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Article

Comparing Law Enforcement Performance of Forest Stations at Pu Hu Nature Reserve, Vietnam

by
Dong Le Khac
1,2,
Ao Xuan Hoa
3,
Nha Thi Huynh Nguyen
4,
Hue Ha Thi Thu
5 and
Kuaanan Techato
1,*
1
Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla Univerisity, Hat Yai 90100, Thailand
2
Thanh Hoa Agriculture and Rural Development, Thanh Hoa 440000, Vietnam
3
Faculty of Economics, Tay Nguyen University, Buon Ma Thuoc 630000, Vietnam
4
Faculty of Finance-Banking and Business Administration, Quy Nhon University, Quy Nhon 55113, Vietnam
5
Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13867; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113867
Submission received: 3 August 2022 / Revised: 7 October 2022 / Accepted: 14 October 2022 / Published: 25 October 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation)
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Abstract

:
In Vietnam, most protected areas are guarded and their natural resources are conserved by forest rangers, who carry out their law enforcement duties from forest stations. Previous research projects have been undertaken on law enforcement performance during traditional patrolling in most protected areas; however, insights into patrolling efforts at the local level, as a part of protection activities, have been significantly missing. The aim of this paper was to compare the law enforcement performance of rangers at two forest stations in the Pu Hu Nature Reserve (NR). These forest rangers face different challenges and illegal activities, depending on local conditions, which means that their law enforcement activities can vary widely. The results provided initial insights into the different variables of law enforcement performance and illegal encounters at the local level. The number of illegal encounters and distance walked were not significantly different between the two forest stations, unlike other variables, such as relative altitude, walking speed, and patrol hours. The ratios of illegal encounters to relative altitude and to speed at the Nam Tien Forest Station were higher than the equivalent findings at the Trung Thanh Forest Station due to differences in terms of the patrolling hours and distance walked between the two forest stations. Action to improve conservation is essentially a matter of implementing conservation planning in parallel with the current situation. Undoubtedly, the successful management of forests by stations in a protected area will be indicated by a positive law enforcement performance.

