Cuc Phuong, Vietnam’s first national park, is situated in the Tam Diep Mountain Range, which spans over the territory of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Thanh Hoa provinces. (Photo: VNA) Covering 22,000 hectares stretching acrossNinh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces, Cuc Phuong is the first nationalpark of Vietnam. For nearly 60 years since its establishment, Cuc Phuong’spreservation work has made great achievements and the national park itself isinternationally recognised as the largest wildlife protection area in SoutheastAsia.
With its limestone Karts topography, Cuc Phuong’s primary foresthas value because of its archeology, paleontology and geology. Manyarchaeological sites have been discovered here, providing valuable insight intohuman history. The most notable of these are Con Moong cave and Ancient Mancave. In addition, many dry caves have been discovered and are now used fortourism hotspots. An initial survey also shows that Cuc Phuong mountains andforests still have many caves waiting to be explored by scientists andexplorers.
The Cuc Phuong National Park is a tropicalforest characterized by the ecological transitional between limestone mountainsand common mountains. The forest area is mainly composed of layers of anevergreen tropical forest in the lowlands (under 500m) and low mountains (under500m) that came from rocks and limestone. These types of flora and faunaexhibit the characteristics of karst topography and biodiversity.
It has long served as a research center for many conservationorganizations, both national and international. According to surveys, CucPhuong has 2,234 floral species of 931 genera and 231 families. Included inthese are 430 species of medicinal plants and 229 species of edible plants. 57species are listed in the Vietnam Red Book of endangered species and also inthe IUCN Red Book.
The fauna in Cuc Phuong is also very rich and diverse. Regarding vertebrates,there are 669 species from 120 families and 35 orders. These include 138species of mammals, 337 species of birds, 80 species of reptiles, 48 species ofamphibians, and 66 species of fish.
Cuc Phuong rivers and streams are home for some nowhere-seen-before speciesnamely Niet Cuc Phuong fish (Pterocrypis cucphuongensis) and Cuc Phuong earlizards (Tropidophorus cucphuongensis). Invertebrates in Cuc Phuong have 1,899species from 169 families, 33 orders, 6 classes and 3 phyla. The insect classaccounts for a large proportion such as 454 species of beetles, 378 species oflepidoptera and 314 species of membranous wings.
According to the national park’s director Nguyen Van Chinh, most of thecommunity living around Cuc Phuong forest are Muong, an ethnic group withlong-standing culture contributing greatly to the cultural identity of Vietnam.They have a strong connection to the forest spiritually and that connectiondrives them to protect the forest along with the management board of theNational Park. Anyone who comes to Cuc Phuong can feel the pristine beauty ofthe primary forest.
Many domestic and international tourists going to Vietnam's first national parkare astonished by Cuc Phuong’s vastness and mysterious atmosphere they call a“labyrinth of wonder”. As explained by Nguyen Van Chinh, “A million-year-oldprimary forest like Cuc Phuong certainly carries hidden and interesting thingsthat await exploration. The limestone is barren, but growing on them is anecosystem with thousands of different species of animals and plants. Obviously,it's a mystery and a wonder!”
Also, according to Chinh, who is determined to protect the diverse and richecosystem of Cuc Phuong, the national park management board has workedsynchronously on three pillars. These are, combining forest protection withbiodiversity conservation, fostering scientific research and internationalcooperation on conservation and promoting ecotourism in line with environmentaleducation.
Floral conservation has been carried out in the Cuc Phuong National Park since1985, with the establishment of a botanical garden of 167 hectares. Thefacility so far has gathered 811 species. Cuc Phuong Botanical Garden isconsidered the first methodically built botanical garden in Vietnam.
Currently, the Cuc Phuong National Park hasthree conservation programmes. These include endangered and rare primaterescue, carnivore and pangolin conservation and conservation of freshwaterturtles and some other wildlife (deer, pheasants and monkeys). Currently thenational park is protecting 64 species with 2,700 individuals.
Cuc Phuong has various wildlife rescue centersand programs. These rescue centers and programs are mostly located around thegarden gate so visitors can easily visit them and learn more about Cuc Phuong’sconservation work. Such promotion is currently strongly pushed, especially incooperation with local schools to improve environmental education for students.
Meanwhile, ecotourism is considered the main development direction of CucPhuong National Park. It is also the development strategy that Ninh Binhprovince has chosen for Cuc Phuong towards 2030.
Community-based tourism - the model that hasdeveloped strongly in Vietnam in recent years - has been in operation in CucPhuong since 2009, 2010. This is especially true in Muong villages located inthe buffer zone such as Trac village (Lac Thinh, Yen Thuy, Hoa Binh communes)and Khanh village (An Nghia commune, Lac Son, Hoa Binh). Tourists will have achance to discover the unique culture of the Muong, participate in culturalexchanges and learn about indigenous customs.
As Vietnam is focusing on recovering tourism damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, theCuc Phuong National Park has designed, introduced and operated various newecotourism products to attract more visitors./.
VNA
