1. SEA of the TAM DAO NATIONAL PARK BUFFER ZONE in DAI TU DISTRICT, VIETNAM Presented by Jan Peter Schemmel (GTZ) for the Tam Dao NP & Buffer Zone Management Project (TDMP )

2. Location: Tam Dao NP & BZ

3. Background: Tam Dao NP & Buffer Zone: 1.NP located 70km from Hanoi in Vietnam 2.High biodiversity & many threatened species 3.Buffer zone (BZ) with ca. 90,000 km² and 190,000 people (90% farmers) 4.NP within administrative zones of 3 Provinces Key Issues Key Issues: 1.Limited agricultural land & population growth 2.High incidence of poverty 3.Reliance on natural resources from NP 4.Limited planning & management coordination between NP & provincial administrative bodies

4. Biodiversity of Tam Dao NP: TypeSpecies RecordedSpecies Threatened Plants1,28264 Reptiles & amphibian15938 Mammals6433 Birds24315 Insects80214

5. TDMP Project Aims: 1. Develop conservation strategies for NP 2. Support livelihood initiatives in BZ 3. Support integrated, collaborative management of TDNP & BZ 4. Bring together stakeholders to develop plans & programs to balance economic, social & environmental interests in the NP & BZ

6. SEA Pilot in Tam Dao: 1. SEA identified as suitable means for achieving TDMP objectives; 2. Dai Tu District chosen as pilot site in BZ 3. Taskforce comprising Provincial & District GoV & NP Management established to implement SEA 4. Dai Tu District SEDP* chosen as focus for assessment *SEDP = Socio-Economic Development Plan (2006-2010)

7. Objective of the SEA: “Provide guidance, for incorporation into the Dai Tu district draft SEDP, on the way in which activities can be carried out in the TDNP and buffer zone to: a) achieve the development objectives set by Dai Tu district, while b) maximizing fulfillment of the sustainability for the valued physical components.”

8. SEA in Vietnam: no clear framework for SEA in Vietnam references / calls for SEA in: CPRGS (PRSP) Natl. Strategy on Env. Protection Nsds (Vietnam Agenda 21) Draft revised Law on Env. Protection *SEDP = Socio-Economic Development Plan (2006-2010)

9. SEA Stakeholders: province district commune People’s Committee political oversight Dept. Plan. & Invest. lead agency Line Depts. (Env., For., Agri., Ind.) taskforce consultants GTZ tech. & fin. assist. TDNP Man. Board sust. criteria & assess People’s Committee coord. & dev. obj. Farmers’ / Women’s Union consultation People’s Committee baseline data

10. SEA Methodology: Steps 1. Identify “valuable physical components” & establish baseline data on existing conditions 2. Identify relevant plans, development objectives & targets for the Dai Tu District 3.Complete sustainability assessments for the NP & BZ & provide recommendations 4. Develop implementation & monitoring plan for recommendation to SEDP, NP & BZ

11. SEA Methodology II: Assessment

12. Recommendations:

13. Some Outcomes (so far…) 1.Commitment by planning authority to integrate environmental considerations (currently there are no references at all in SEDP) 2.Revision of SEDP accordingly (in progress) 3.Revision of TDNP Operational Plan for coherence 4.Stakeholder agreement on need for collaborative management mechanism for BZ 5.Agreement on use of Commune-level Resources Use Plans as basis for planning in BZ TDNP OP CRUPs SEDP TDNP OP CRUPs SEDP

14. SEA Implementation: province district commune People’s Committee political oversight Dept. Plan. & Invest. lead agency Line Depts. (Env., For., Agri., Ind.) Tech. moni- toring/repor- ting/cap.bldg. consultants GTZ tech. & fin. assist. TDNP Man. Board Liase to, impl. & monitor in TDNP People’s Committee political coord., support, budget Farmers’ / Women’s Union Assist in monitoring People’s Committee Monitoring & liase to CRUPs

15. Monitoring of SEA Implementation Monitor … SEA implementation to determine extent to which recommendations are being implemented SEA outcomes to guide further planning SEA outcomes to guide future SEA processes Indicators Key Outcome Indicators (for overview to be integrated in SEDP) % buffer zone households relying on TDNP resources Sustainability Indicators (to support info on key indicators) Extraction rate of selected resources from TDNP SEA Implementation Indicators Revision of SEDP; establishment of monitoring system; …

16. Lessons Learned 1.Lack of practical guidelines and experience of SEA in Vietnam (leads to more active role of consultants team in first pilot)  need for further capacity building 2.Strong stakeholders ownership possible through participatory methods & consultation 3.SEA suitable tool for local level planning in NP & BZ 4.SEA helped fill a gap of formalized cross-institutional communication & coordination in strategic planning

17. Lessons Learned 1.Continuing institutional & financial commitment & support needed to ensure implementation of outcomes 2.There are more lessons to be learned … other donor-supported SEA processes are starting  planning to support exchange between these 3.Greater developments (population growth) also need to be tackled to support the outcomes of the SEA. 4.There might be insufficiently well known indirect economic and social effects of implementation of SEA results due to limited focus of SEA