1. Introduction

Protected areas (PAs) are hugely important for conservation [1,2] because they are habitats to rare flora and fauna in the most threatened areas of the world [3], under the most human-affected ecosystems [4], and provide protection against the impact of climate change [5]. Many people in developing countries live near forests since their livelihoods are intimately linked to forest resources [6,7]. The centrality of PAs to biodiversity conservation has not changed for over 30 years [8]. Tropical protected areas especially are already protected conservation areas because of the decline of experienced conservation agents [9]. However, the threatened loss of biodiversity and forest depletion are consequences of the illegal use of resources due to social demands [6,7]. Biodiversity degradation is on the rise due to timber extraction, fuelwood collection, grazing, hunting, and agricultural expansion within reserves [9]. Conflicts between rangers in PAs and the local people are becoming progressively more common because of social demands [8] since some rural communities depend considerably on forest resources [6]. The successful management of many PAs by rangers is dependent on their law enforcement performance [9,10]. Patrol-based (also known as enforced-ranger) monitoring programs have increased throughout the world [11], and are now one of the mainstays of conservation initiatives [12]. Almost all rangers in developing countries spend a substantial amount of time patrolling forests, often encountering illegal activities [13]. The main reason for poor performance in PAs is biodiversity loss [9]. When staff perform better and collect more information on law enforcement efforts, this has positive conservation effects, with more staff being available per day, greater distances being patrolled, and more illegal actions being encountered [14]. Consequently, patrolling rangers can potentially discover many illegal activities. Rangers in PAs, in particular, are the people who are chiefly responsible for identifying and preventing illegal activities [15], and they perform this by patrolling regularly to control human access to the forest, thereby limiting the occurrence of illegal activities [16]. Furthermore, with improved performance by rangers, authorities are informed about the occurrence of illegal activities [17]. For example, [18] showed that patrol hours and distances remained the same in the Kakum Conservation Forest in Ghana during specific seasons, for instance, during rainy seasons or when crops were being cultivated.
Actually, illegal activities pose a significant threat to the sustainability of forest ecosystems [19,20], and also affect the management boards of PAs and the society in various ways. In addition to being a doorway to deforestation and forest degradation, these illegal activities are responsible for the large loss of revenue from biodiversity [21,22]. Illegal activities are more likely to be a key aspect to be taken into consideration economically because the benefits are significantly derived from violating the law (tax evasion, unauthorized requirements, etc.) [5]. All forest extractions due to illegal activities must be regarded as critical issues to be confronted by rangers [23,24] because these phenomena are part and parcel of a series of activities [25]. PAs, in particular, are now being widely advocated as a solution to achieve conservation goals [26], and thus, information on these illegal activities can be easily available through patrolling efforts in each forest plot [27].
Currently, an increasing number of research projects have considered the need to identify and promote effective conservation measures in Pas [9]. There have been a few empirical studies on the patrolling performance of rangers in different protected areas or forest stations. Almost all PA management boards have tried to devise conservation strategies; however, these are generally directed towards law enforcement at the forest stations (FS) [7,28] depending on specific situations. Some studies considered the effect of external indicators, such as the patrol speed and the relative altitude covered by ranger patrols across a wide area. Additionally, some research has been conducted on patrolling efforts at two forest stations in different protected areas in Vietnam [29]. Undoubtedly, each management board has its practical conservation activities and specific situations. However, there has been little research on the patrol efforts of rangers at two forest stations, such as a national park or nature reserve, within a single PA. It is important to consider the local situation at forest stations since the head of the station oversees all patrols during working hours. Furthermore, the FS is also the lowest organizational unit that takes full responsibility for law enforcement in the field.
A patrol monitoring system is employed at all the FSs in the Pu Hu Nature Reserve (NR). Two locations, namely the Nam Tien and Trung Thanh Forest Stations, were selected to offer insights into law enforcement performance during a two-year period. The research had two objectives. Firstly, it was aimed at analyzing the law enforcement efforts undertaken by both FSs; and secondly, it was aimed at examining law enforcement efforts in relation to illegal encounters, which might influence the consequences of patrolling. The study was carried out to enable the management board of the Pu Hu Nature Reserve to determine how the FSs conduct their law enforcement efforts during patrols.

2. Background of the Patrolling System

A travel recorder (TC), which is a type of GPS (Figure 1), was selected by the technical group of this research in 2009 because of its various advantages in providing original information on patrolling efforts. To test the law enforcement monitoring system in a pilot project, technical training courses were run by a German expert and the project coordinator. The ranger patrol operations system was tested before it was extended to other forest stations. For the first six months of testing of the patrol system, considerable experience was gained through the patrolling operations, such as the finding of missing data and information on patrolling activities, represented tracks, etc. Because of the lessons learned, the project was expanded to all the forest stations in the Pu Hu NR [30]. In the case of the patrolling rangers in the Pu Hu NR, there was no tool for monitoring their law enforcement performance before 2010. Typically, the proof of the rangers’ efforts lay in their activity reports and the minutes of meetings between the rangers and local authorities. Many rangers did not regularly patrol their areas and their activity reports were inadequate and without any real substance; therefore, the short-term planning of law enforcement efforts by rangers was found to be weak. A pilot project on the patrols by rangers was implemented by the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) organization in 2010 to monitor law enforcement performance in two Pu Hu NR forest stations.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Area of Interest

