Dong Thap works hard on conserving red-crowned cranes

The Tram Chim National Park is famous as a natural habitat for the large East Asian red-crowned cranes. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 

Dong Thap (VNA) – The People’s Committee of theMekong Delta province of Dong Thap has approved a project to conserve red-crownedcranes in the Tram Chim National Park in the 2022 – 2032 period with an estimated total budget of over184 billion VND (nearly 7.6 million USD).

The project will focus on receiving,caring, studying, and reintroducing the birds; improving and restoring their ecosystemsand habitats; developing sustainable ecological agricultural production models;and investing in infrastructure and facilities.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee NguyenPhuoc Thien, the project will play a crucial role in preserving the population of the birds in the Mekong Delta region which is facing the risk ofextinction, thus demonstrating Vietnam's commitment and responsibility whenparticipating in international institutions.

It aims to revive the flocks at the park through a process ofbreeding and natural reintroduction and restore the wetland habitat for manyother species, contributingto preserving biodiversity and the cultural and spiritual life of the local community,Thien said.

The park is famous as a natural habitat for the largeEast Asian red-crowned cranes, among the rarest in the world and classified as"endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

However, their numbers have fallen sharply. Notably, none perched atthe park last year and in 2020.

Scientists said the fall reveals that the bird isteetering on the brink of extinction in the Mekong Delta and Vietnam ingeneral.

They blamed habitat deterioration andenvironmental pollution induced by agricultural production for the problem, stressingthat their absence also demonstrates wetland habitat degradation andbiodiversity loss.

The project will be a joint effort by theprovincial People’s Committee, the Vietnam Zoos Association (VZA), the InternationalCrane Foundation (ICF), and the Zoological Park Organization (ZPO) ofThailand, which has been successful in the work.

Accordingly, the provincial People’sCommittee will manage and finance the programme, the ICF and the VZA will provideconsultation services and offer training courses to crane keepers, and the ZPO willprovide the park with red-crowned chicks each year, apart from trainingemployees at the park to take care of cranes and recover their habitat of thebird./.

VNA