Pristine wetlands full of diverse life

Crossing a narrow, bamboo foot-bridge, we reached the tallest structure in the Tra Su forest preserve, a 25-metre watchtower. Below us was a breathtaking panorama: vast fields of cajeput trees submerged in water, with the silhouette of Cam Mountain in the background, dotted with dozens of birds.

It was an auspicious time to come to Tra Su, as the high water season of September, October and November had arrived and the trees were submerged in water. Plant life was lush and colourful.

The forest, located in An Giang Province, an inland area near the Cambodian border, is fast becoming an international destination for tourists, scientists and researchers who marvel at its beautiful landscape, mysterious atmosphere and diverse wildlife.

For the majority of tour organisers, Tra Su, unlike areas in neighbouring Dong Thap and Ca Mau provinces, is thankfully still off the tourism radar. That has kept it pristine and an ideal sanctuary for a vast array of wildlife.

At a time when industrial growth is outpacing environmental preservation, it takes a certain degree of prescience from local authorities to recognise that saving a rich natural resource can go hand-in hand with enhancing the livelihood of the poor.

Last year, the An Giang Province’s People’s Committee committed itself to a four-year, USD 1.87 million-valued project that will preserve the Tra Su Forest, which contains the richest biodiversity of any wetlands area in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

The aim is not only to protect ecological diversity but create jobs for the area’s poor, 60 per cent of whom are ethnic group of Khmer.

Thirty kilometres away from Chau Doc town, the lush, flat area includes an 845-ha cajeput forest, designated by the province’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department as a special-purpose eco-tourism preserve. The forest is surrounded by a 645 ha buffer zone that contains waterways which protect the preserve from human incursion.

The preserve contains a 3,000 sq.m.-fishing area, a 2.500 sq.m.-bat swamp and a 3,200 sq.m.-bird sanctuary, all of which cater to the demands of different types of guests, according to Dinh Thi My Lan, tourism director for the Tra Su forest preserve.

Drifting by boat

Visiting the key sites on foot would take all day, but during the high water season, we were able to travel by motorboat. We took a leisurely five-hour round-trip journey to all the significant sites while enjoying the fragrant flowers of the cajeput tree and the magical sounds of birds and other animals.

Many residents are farmers, who were busily attending to their paddies and fruit orchards, but happy to stop for a chat with guests.

The colour of the waterways changed from one place to another, sometimes turquoise and at other times silver, purple or amber, due to the numerous species of water creatures.

During the high water season, the forest’s canals and streams are dense with clusters of water ferns, a particularly vivid sight when the setting sun imparts a golden glow on the emerald-green duckweed that blankets the water’s surface.

Lotus flowers and water lilies, cultivated by local farmers to supplement their incomes during the rainy season, cover much of the water.

"The forest is a habitat for 140 plant species, including 79 species of medicinal herbs, hundreds of different animals and more than 70 species of water birds," Lan says. Some are rare and on the verge on extinction, including the co An Do (Indian stork or Mycteria leucocephala) and the co ran (Dieng Dieng or Anhinga Melanogaster).

Especially the compelling to watch in the early morning is the doi qua (flying fox), which lives mainly in the west of Tra Su where there are many mature cajeput trees.

Large, with a similar appearance to crows, and wings that can extend one metre, bats hang from cajeput trees’ high branches, sleeping during the day and hunting prey as night falls. A sudden noise can cause the bats, which have keen hearing, to dash off in one direction, leaving a stream of black covering the sky.

Huynh Duc Thanh, our guide for the boat trip, pointed out that east of the Tra Su forest was a bushy area sheltering many species of birds, including storks, cranes, grey herons, whistling ducks and spot-billed ducks.

In this quiet area with many narrow canals, we drifted by lovely landscapes and saw wild flowers, animals resting peacefully and bird nests holding small, rosy eggs or frail newborns. At times, we could see mothers feeding their chicks.

Looking up at the tree branches, we were surprised to see dozens of white storks dancing and then flying off in a massive, chirping horde to return home as the sun set.

In addition to natural beauty, small houses irregularly placed and perched high on stilts above the flood plain with bamboo and cajeput wood roofs created a serene but lively scene.

Although we chose not to fish along the green secluded canals, watching the needle-shaped plants swaying back and forth was hypnotic. Our guide, Thanh, told us that under the two-metre deep water surface were 70 plant species, 23 fish species, 22 reptile species and five different kinds of amphibians.

As we made the return trip, we stopped and picked wild berries and fruit along the way, and then had dinner at one of the local restaurants.

"The ca loc nuong trui (grilled snakehead fish and vegetables) and lau mam (hot pot with marinated fish, chili and vegetables) are two dishes not to be missed," Thanh says. The ga rung nuong muoi ot (jungle fowl grilled with salt and chili) is also distinctive, quite unlike other regional specialties.

Locals and tourists alike are also fond of nom hoa sung and nom hoa dien dien (salads of water lily and sesban flowers) and ca ro kho to (caramelised anabas fish with fish sauce and chili in an earthen pot).

Thanh suggested that we take time to visit the Khmer weavers who make lovely silk and brocade products. For a quiet break, he urged us to visit the Xu Lady Pagoda, Thoai Ngoc Hau Temple and the Oc Eo Thoai Son historical site. The Tinh Bien border market and palmyra sugar and bee-keeping operations are also nearby.

When local authorities complete the eco-tourism project in 2010, more jobs in the services sector are expected, Lan says. The area will then boast new dykes, guesthouses, roads and an improved power and clean water system.

"Authorities are calling for investment from local and foreign companies so we can begin construction on the facilities for the eco-tourism site, which will include different areas for research, tourism and preservation," Lan says.

Endowed with a diverse ecosystem, the Tra Su Forest is expected not only to improve the lives of some of the area’s poorest residents but also to grow in ecological significance as time passes, given its attractiveness to nature lovers and those who want to escape to the countryside for a while.