The Pu Hu NR is the largest PA in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam and it is comprised around 28,000 ha. It was established in 1999 in a mountainous location in the northeast of Vietnam (latitude 20°30′ and 20°40′ N, and longitude 104°40′ and 105°05′ E) (Figure 1). It contains rare and endangered animal and plant species [29]. Since its establishment, this protected area has been managed by forest rangers, who are in charge of law enforcement, and the management of bamboo, roof thatching materials, firewood, medical plants, and cattle grazing, as well as other economic activities, which are prohibited to the local people [30]. There are six main forest stations and one sub-forest station in the Pu Hu NR. The Nam Tien FS and the Trung Thanh FS are close to the towns of Hoi Xuan and Co Luong, respectively. Thus, the potential for illegal activities in the Pu Hu NR is significant because of the ease of transportation and local knowledge.
Most of the rangers in Pu Hu were not young and they did not have technical skills, but they quickly learned how to use the GPS device, which is small and can be easily held by the patrollers. In addition, it has a strong battery that can last for 48 h per full charge, so they felt confident about patrolling long tracks without having to think about charging the battery in the forest. The installed data memory was large and contained many patrolling tracks. More importantly, the patrolling tracks could not be falsely represented in their monthly activity reports to the central office, including those submitted by their monitoring supervisors. Furthermore, patrolling the tracks using the TC devices provided significantly strong, clear evidence and useful law enforcement performance information about the field patrols. In other words, the information was essentially pure data on patrolling tracks and feedback from the field. All the information on illegal encounters, non-timber forest production, cutting, logging, grazing, etc., was carefully recorded by the rangers by pressing a button on the TC device, and then transferring it to a standardized form.
The Nam Tien FS protects an area of almost 4400 ha, with eight sub-area forest plots (Table 1 and Figure 2). The permanent rangers responsible for protecting the forest areas oversee practical law enforcement efforts. The PA buffer zones contain around 423 households, with 1512 inhabitants, constituting the Nam Tien and Thien Phu communities, living in 12 villages [16,17]. This forest area is close to the town of Quan Hoa, and transportation between the villages and the town is easy; thus, there is a high potential for illegal activities. Huge profits can potentially be made by the locals from illegal activities and from non-timber forest products, such as bamboo shoots and medicine.
The Trung Thanh FS covers 4200 ha of protected forest (Table 1 and Figure 2), which is home to a rich variety of plants and wildlife, and to various rare animals such as the Annamite Muntijac (Muntiacus truongsonensis) and bear (Ursus thibetanus). There are around 560 households nearby, with 2800 inhabitants living in eight villages in the buffer zones near the community of Trung Thanh. The villages have high population densities. Most of the local inhabitants have been demanding that requirements be imposed for profitable resources because of the rich biodiversity here compared to the other forest stations. The local people have continuously depended on forest resources such as bamboo shoots, firewood, and honey for their income, since land resources and business activities are limited here.

3.2. Data Collection

The Nam Tien and Trung Thanh FSs in the Pu Hu NR employ conventional law enforcement methods, such as foot patrols. Most of the patrol routes were followed by the staff based at the nearby FS and recorded as transects with fixed location points [31]. For such location points (waypoints), certain patrolling information at both forest stations was recorded, such as the number of rangers on patrol, the duration of the patrol, and the locations of the forest sub-area plots [7,10,13]. However, the main technical analysis of the patrolling data was carried out by forest officers in the central Pu Hu NR office.
All the data collected from the patrollers in the Nam Tien and Trung Thanh FSs constituted a database for the central office covering about 26 months (April 2019 to June 2021). All the major patrol tracks were followed by the local rangers from both stations (Figure 1) using a GPS-based monitoring system [14]. The typical patrolling activities were conducted by one, two, or, less frequently, three rangers, using a hand-held GPS unit to record their location [12] in conjunction with a topographic map of the special area [24]. The patrolling tracks evaluated the patrolling efforts based on the ranger-patrolled days per month, which was calculated using the number of rangers on patrol multiplied by the number of patrol hours [12,16]. One patrol day was considered to last eight hours [32]. The effective patrolling time was significantly spent on foot, with the rangers following footpaths in the forest. The two indicators of effective patrol days and distance walked (coverage) were the main measurements of the patrol efforts [33].

3.3. Statistical Analysis

All the information from the GPS devices about the patrolled tracks from both FSs was presented to and evaluated by a supervising officer at the central office [34], who analyzed the information about the number of kilometers walked and the altitude covered [35]. The patrolled track information was presented using Google Earth software. The supervisors had to confirm the information from the rangers’ field work and their work as part of the final report, to provide feedback to the management board [14]. The final report and data analysis were presented in Microsoft Excel, while the SPSS version 20.0 was used to analyze the data, such as the mean ± SD (standard deviation) and any other significant differences (p < 0.05) in the indicators of patrolling efforts at each forest station. Using non-parametric statistics, the correlation coefficient (rs) was tested using Spearman’s rank function. In addition, Mann–Whitney (U) tests were used to compare the means to find any significant differences in the two variables [12] at both forest stations.

