Contribution of forest resources to local people's income: A case study in cat tien biosphere reserve, Vietnam

Drawing on the results of the surveys in 3 zones of Cat Tien Biosphere Reserve (CTBR) belonging to 3 provinces in Southern Vietnam, this paper examines the potential and contribution of forest resources to local people's livelihood. The main objectives of this study are to emphasize the variety of forest resources found in the area, to describe their contribution to the local people in 3 different zones of the reserve after the establishment of CTBR in 1998. 84 households were interviewed in 4 hamlets in 2005, 2006 and 2010. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methods were implemented in order to obtain the information and data. The paper shows that in spite of the strict regulations on conservation the local people in the surveyed areas have been overusing forest resources for both subsistence and cash income. The findings confirm that the people in the core zone (CZ) and the buffer zone (BZ) still got very high forest resource income (FRI), whilst the residents in the transition zone (TZ) were less dependent on the forest resources. Moreover, the income of the residents in the CZ and the BZ increased significantly thanks to the forest resources. All of the well-off and medium households in the CZ got most of their income from forest resources, especially from uphill cultivation of cashew. It is recommended that higher-yielding cashew should be cultivated in areas outside the CZ where Javan Rhinoceros are living; more extension activities of agro-forestry and more participation of the local people involved in forest management and protection are necessary.