Project News

The formulation of Forest Management Plan (FMP) and Livelihoods Development Plan (LDP) has been finally started for the remaining six villages of the Ta Leng site in Dien Bien Phu City.

One of the seven pilot sites of the project, the Ta Leng site, covers the southern half of Ta Leng Commune in Dien Bien Phu City. The site has very complex land use pattern, accommodating the land and forest users from nine villages in and around the Ta Leng Commune.

Note: Black texts indicate the villages for which FMP and LDP formulation has been completed in 2011 while red texts show the target villages for planning workshops this time (2012).

FMPs and LDPs for the first three villages of Ta Leng Site (Ke Nenh, Na Nghe, and Phieng Bua Villages) were formulated from August to September 2011 with the assistance from Vietnam Forestry University.

Starting with Long Hom Village (3-4 July 2012), the plan formulation for the remaining six villages this time is facilitated by trained officials from Dien Bien Phu City and Provincial Sub-Department of Forestry with support from the project experts. The plan formulation sessions are also intended as opportunities to train ward and commune officials who will in turn facilitate future plan formulation and the other activities. This arrangement will ensure that the necessary capacity in FMP and LDP formulation will be developed and remain in the government system for future expansion and replication.

The planning workshop at a village usually consists of (1) brief introduction of the project and purposes of the planning to villagers, (2) situation and potential analysis in groups, (3) formulation of draft FMP and LDP in groups, and (4) plenary discussion and adoption of the FMP and LDP with villagers.

The completed FMP covers general activity plan for next five years, including types of forest management activities (forest protection, conservation, regeneration, and others), identified location and area for each activity, rough time schedule, responsible persons, and required support. The finalized LDP includes similar set of information and the number of target households for each livelihood activity. The identified potential livelihoods development activities in Long Hom Village included animal raising (sow, buffalo/cow, chicken, duck, and fish), cassava and upland rice cultivation improvement, fruit tree and fodder grass cultivation, biogas, and wine making.

Based on the agreed-upon FMP and LDP, the villagers will undertake further discussion to formulate an interest group and a detailed implementation plan for each activity. The project plans to support the proposed activities selectively after analysis of the proposed activities and in-depth discussion with the villagers.

The FMP and LDP formulation workshops for other five villages are also expected in July.