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Water Buffalo Skidders in the North of Vietnam

Post script  - sorry pictures are gone  !

With the support of Members and Donors, TFT continues to work closely with Forestry Companies and Factories in Vietnam towards improving sustainable forest management and exclusion of unwanted material from production facilities.

In undertaking this exciting and challenging work the TFT Team encounters and supports a wide range of approaches to deliver improvements in forest management. Many of these rely on tried and tested measures that have stood the test of time.

This short story provides an insight to TFT's supported forest program in Lao Cai province and how Water Buffalo have become an important vehicle for reduced impact harvesting.

In this region TFT, through its local team, support Bao Yen Forestry Company (BYFC) towards FSC Certification of their Acacia plantation estate. Most of this area is steep and there are few entry roads except for the small paths not suitable for most vehicles. While motor transportation is used to take forestry products to the market, water buffalo are still very commonly used during silviculture, logging and transporting activities in the forest. As a low impact log extraction method, "Buffalo Skidders" contribute to the overall positive forest management practices and also provide a valuable alternative income generation tool for local communities.

At harvest time, local communities and their water buffalo are hired to cart logs out of the forest. The Buffalo pull wagons laden with logs to a central site or log yard where logs are loaded onto small trucks for transportation to local sawmills. In some cases, where the terrain is too steep the wagons are ditched and the Buffalo's, with their master in tow, pull logs directly to the log yard.

Buffalo at the ready to pull wagon loaded with Acacia logs

 
When the terrain is too steep the Buffalo are also used to pull individual logs. Both grey and pink buffalo are present in Vietnam.

In addition to engaging local communities and their ‘Buffalo Skidders" BYFC, with the support of TFT, has introduced new approached that incorporate local communities. At the time of replanting, Buffalo's and their wagons are again hired to transport seedlings to the planting site. With seedlings planted the local communities are permitted and encouraged to grow short term annual crops. These crops, including upland rice, cassava and maize provide a valuable cover crop post harvesting to minimise soil erosion whilst also providing the local people with an important food source and income.

 
Recently planted Acacia seedling surrounded by upland rice.

The BYFC continue to use water buffalo in their forestry operations as low impact and cost effective measure that creates alternative income generation for local people whilst ensuring communities are engaged in the forest management cycle.

Thanks to the TFT Vietnam team for this story.

 

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