The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched a four-year long project torestore the Lang Sen Wetlands Reserve in the southern province of LongAn.
The project, titled "Avoidance of maladaptation throughclimate smart agriculture and restoration of in Vietnam", aims toreplicate the success of restoring the Tram Chim National Park, aninternationally recognised Ramsar site.
The Ramsar Convention isan international treaty signed in 1971 that recognises wetlands withglobal importance, especially habitats for waterfowl.
The TramChim National Park, located in the southern province of Dong Thap, andthe wetland reserve make up the last remnants of the once-vast naturalwetlands known as the Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) region.
"TheLang Sen project shows the importance of wetland restoration andsupport for local livelihoods, and how they can benefit from eachother," said Annette Frick, deputy head of Development Cooperation atthe German Embassy in Hanoi.
Over the years, the wetlands in theLang Sen Reserve have been converted to rice fields and have beensubjected to poor water management.
Artificially high levels ofwater are maintained in the core zone of the reserve to prevent forestfires, but this has led to change in habitats resulting in significantpopulation declines of certain key species, including the Sarus crane.
The crane has not been able to adapt to changes in its natural habitat and loss of feeding areas.
However,about 1,500ha of the reserve is covered by wetlands and grasslandswhich are important breeding and wintering grounds for a number ofwetland and migrating bird species. It is also an important spawningground for many commercial fish species.
"Together with severeclimate-change impact, a dense system of dikes and canals erected by theGovernment since 2004 in order to prevent forest fires has led to amassive disturbance of the natural hydrological regime," said NerissaChao, Mekong Delta landscape manager of WWF-Vietnam.
"In theabsence of appropriate management for the sustainable use of naturalresources, local communities have been excluded from receiving anybenefits from the reserve, resulting in illegal activity. In addition,the impact of climate change is affecting livelihoods and increasingvulnerability of local communities," she added.
WWF aims torestore this wetland area to its natural condition by supporting theimplementation of a new hydrological regime mimicking the historicalwater flows.
At the same time, the project will train the LangSen Reserve staff in wetland management and monitoring of water, faunaand vegetation.
The project will also address the impact ofclimate change to the surrounding communities by using Climate SmartAgriculture models and exploring opportunities for sustainable use ofwetland resources.
"The dike system is a consequence of theGovernment's uniform policy on Forest Protection and Development. Whatwe want to advocate to local authorities is to adopt a wetlandmanagement model based on the needs of the natural ecosystem," Chaosaid. "We have demonstrated this approach successfully in Tram ChimNational Park and would like to expand this to Lang Sen WetlandReserve."
The project will improve biodiversity conservation inthe reserve through strengthening reserve management, supporting lawenforcement and patrolling and monitoring, while improving locallivelihood opportunities and reducing conflict between the reserve andsurrounding communities.
The project is sponsored by the GermanFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF) – Germany. It is implemented by WWF-Vietnamin partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Developmentin the southern province of Long An and the Lang Sen Wetland Reserve.-VNA
The project, titled "Avoidance of maladaptation throughclimate smart agriculture and restoration of in Vietnam", aims toreplicate the success of restoring the Tram Chim National Park, aninternationally recognised Ramsar site.
The Ramsar Convention isan international treaty signed in 1971 that recognises wetlands withglobal importance, especially habitats for waterfowl.
The TramChim National Park, located in the southern province of Dong Thap, andthe wetland reserve make up the last remnants of the once-vast naturalwetlands known as the Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) region.
"TheLang Sen project shows the importance of wetland restoration andsupport for local livelihoods, and how they can benefit from eachother," said Annette Frick, deputy head of Development Cooperation atthe German Embassy in Hanoi.
Over the years, the wetlands in theLang Sen Reserve have been converted to rice fields and have beensubjected to poor water management.
Artificially high levels ofwater are maintained in the core zone of the reserve to prevent forestfires, but this has led to change in habitats resulting in significantpopulation declines of certain key species, including the Sarus crane.
The crane has not been able to adapt to changes in its natural habitat and loss of feeding areas.
However,about 1,500ha of the reserve is covered by wetlands and grasslandswhich are important breeding and wintering grounds for a number ofwetland and migrating bird species. It is also an important spawningground for many commercial fish species.
"Together with severeclimate-change impact, a dense system of dikes and canals erected by theGovernment since 2004 in order to prevent forest fires has led to amassive disturbance of the natural hydrological regime," said NerissaChao, Mekong Delta landscape manager of WWF-Vietnam.
"In theabsence of appropriate management for the sustainable use of naturalresources, local communities have been excluded from receiving anybenefits from the reserve, resulting in illegal activity. In addition,the impact of climate change is affecting livelihoods and increasingvulnerability of local communities," she added.
WWF aims torestore this wetland area to its natural condition by supporting theimplementation of a new hydrological regime mimicking the historicalwater flows.
At the same time, the project will train the LangSen Reserve staff in wetland management and monitoring of water, faunaand vegetation.
The project will also address the impact ofclimate change to the surrounding communities by using Climate SmartAgriculture models and exploring opportunities for sustainable use ofwetland resources.
"The dike system is a consequence of theGovernment's uniform policy on Forest Protection and Development. Whatwe want to advocate to local authorities is to adopt a wetlandmanagement model based on the needs of the natural ecosystem," Chaosaid. "We have demonstrated this approach successfully in Tram ChimNational Park and would like to expand this to Lang Sen WetlandReserve."
The project will improve biodiversity conservation inthe reserve through strengthening reserve management, supporting lawenforcement and patrolling and monitoring, while improving locallivelihood opportunities and reducing conflict between the reserve andsurrounding communities.
The project is sponsored by the GermanFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF) – Germany. It is implemented by WWF-Vietnamin partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Developmentin the southern province of Long An and the Lang Sen Wetland Reserve.-VNA
