Xuan Thay National Park Case Study

Xuan Thay National Park (XTNP) became the first Ramsar site in the South East Asia in 1989, and the core zone of the Red River Biosphere Reserve in 2004. These titles designated for XTNP emphasized its importance at the international level as a habitat for rare migratory birds, as well as a coastal ecosystem with high biodiversity for conservation that creates livelihoods for thousands of local people.

The aquatic biodiversity of this wetland ecosystem provides food and livelihood for local people in five communes in the national park buffer zone namely Giao Thien, Giao An, Giao Lac, Giao Xuan, and Giao Hai with population above 48,160 people, 12,080 households and area about 38 km2, and other communes in neighboring areas (CORIN-Asia,
There is growing evidence that mangrove area in XTNP has increased during recent years (Tinh and Tuan, February 2015), it is apparent that conservation objectives are being realized. However no study has been attempted to document the extent to which such change(s) could be attributed to (success of) the livelihood projects being
Changes in livelihood assets, strategies and outcomes of local people brought by project interventions also remains undocumented. Changes are obvious after implementation of goal-oriented programs. Significant amount of budget has been invested in various livelihood interventions such as alternative income generation (CORIN-Asia, 2010), but the effects have not been studied and reported. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the changes brought by these interventions on livelihood of local people in terms of capital formation, and identify most significant of those changes to facilitate implementing agencies and concerned stakeholders evaluate the actual local impacts of the project from a livelihood perspective. It is equally necessary for the beneficiaries to suggest and prioritize better alternative livelihood programs if the existing programs are not able to bring expected changes in their