4. Results

4.1. General Patrolling Efforts

An immensely difficult part of field patrolling is the number of relative altitudes because this essential aspect affects how patrolling rangers account for their patrol timing. The average altitude reached by the rangers from the Trung Thanh FS (347.14 ± 161.41) was noticeably around 1.7-times higher than that reached by the patrollers from the Nam Tien FS (200.85 ± 128.44). In particular, the trend of the relative altitude reached by the Trung Thanh FS rangers increased slightly, while it decreased for the Nam Tien FS rangers (Figure 3). A comparison of the relative altitudes reached by the patrollers from both forest stations across the studied months indicated significant differences in patrolling in the field (U = 79.761, p < 0.05).
It was noted that the patrolling speeds achieved by the rangers from both forest stations sharply declined from 2019 to 2021 (Figure 4). At the beginning (2019), the average patrolling speeds were 2.0 km/h for the Nam Tien FS and around 1.8 km/h for the Trung Thanh FS. However, the final patrolling speed (from 2021) for the Nam Tien and Trung Thanh FSs was around 1.7 km/h. The average patrolling speed (km/hour) by the rangers from the Trung Thanh FS (1.67 ± 0.35) was lower compared to the equivalent for the Nam Tien FS (1.87 ± 0.50). There was a significant difference in the patrolling speed of the rangers from each forest station (U = 105.462, p < 0.05). The relative altitude was found to correlate markedly with the patrolling speed (rs = −0.21, p < 0.05).
With respect to the patrolling field, the hours spent patrolling by the forest officers were crucial in helping the management board to understand the working day. Generally, the number of working days in the field by the rangers from Trung Thanh was nearly double that of those from Nam Tien (451 patrolling days). Over the two-year period, the average number of patrolling hours needed for each track by the Trung Thanh FS rangers was higher than that of the Nam Tien FS rangers, even though the patrolling hours of both sets of rangers were stable. In 2019, the average number of patrolling hours from the two forest stations came to around 3.4 h, with around 3.5 h for patrollers from Trung Thanh and a constant for Nam Tien (Figure 5). Similarly, the average patrolling hours were 0.48 ± 0.31 and 0.39 ± 0.20 for the Trung Thanh and Nam Tien FS rangers, respectively. Moreover, the patrolling hours completed by the patrollers from both forest stations were significantly different (U = 105.462, p < 0.05).
Regarding the patrolling performance and conservation requirements, the distance walked during field operations was the most important indicator of law enforcement efforts that was considered by the management board and the rangers. These figures indicate how far and large the range can be in the forest areas, with each ranger responsible for a permanent forest plot. The average distance walked by the patrollers from the Trung Thanh FS was 6.39 ± 4.11 km, while the figure was 5.64 ± 2.82 km for those from the Nam Tien FS. The average distance walked by the patrollers from both forest stations dropped from around 6.2 km in 2019 to 5.8 km in 2021 (Figure 6). Furthermore, the distance walked by those from the Trung Thanh FS was significantly different from the equivalent figure for the Nam Tien FS (U = 166.965, p < 0.05).

