3. Vietnam & Laos Project

Forest Resource Management and Optimal Corridor Development for Forest Ecosystem Conservation

Vietnam and Laos are well recognized as the hotspots of biodiversity in Asia and there have been a growing concern and a call for the preservation of habitats for high-profile species such as tiger. At the same time, local communities are heavily dependent on forest resources for their subsistence and income. We develop an optimization system for allocating forest management activities and conservation efforts over space and time, and explore forest resource management strategies to meet both tangible and intangible management goals. Our optimization model identifies optimal corridor connectivity and spatial harvest patterns, for the sustainable use of multiple forest ecosystem functions.