Khe Tre
I’m in Khe Tre – one of the four towns which surround the block of remaining Saola habitat where I’m working. This is my last trip before coming back to the UK to start a PhD in June but it’s my first trip to this district. We basically don’t have time to go to the forest, deeply tempting though it is, and are getting basic interview data which is certainly clearing up some things. An area I’d largely written off might actually be one of the best areas after all – on the other hand the area which the FPD considered best in 1997 is now apparently empty of Saola – unless of course people just aren’t talking…
It’s always tricky but here’s a particular problem: The villages in one commune were formerly located in the headwaters of the Perfume River. In 1974 or so, they were moved and resettled in a new area, near to the town and the road, and encouraged to settle permanently. This is the same of almost every village but the distance they were moved was larger than most and the new commune they were moved to is smaller than most, consisting mostly of field and village with little forest. The villagers have continued to hunt in their old area, therefore, passing through other areas on the way. However animal carcasses are heavy and tend to rot, and the road is long. Now I suspect that this means it is only worth their while taking back the most valuable items to sell to the illegal wildlife traders that began operating in the area about 12 years ago and now do a lively trade. A saola, for instance, would have its head and legs cut off, the head to be sold as a wall ornament, the legs to be eaten by the hunter in the forest, the rest to be left as carrion. The commune’s position on a road junction may also be a factor. In any case, the picture I’m getting is that this commune is a hub of wildlife trade supply – although by no means an exclusive one.
The area of the old village is supposed to be included in a new nature reserve, for which the Saola is the flagship species. A large percentage of the hope for the species lies in this reserve.
Now I’ve always been quick to say that, while some people are forced by their situation into unsustainable activities and others find their traditional practices inexplicably banned, some people are criminals and should be prosecuted. The man in a remote village who hunts as he has always hunted to feed his family and friends is in the former category, the woman who turns a healthy profit on wild meat to supplement her husband’s government salary is in the latter. But these people are somewhere in between.
It’s not a question of putting people in boxes, it’s a question of what can acceptably be done. Not that it’s my decision, thank God. But one day I might have to make decisions like this.
