U Minh Thuong National Park in the southern province of Kien Giang is focusing on scientific research to promote its conservation.
U Minh Thuong national park (Source: WWF-Vietnam) A new water management solution launched in 2010 has helped the park recover its mangrove forest system and biological diversity, which were damaged by a forest fire in 2002, according to Director of the park Pham Quoc Dan. The park plans to zone off 550 hectares for forest regeneration and cultivate 350 more hectares of forests, and 4,000 indigenous trees on degrading peat land, as well as root out invasive exotic plants. It will also build a water irrigation system to maintain humidity for forests during the 2016 – 2017 dry season. The management board will continue making a list of rare flora and fauna species in danger of extinction, and concentrate on forest fire prevention. The board is also completing a blueprint to protect the environment and preserve biodiversity through 2017, which will serve as a scientific foundation to conserve valuable genes, recover forests, balance the ecosystem, and increase forest coverage. U Minh Thuong National Park was recognised as Vietnam’s 8th Ramsar site in February 2016. The park is the 2,228th Ramsar site in the world. Ramsar, or the Convention of Wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for conservation and use of wetlands. Covering 21,107 hectares, the park is home to one of the most important submerged land areas in the Mekong Delta.
