectares, stretching across central Vietnam and southern Laos. The area to be developed consists of four Protected Areas with two connecting forest corridors. It is envisaged that this project will reduce emissions by 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 over 5 years. The main measures are a) to better protect and develop the interconnected conservation areas in Vietnam and Laos through improved control and training and effective Protected Area management; b) to rehabilitate neighbouring forest corridors in Vietnam through afforestation, reforestation and sustainable forest management; c) to introduce systems which make the timber trade in Vietnam and Laos more transparent and which reduce international leakage in the context of REDD; and d) to train the local administration in REDD mechanisms, the development of a Project Design Project and to assess forests carbon reserves and their change over time. Regardless of some reforestation successes, Vietnam remains one of the countries in which degradation and conversion of natural forests is rapidly increasing due to agriculture and illegal logging, and an overall lack of forest protection. Furthermore, the growing demand for timber in the Vietnamese wood processing export industry drives deforestation in areas with a high forest cover in neighbouring countries, particularly in Laos. A 2008 report from the Environmental Investigation Agency concluded that wood for export is illegally extracted from Protected Areas in Laos. For 2006, estimates listed around 600,000 m³ of timber from illegal logging, which were destined for Vietnam alone. This trans-boundary leakage is one of the biggest challenges for the REDD- Readiness process in Vietnam. Laos is one of the countries with the largest forest covers in Southeast-Asia, but also experiences one of the highest deforestation rates (1.4 % or 134,000 ha p.a.). Together with forest degradation deforestation accounts for approximately 70 % of national greenhouse gas emissions. While illegal logging is being recognised as the main factor for forest degradation, infrastructure projects and agricultural activities are key drivers for forest conversion.

2 The Annamite mountain range in central Vietnam and southern Laos is widely known as an important carbon sink, as well as an area of high biodiversity: unique endemism, one of the largest continuous natural forest areas in continental Asia, a WWF ecoregion and also a region where deforestation and illegal logging are rife. The project area comprises the Sao La Nature Reserves and the Bach Ma National Park in Vietnam, and the Xe Sap National Protected Area in Laos. These are connected with Phong Dien Nature Reserve and Song Thanh Nature Reserve via natural forest corridors. Over the medium and long term the continuing fragmentation and degradation of these natural forest corridors threatens habitat connectivity, as well as the ecosystem s resilience. Both countries are engaged in the REDD-Process nationally as well as internationally. Illegal logging and timber trade are both mentioned in the national REDD Strategy Documents as explicit factors for forest degradation. The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan and Lacey Act, as agreed recently by EU and USA build up pressure for the export orientated furniture industry of Vietnam to introduce better traceability for timber. This also increases the motivation of forest authorities in both countries to address the trade of illegal forest products more effectively. Overall goal Sustainable management of an approx. 200,000 ha trans-boundary forest area rich in species and carbon, located in central Vietnam and southern Laos, composed of four Protected Areas and two connecting forest corridors is developed and implemented. Indicator 1: Improved management of the protected areas and the rehabilitation of 2 forest corridors has reduced CO2 emissions resulting from deforestation and degradation by 1.8 million t within 5 years. This is an estimate which will be further refined through baseline assessments and measurements during the project. A combination of recognized tools will be applied: WB/WWF Protected Area Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) for improved protected area management, mapping and independent monitoring for natural forest rehabilitation, optical remote sensing methods for carbon monitoring (Radar, Tier 3 LiDAR or satellite based Landsat/SPOT etc.). Indicator 2: Mammal species diversity and numbers in particular for ungulates show upward trends in the Protected Areas of the project area. The monitoring system developed in Sao La protected area will be applied for this. The ungulates are relatively easy to record and react particularly sensitive to hunting pressure and other human impacts (indicator species). A further advantage of this targeted bio-monitoring is that it is cheaper and therefore more sustainable than other methods. Also other non-ungulate mammals are counted regularly, for instance gibbons. Indicator 3: The trans-border trade of illegally cut timber in Laos to Vietnam will be reduced by 40% in the project region by the end of 2014 (baseline measurements at the beginning and end of the project).