4.2. Expectation from Patrolling Efforts Related to Illegal Activities

The management board and rangers found it impossible to anticipate the number of illegal encounters because so many were occurring in the field. The patrolling plans designed from the lessons learned could be based on the ratio of encounters to the patrolling field. Interestingly, the proportion of illegal encounters to the relative altitude patrolled slowly decreased for both forest stations during the 26-month period. The ratio at the start (2019) was over 0.03 illegal encounters, and this had fallen by 2021. The average ratio of illegal encounters to the relative altitude in 2020 was the highest in the Nam Tien FS area (Figure 7). Similarly, the average ratio of illegal encounters to the relative altitude of the patrolling tracks was 0.01 ± 0.75 and 0.03 ± 0.47 for the Trung Thanh FS and Nam Tien FS, respectively. The ratio of illegal encounters did not vary (U = 167.815, p > 0.05) between the Trung Thanh and Nam Tien FSs. Meanwhile, the ratio of illegal encounters to the relative altitude was significantly different between the Trung Thanh and Nam Tien FSs (U = 127.239, p < 0.05).
The average patrolling speeds of the rangers were 0.38 ± 0.35 km/h at the Trung Thanh FS and 0.44 ± 0.32 km/h at the Nam Tien FS during the patrolling period. More importantly, the ratio of illegal encounters to the patrolling speed for both forest stations was around 0.45, and this slightly decreased during the two-year period. However, the ratio of illegal encounters to the patrolling speed for the Nam Tien FS was higher than the equivalent for the Trung Thanh FS. Surprisingly, this ratio was the lowest from June to September of 2020, with almost no illegal encounters in Trung Thanh. There was a significant difference in the proportion of illegal encounters to the patrolling speed between the forest stations (U = 167.815, p > 0.05) (Figure 8).
The rate of illegal encounters during patrolling hours was significantly different, and this was important for the rangers in devising a patrolling plan for each track. The average rate of illegal encounters during patrolling hours was 0.70 ± 0.29 illegal encounters/hour for the Trung Thanh FS and 0.61 ± 0.33 illegal encounters/hour for the Nam Tien FS. Even at the beginning of the two-year period, the rate was around 0.65 illegal encounters/hour for both forest stations. There was an increase of 0.7 illegal encounters/hour for the Trung Thanh FS and 0.68 illegal encounters/hour for the Nam Tien FS (Figure 9). The ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling hours for the Trung Thanh rangers was higher and increased constantly during the research period. There was a significant difference in the ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling hours between the Trung Thanh and Nam Tien FSs (U = 123.245, p < 0.05).
The ratio of illegal encounters to the distance walked was crucial as it enabled the management board to monitor law enforcement efforts. The average ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling distance for each track was 1.14 for the Trung Thanh FS and 1.10 for the Nam Tien FS (Figure 10). The ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling distance for each track declined to around 1.13 illegal encounters/distance walked in 2020 and at the end of 2019, before increasing to become similar as at the beginning of the research period.
Furthermore, the proportion of illegal encounters to the distance walked was significantly different between the forest stations (U = 153.581, p < 0.05). Consequently, the ratios of relative altitude and patrolling speed to illegal encounters for the Nam Tien FS were higher than the equivalent values for the Trung Thanh FS. In contrast, the proportion of patrolling hours and distance walked was higher for the Trung Thanh FS compared to the Nam Tien FS.

