Comanagement Approach for Conflict Management: A Case Study of the Phong Dien Nature Reserve

Abstract The Phong Dien Nature Reserve (PDNR) soon after its establishment prohibited local people in the core zone. Forest degradations were high on PDNR due to illegal logging, poaching, haphazard mineral extraction, and habitant and agricultural expansion; mainly because PDNR ignored local needs and interests. Coupled with incidences of forest fires and shifting cultivation, forest inside the reserve was eventually fragmented followed by the extinction of endemic species. With support from the MacArthur Foundation, the PDNR applied the comanagement approach to promote local communities to participate in decision making and benefit sharing. In this regard, this study aims to analyze causes of conflict and seeks the possibilities for comanagement as a sustainable approach to enhance a good relationship for the park and the people. The basic principles for comanagement were to bring local people into planning from the beginning, which gives them a sense of belongingness through a learning-by-doing approach. Commencing with comanagement by resource access right was essential to providing meaningful benefits to local communities for adopting some level of responsibility for natural resource management institutionalized through a defined legal framework.