Application of PGIS and zonation for conserving Saola species in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces, Vietnam

Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces are recognized by the scientists as an important area for Saola which is an endemic species. However Saola is being on the brink of extinction as a result of hunting and demands for timber as well as non-timber products. This paper presents some studied results on applying PGIS and Zonation conservation planning model in researching the distribution and predicting the priority zones of Saola species in Saola landscape that locates along the southern of Thua Thien Hue and the northern of Quang Nam landscape frontier.
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Application of PGIS and zonation for conserving Saola species in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces, VietnamJOURNAL OF SCIENCE, Hue University, Vol. 67, No. 4A, 2011APPLICATION OF PGIS AND ZONATION FOR CONSERVING SAOLASPECIES IN THUA THIEN HUE AND QUANG NAM PROVINCES, VIETNAMLuong Van Duc1, Ho Dac Thai Hoang2, Nicholas Michael Wilkinson3, Ong Dinh Bao Tri412Kumamoto University, JapanCollege of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, Vietnam3Cambridge University, England4WWF Vietnam, VietnamAbstract. Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces are recognized by the scientists as animportant area for Saola which is an endemic species. However Saola is being on the brinkof extinction as a result of hunting and demands for timber as well as non-timber products.This paper presents some studied results on applying PGIS and Zonation conservationplanning model in researching the distribution and predicting the priority zones of Saolaspecies in Saola landscape that locates along the southern of Thua Thien Hue and thenorthern of Quang Nam landscape frontier. Community mapping results revealed thequantity distribution of Saola, Zonation then indicated the priority zones for Saola. Fromthis finding, the robust patrol routes for conserving this species were identified with thearea of 74845.75ha.Keywords: PGIS, systematic conservation planning, Zonation, Saola species, conservationpriority zones.1IntroductionThe Saola species is ranked as Critically Endangered by the IUCN [5]. A large numberof studies [2],[5], have been implemented to identify the distribution of this species inVietnam. It seems that the extent of the Saola’s occurrence has declined significantlywithin these provinces over the past 20 years [6]. However, so far our understanding ofthe distribution of the Saola species as well as its bio-characteristics in the Truong Sonhas been modest. The latest researches of Nguyen Xuan Dang et al. (2007), WWFVietnam’s database or Green Corridor Project initially made the sketch map in pointshape-files or recorded the scatter information identified for the huge areas. Most ofthese achieved records had been mainly derived from local people’s perception withoutany verification on account of its complication and miscellaneousness. It was clear thatthese findings were only primary; their accuracy and detail level had to be improved dueto the uncertainty of the information. These things hinder efforts of Saolaconservationists while the detriment factors to Saola were not depreciated. In this35scenario, an assessment based on indigenous knowledge and systematic conservationplanning model is urgent and essential. The systematic conservation planning modelsuch as Zonation, Marxan and so forth had been applied and achieved the expectedefficiency as an optimal choice for selecting a robust solution in order to conserve theendangered species but such application in Vietnam had never been studied in the longrun. Based on this information, GIS and Zonation model were applied in order todetermine Saola priority zones for patrol. In this combination, the community map ondistribution of Saola species was established by using beans as an efficient and flexibletool that expressed local people perception about Saolas abundance. Zonation and GISthen played a decisive role in analyzing, assessing and appraising data quality andoutput results.2Materials and methodsCommunity mapping was carried out two following stages that included making mastermaps and using it to estimate the abundance of Saola. This process was conductedindividually with all villages of Huong Huu, Thuong Long, Thuong Quang and ThuongNhat communes. As their hunting locations extended as far as the north of Quang Nam,the investigated and map-making areas embraced this method. At stage 1, respondentswould be selected from hunters and village patriarchs who had the best knowledge oftheir forest. At this stage, names of rivers were put on the river map after getting totalagreement from all respondents. Also, other pieces of information such as villagehistory and livelihood were collected with semi-structured questionnaires. This isbeneficial for the second stage which uses the map. Respondents were required to placebeans on the master map with the names of rivers established at the last stage. Thislatter stage also collected information by getting the description of the appearance andhabitat characteristics of serow, sambar, mousedeer, wide pig and muntjacs. Indirectly,this gave valuable information about Saola when some hunters made an unintentionalcomparison among the resembled features. These descriptions would be compared withthe available understanding to eliminate the disturbing information. On the master map,depending on their perception of the abundance of Saola (X) at each location, huntersput beans with more beans where X is higher, fewer bea ...