5. Discussion

When the local people are interested in forest activities, indubitably, conservation will be easier if the forest management at the local level were to work towards reducing deforestation pressures [36], and conflicts between rangers and the community [26]. Furthermore, managers of tropical forests and the locals might learn how they can participate in such efforts [37]. The huge number of studies on the subject of participation in developing countries has encouraged various authors to synthesize the primary factors underlying its success [38]. In this case study, the number of patrollers was significantly correlated with the distance walked and working days, similar to a research on the Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe [34]. Furthermore, the efforts of the local people in the PAs contributed more than the local rangers in terms of the specific performance, even though they did not hold any power, according to government policy. The various factors concerning participation in forest protection management by the local people and rangers should be investigated and evaluated as a vital strategy for conservation efficiency in the future.
The relative altitude of the locations influenced most of the ranger patrols in the forest areas [29]. Based on the traditional patrolling on foot, the indicator of relative altitude was extremely important for the rangers as it enabled them to start planning for each day. Here, two aspects of patrolling efforts were considered: the rain and the ranger’s health [34]. The patrolling tracks were steady paths, which remained almost stable. It was evident that the relative altitude sharply impacted the patrolling speed in the field, and there was a significant correlation. For this reason, the rangers from the Trung Thanh FS reached a higher relative altitude but at a lower patrolling speed than those from the Nam Tien FS. Interestingly, the opposite results were found for the relative altitude and patrolling speed for both forest stations [29]. However, both indicators were not significantly considered by the Pu Hu management board because the relative altitude for patrolling was stable, while the others depended on illegal encounters or the individual rangers.
Two indicators—patrolling hours and distance walked—were extremely important indicators of law enforcement efforts as they enabled the management board to analyze and consider the law enforcement performance of the rangers in relation to their patrolling efforts. According to the management board regulations, each track covered by the rangers had to be of a minimum distance of two kilometers, which was the count for each ranger’s day. A glance at the rangers’ law enforcement efforts at both forest stations suggested that the rangers from the Trung Thanh FS had higher patrolling hours and walked longer distances than the rangers from the Nam Tien FS during the study period. Consequently, it could be said that the rangers from the Trung Thanh FS were more motivated and vigorous [28] than the rangers from the Nam Tien FS. Thus, the Pu Hu management board could consider both as indicators of ranger activities and who should be encouraged or remarked on in the monthly meetings [14]. Regarding the patrolling hours, the management board could account for the working days per month, even if the rangers’ salaries did not affect the level of motivation in the patrolling situations. This was similar to the findings from nine protected areas in Ghana [39], the Kakum Conservation Area in Ghana [18], Congo [40], and Thailand [41].
The conservation activities of the rangers were an effective form of law enforcement, with a number of illegal encounters being significantly explored during patrolling [42]. There were scattered illegal encounters in the forest areas, so the ratios of illegal encounters to relative altitude and patrolling speed were useful in understanding what happened, and identifying where events occurred in relation to the geographical location [30]. Additionally, this was based on the experience of their law enforcement efforts, which remained almost unchanged [31], with the number of illegal encounters at the Nam Tien FS being higher than in the Trung Thanh FS. Most importantly, the management board considered the ratios of illegal encounters to patrolling hours and distance walked, and identified that there were more capable and enthusiastic rangers in the Trung Thanh FS than in the Nam Tien FS [29]. The ratio of illegal encounters to the distance walked made it especially easy to determine which places in the forest areas [31] were hot spots for illegal encounters. The rate of illegal encounters in the Trung Thanh FS was higher than in the Nam Tien FS, similar to the rangers’ patrolling hours and distance walked [14]. Based on the rangers’ patrolling hours, the time spent on patrolling and the patrolling intervals can be estimated, and with the information on illegal encounters, the management board can analyze the efforts of the rangers, such as during seasons of illegal activities or for short-term patrolling plans.
This research found important ways to comprehend the law enforcement efforts of rangers at the local level in protected areas. There were some indicators of performance efforts; however, this study suggests that in determining the important patrolling efforts of rangers, the patrolling hours and distance walked in the working field in different forest stations should be taken into consideration. There was a significant difference between the Trung Thanh and Nam Tien FS [43]. Surprisingly, earlier findings showed that law enforcement performance was related to the number of illegal encounters, and this was similar to the findings in Ghana [10], Vietnam [31], and the Central Luagwa Valley, and Zambia [44]. Furthermore, the number of illegal encounters in the Trung Thanh FS was higher than in the Nam Tien FS, where the number of law enforcement indicators for high performance, such as the patrolling hours and distance walked, were higher in the Trung Thanh FS compared to the Nam Tien FS.

6. Conclusions

It is important for the management boards of nature reserves to improve the law enforcement efforts of rangers by increasing patrolling [45] in the field, such as by improving their relative patrolling performance and the encountering of illegal activities. The indicators of the rangers’ patrolling hours and patrolling distance can be improved, and there were significant differences in the patrolling speed and relative altitude. However, all the rates of illegal encounters and the patrolling indicators (except for patrolling speed) for both the FSs were significantly different. Consequently, law enforcement through patrolling had a positive meaning for stable conservation in prohibiting illegal activities. Significantly, the management board should consider patrolling efforts when promoting motivated rangers for their work performance in the field in each FS [46].
The quantitative and qualitative methods used in this study showed how law enforcement efforts in relation to patrolling activities can be analyzed among small groups such as forest station rangers. However, this paper was limited in that it did not consider what types of illegal encounters, such as hunting, poaching, or logging, were experienced, since each illegal encounter would reflect a serious situation. Furthermore, the rangers in each forest location would have been required to undertake different law enforcement tasks related to patrolling activities. In addition, it is worth noting that few illegal activities occurred in the areas that were patrolled by the rangers and which demonstrated similar levels of law enforcement performance. More importantly, the management board should pay attention to the insights of individual patrolling rangers, who could become more motivated to perform conservation activities in future researches [47].

