Xuan Thuy National Park: benefit sharing agreement
Update: 10/10/2012
Established in 1989, Xuan Thuy National Park was the first Ramsar site in Southeast Asia (and the fiftieth worldwide). It contains some of the last remnants of the coastal ecosystems of the Red River Delta and is internationally significant as a migratory bird habitat, notably for the globally threatened Black-faced Spoonbill.
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The park is also of high economic importance: thousands of shrimp farmers, clam seed producers, and clam collectors depend on its mangroves and mud flats. Since its designation as a Ramsar site, the demand for natural resources has led to the almost complete conversion of the park to shrimp production. While the area under mangroves has recovered as a result of mangrove replanting on new mud flats, the park’s core zone remains a de facto open access area. The park’s management board can neither officially accept the presence of people in the core zone, nor can it strictly follow national laws that forbid human use of the core zone. In an effort to defuse competition and conflict over these resources, the management board has piloted a benefit sharing agreement for households involved in highly profitable clam seed production. The other signatories are the local government and management board. According to the park’s analysis, the agreement has generated significant revenue to support local welfare services but has failed to address over-harvesting of clam seed.