3 Indicator 4: The sustainable use of natural forests, and compensation mechanisms for use restrictions and effective forest protection measures significantly improve the income of at least 400 households (minimum increase of annual income by 15%). Specific results 1. The Sao La protected areas and the extension of the Bach Ma National Park in the provinces of Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue in Vietnam are protected effectively. 2. The Xe Sap protected area in Laos is protected effectively. 3. The fragmentation of the natural forests in the two corridors A Luoi in the province Thua Thien Hue and Tay Giang in the province Quang Nam is reduced and the quality of the forests has improved. 4. The government administrations of the Lao provinces of Xekong and Salavan apply systematic, transparent and efficient systems for tracing and controlling of timber from special logging quotas and cooperate with the Vietnamese authorities on timber trade from Laos to Vietnam. 5. The Government administrations of Salavan and Xekong provinces (Lao PDR) and Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces (Vietnam) have significantly intensified their trans-boundary cooperation for effective protected area management, reduction of illegal logging, as well as the development of a regional Project Design Document (PDD) for REDD+. Target group Local population in 100 villages in the surrounding of the protected areas and forest corridors approx. 5,000 to 7,000 people; Forest administrations in Laos and Vietnam on all levels (national, province, district, community), including forest police, environmental police, border police, as well as state owned forestry enterprises approx. 400 people 1. Measures for the improvement of the protected area management in the two Sap La protected areas in Quang Nam and Thua Tien Hue provinces in central Vietnam, the extension of Bach Ma National Park in Vietnam and the neighbouring Xe Sap National Protected Area in Laos: - Baseline assessments (biodiversity, management effectiveness, law enforcement etc.), and development/ revision of protected area management plans (including zonation and connectivity) as well as of 10-year business/ financial plans for operations and for securing of sustainable financing; - Implementation of the management plans, e.g. infrastructure measures and maintenance, equipment, training measures, patrol, integration of different monitoring systems for a Management Information System MIST (biodiversity, management effectiveness, law enforcement etc.), buffer zone establishment, and payment of financial compensation for use restrictions and prohibitions. Actors: Forest and protected area administration, neighbouring communities.

4 2. Reforestation, forest rehabilitation and forest cultivation measures in the degraded forest corridors of A Luoi and Tay Giang and the buffer zones of the extension of Bach Ma National Park in Vietnam: - Analysis of the current state of the forest corridors (fragmentation index and qualitative parameters); - Participatory planning of measures and allocation of forest plots to individual households and communities in specific focus regions; - Forest rehabilitation, probably consisting of a mixture of reforestation (approx. 450 ha), natural regeneration and enrichment planting (approx. 4,300 ha), forest protection contracts with the local population (approx. 3,300 ha), as well as community-based forest management of approx. 3,000 ha. Actors: Communities and local user groups, forest and regional administration. 3. Measures for the reduction of illegal logging and the control of trans boundary timber trade: - Development and pilot implementation of chain-of-custodies for selected logging quotas and timber trade on communal, district, and provincial level in Laos; - Formalisation and concretisation of trans boundary cooperation of the neighbouring provinces and Government agencies regarding illegal timber trade; - Equipment, training, setting up of monitoring and surveillance systems etc., for law enforcement agencies and villages/communities. Actors: Forest and regional administrations, private sector, border control agencies, local communities 4. Development of a trans boundary Project Design Document (PDD) for REDD+ and support of the relevant government agencies: - Establishment of the requirements for a REDD pilot project in both countries and for the border area (Readiness measures, incl. carbon accounting for historic data and future development, baseline assessment, costs for various avoidance measures, pre-negotiations of potential benefit sharing mechanisms); - Collaboration/harmonization with the respective REDD-Readiness-Processes: National agencies, initiatives, and actors (incl. support of the Focal Points Leakage in the REDD working group of Vietnam); - Feasibility study for a trans boundary REDD project (PDD), and the development of the PDD for at least one of the two countries; - Development, translation, and adaptation of REDD training materials regarding the topics: inventory, monitoring, baselines, leakage, PDD development and organisation of training on a local (sub-national) level in both countries

5 Actors: Representatives of the responsible agencies on the provincial, district, and village level with participation of local communities.