Author Contributions

All authors conceived the study and wrote the initial manuscript. D.L.K. and A.X.H. collected and analyzed the data. N.T.H.N. and H.H.T.T. designed the idea of the manuscript. D.L.K. wrote the results and provided critical revisions on the successive drafts. D.L.K. and K.T. provided critical revisions and reorganized the linking and definitions of the variables, analyses, and findings. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Prince of Songkla University, this research alos supported by Prince of Songkla University under grant number ENV 6502112N.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all considerations involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data used for this study is in Pu Hu Nature Reserve and only available to the researchers involved on the case studies.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the scholars in the Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand, for advising on the research. We are grateful to the forest rangers in Nam Tien and Trung Thanh forest stations, the Department of Law Enforcement, and the Department of Science and International Cooperation in Pu Hu Nature Reserve for sharing their ranger-collected and analyzed data and providing information about their experiences and skills.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. GPS device for patrolling ((a): travel recorder; (b): patrolling track sample)).
Figure 1. GPS device for patrolling ((a): travel recorder; (b): patrolling track sample)).
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Figure 2. Location map of case study areas in 2021.
Figure 2. Location map of case study areas in 2021.
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Figure 3. Trend of the average relative altitude achieved by patrolling rangers.
Figure 3. Trend of the average relative altitude achieved by patrolling rangers.
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Figure 4. Patrolling speed of ranger patrollers.
Figure 4. Patrolling speed of ranger patrollers.
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Figure 5. Patrolling hours of ranger patrollers.
Figure 5. Patrolling hours of ranger patrollers.
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Figure 6. Patrolling distance of ranger patrollers.
Figure 6. Patrolling distance of ranger patrollers.
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Figure 7. Ratio of illegal encounters to relative altitude by ranger patrollers.
Figure 7. Ratio of illegal encounters to relative altitude by ranger patrollers.
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Figure 8. Ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling speed of ranger patrollers.
Figure 8. Ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling speed of ranger patrollers.
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Figure 9. Ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling hours.
Figure 9. Ratio of illegal encounters to patrolling hours.
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Figure 10. Ratio of illegal encounters to distance walked.
Figure 10. Ratio of illegal encounters to distance walked.
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Table
Table 1. General information on two forest stations.
Table 1. General information on two forest stations.
Name of StationsNumber of Forest Sub-AreasLocation of Community AreasPermanent RangersTotal Area (ha)Distance from StationRelative Height
(ha)(km)(m)
Nam Tien82344000.4–10165–1150
Trung Thanh61342000.3–0.7150–1200
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Khac, D.L.; Hoa, A.X.; Nguyen, N.T.H.; Thu, H.H.T.; Techato, K. Comparing Law Enforcement Performance of Forest Stations at Pu Hu Nature Reserve, Vietnam. Sustainability 2022, 14, 13867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113867

AMA Style

Khac DL, Hoa AX, Nguyen NTH, Thu HHT, Techato K. Comparing Law Enforcement Performance of Forest Stations at Pu Hu Nature Reserve, Vietnam. Sustainability. 2022; 14(21):13867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113867

Chicago/Turabian Style

Khac, Dong Le, Ao Xuan Hoa, Nha Thi Huynh Nguyen, Hue Ha Thi Thu, and Kuaanan Techato. 2022. "Comparing Law Enforcement Performance of Forest Stations at Pu Hu Nature Reserve, Vietnam" Sustainability 14, no. 21: 13867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113867

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