A Lonchura punctulata bird in Bai Tu Long National Park (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Bai Tu Long NationalPark in the northern province of Quang Ninh has proven to hold significantbiodiversity values, with great efforts having been made to conserve them.
Pham Xuan Phuong, head of the marine and wetlandconservation division at the Vietnam Environment Administration, said that BaiTu Long National Park owns prominent natural values in the northeast ofVietnam, including high biodiversity, pristine landscapes, and a clean environment.It was recognised as an ASEAN Heritage Park on September 30, 2016.
The park, founded in 2001, covers more than15,780ha in the Minh Chau, Ha Long, and Van Yen communes of Van Don district,including 6,125ha of over 80 islands and islets and almost 9,660ha of seasurface. It is one of the seven national parks in Vietnam with both forest andmarine ecosystems.
As of December 2017, 2,235 creature species werefound in this park, including 992 terrestrial species and 1,243 marine ones. Upto 108 of them were named in the Red List of Threatened Species of theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Vietnam Red DataBook.
The park is home to a diversity of ecosystemssuch as the tropical broadleaf evergreen forest on earth and limestone mountains,freshwater springs, coral reef, mangrove forest, seaweed, and littoral zone.
Its outstanding biodiversity values arereflected through three aspects, including representation, as seen in the aforementionedrepresentative ecosystems. Bai Tu Long also boasts ecological integrity – aunique case among national parks in Vietnam and the world since its ecosystemsremain almost untouched, while ecosystems around the globe have been facingsevere fragmentation.
A lake in the dry season on Mang Ha Island of Bai Tu Long National Park (Photo: VNA) Another outstanding aspect is the uniqueness,which can be seen most clearly in Tra Ngo Lon Island. This island has a specialgeological structure as its northern area, comprised of more than 400ha, forms withearth mountains and the southern area, over 1,100ha, limestone mountains. Thesetwo earth and limestone mountain ecosystems are joined by “tung” (expandingvalleys inundated by the sea) and “ang” (sunk cluster depressions) which alsoharbour a mangrove forest ecosystem that was assessed as the most unique inSoutheast Asia by experts of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
With such biodiverse treasures, the managementand protection of natural resources and the environment have been named theleading tasks in Bai Tu Long National Park.
Biodiversity surveys of marine ecosystems havebeen conducted annually to monitor their development, while the seawaterenvironment has also been analysed to serve the management work.
The park has carried out several scientificstudies and gained initial economic benefits such as those on the farming of“hai sam trang” (Holothuria scabra, a species of sea cucumber), “sa sung”(Sipunculus nudus Linnaeus, 1766, a type of marine worm), and “ngao o vuong”(Periglypta puerperal Linnaeus, 1771, a species of clam).
A worker feeds monkeys at the animal rescue centre on Ba Mun Island of Bai Tu Long National Park (Photo: VNA) Various communication activities have beenimplemented to raise public awareness of wildlife conservation, including thepublication of books, newspapers, and leaflets; organising contests andmeetings; opening a community-based education centre and a biodiversity museum;and encouraging aquaculture farmers and fishermen to commit to environmentalprotection regulations and methods.
Meanwhile, a plan on sharing interest in thesustainable management, exploitation, and development of natural molluscresources in the wetland areas of Bai Tu Long National Park has been carriedout for nearly five years, helping to ensure the maintenance of both theenvironmental conservation and stable livelihoods for locals. The density and reservesof the marine species in this project has increased four- or five-fold. Localresidents’ income has become more stable, about 6–7 million VND (250–300 USD)per capita per month.
The park’s management board is expanding theplan to all littoral zones and more marine species of Bai Tu Long. –VNA
VNA
