Eco-tourism is a tool to protect forests

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quoc Viet, Deputy Director of the Center for Environmental Education and Services, Cat Tien National Park, said that for a long time, regulations on the tasks and functions of Cat Tien National Park have included content on eco-tourism services.

In 1996, Cat Tien National Park began organizing eco-tourism activities, with the main customers being young people who love to explore and experience. Gradually, the tourist object participating in eco-tourism activities in Cat Tien National Park has expanded and become more diverse.

Particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourists participating in eco-tours in Cat Tien National Park increased greatly. This shows that awareness of the value of eco-tourism is increasing, and eco-tourism is becoming an almost inevitable need for many people.

For tourists, when coming to Cat Tien National Park, they feel the clear difference between a place where nature is still relatively intact and the places where they are living. Therefore, through eco-tourism activities in Cat Tien National Park, tourists increasingly feel the value of natural resources and raise awareness of forest protection and biodiversity conservation.

Ms. Vo Thi Bich Thuy, Business Director, in charge of Education and Eco-tourism Tour at Tam Anh Group, affirmed that eco-tourism is a tool to protect forests. Because eco-tourism in national parks, reserves, and forests will help tourists improve their understanding and awareness of forest protection, natural resource protection, and biodiversity conservation.

Tam Anh Group has organized family eco-tours for many years, with the participation of both children and adults in families. Through eco-tours to national parks and reserves, children have received many valuable lessons from the laws of survival and ecological succession of nature, thereby understanding and loving nature more.

Once they understand and love nature through eco-tourism activities, children will be self-conscious and take action to contribute to protecting forests, nature, and the environment without having to be reminded. This shows that through eco-tourism activities in national parks and reserves, lessons about forest protection and natural resource protection will be received better and absorbed more deeply into each person's awareness.

According to Mr. Viet, for Cat Tien National Park, eco-tourism activities have brought many benefits. First of all, eco-tourism helps Cat Tien National Park have a financial source to serve conservation work.

For local communities, eco-tourism activities in Cat Tien National Park have helped them have more jobs and more income, and more importantly, they have seen great benefits from protecting forests and preserving natural resources.

Communities living in forest areas inherently have a very difficult life. Therefore, in the past, they knew about the value of forests, but due to life and because they did not see the benefits that forests bring to their families and themselves, they were not conscious to participate in forest management and protection.

Since participating in eco-tourism activities in Cat Tien National Park, households living in the forest area have seen real benefits from forest protection and nature conservation that will help them gain a stable and sustainable source of income. Thus, many households have actively participated in eco-tourism activities and are very proud of this. As of now, there have been dozens of households participating in providing services for tourists coming to eco-tourism in Cat Tien National Park.

Previously, on July 18, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang issued Decree No. 91/2024/ND-CP, amending and supplementing several provisions under Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018.

A new addition to the Deputy Prime Minister's Decree is the amendment and supplementation of Article 14, which regulates the procedures for constructing, appraising, approving, and implementing eco-tourism, resort, and entertainment projects in special-use forests.

Accordingly, in addition to solutions for forest protection and development, nature conservation, biodiversity preservation, environmental protection, and fire prevention and control, forest owners must also specify solutions for capital, investment resources, methods of organizing eco-tourism, resort, and entertainment activities, and leasing prices for the forest environment. The annual financial plan, which is funded by the forest owners' environmental service revenue or other legitimate financial sources, must include a budget for developing eco-tourism, resort, and entertainment projects.