Characteristics of Dao ethnic households exploiting medicinal plants in Hoang Su Phi district, Ha Giang province

Abstract

The article addresses some characteristics of Dao ethnic households exploiting medicinal plants from forests in Ho Thau commune, Hoang Su Phi district, Ha Giang province. The survey was conducted in 2017 on 30 households with exploitation activities from 1 to 6 species of medicinal plants. The qualitative analysis combined with statistical analysis, cluster dendrograms, multi-dimensional scaling, scatter chart, and the link-tree diagram is used in the study. Results have shown that the difference in exploitation characteristics of medicinal plants by households is more significant than the difference in livelihood characteristics between households. There is a clear relationship between the number of workers and the number of people in the household; the total land area of the household and the number of people; the yield of medicinal plants exploited and the area of planted forests of the household, the number of households planting medicinal plants and the number of households which preliminarily process and preserve medicinal plants; the number of households exploiting in natural forests and the planned planting area; average household income with the exploitation area in natural forest. With the similarity of 80%, households can be divided into seven groups (using 3 or 11 criteria) and two groups (using eight criteria). Three main factors influence the difference between groups of households: the yield of exploitation, planted forest area, and the amount of money got from the exploitation of medicinal plants. Based on results, the article is considered a significant reference for organizing households by groups based on similarities in their characteristics in the exploitation of medicinal plants.