Xuan Thuy National Park
Encyclopedia
Xuan Thuy National Park is a national park
in Hong River Biosphere Reserve in the province of Nam Dinh
, Vietnam
.
The national park was established according to the Decision number 01/2003/QĐ-TTg dated 2 Jan 2003 signed by premier Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, this decision turned Xuan Thuy Wetland Nature Reserve into Xuan Thuy National Park. The park was the first wetland area to be announced a Ramsar site in south-east Asia and is internationally significant as a migratory bird habitat.
as part of the core zone of the Red River Biosphere Reserve. The numerous titles given by both national and international agencies and the strong support from the government and international organizations (governmental and non-governmental) reflect the importance of the area.
. It is the largest coastal wetland ecosystem in the north of Vietnam and placed in the south of the Red River mouth
. The Core Zone has a total area of 7.100 hectares, 4000 hectares of low tide wetlands and 3.100 hectares of land. It covers the islet
s of Con Ngan, Con Lu and Con Xanh. Aquaculture farms
and some parts of mangrove forest cover the largest islet, Con Ngan. Con Lu islet is covered by sandy areas as such as alluvial
flats and aquaculture farms. Con Lu, which is the smallest of the three islets is being widen by alluvium
from the Red River and covered by sandy layer.
The Buffer Zone has a total area of 8.000 hectares. The Park is a delta
and estuary islands (Ba Lat river-mouth) support coastal mangroves and the mud flat ecosystem in the Red River delta. The area includes land enclosed by sea dikes
with fringing marsh
es.
‘The land is also noted for the human ecological model of VAC (model of planting vegetable gardens, rasing fish in ponds and animal husbandry all in one home) and silvofishery models. The area has a long history of wet rice cultivation as well as dike construction and land reclamation’
, which has two distinct seasons. One hot and rainy season from April to October and a cold and dry season
from November to March. The annual average temperature
is 24 °C. The highest temperature in summer is 40.3 °C and the coldest temperature in winter is 6.8 °C. The average humidity
is 84 %. The annual rainfall is between 1700 mm and 1800 mm. Averagely there are 133 rainy days per year. Rain mainly falls in summer or winter. With 15-18 rainy days August is the month with the most rainfall in contrast to autumn and winter with the lowest rainfall (25–50 mm per month). From July to October the Red River is flooded, which influences the region as well as the northeast monsoon
. In winter the wind mainly comes from the north and in summer from the east. July and August seem to be the stormiest months in the year where storms are followed by heavy rain. Three strong storms hit the north of Vietnam in 2005 (28 July one wind with level 7, 18 September with level 9 and on 28 September with level 12). There are two types of soil
formed from the alluvium
of the Red River. One is alluvial mud
(which becomes loam
) and one is sand
. Transported by water the alluvial forms the coastal soil like light soil (sand
and light loam
and pure sand), medium soil and heavy soil (loam
and clay
).
in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta.
The National Park is a living space for 250 species of birds (150 migratory
and 50 water bird species
) from 41 families and 13 orders. 9 species are designated as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
for example the Spoon-billed Sandpiper
and Nordmann’s Greenshank.
65- 75 Black-faced Spoonbill
– who were chosen to be the symbol of Xuan Thuy National Park - are seen in the migratory season. The total number of Black-faced Spoonbill
in the world are about 1000, it shows that 5 % of the whole population of the species are living in Xuan Thuy National Park during the winter season.
The park also provides a habitat
for other rare animal species. These includes species of otter
, porpoise
and whale
.
Furthermore it has 30 species of reptiles and an uncounted number of different insects.
The mangrove forest helps stabilizing the alluvial soil
as well as functioning as flood protection and playing an important role in different biochemical cycles.
111 aquatic plant
species have been recorded. Certain species of seaweed
in particular are of high economic value.
Over 500 species of benthos
and zooplankton
(shrimp
, fish
, crab
, oysters etc.) have also been identified.
(about 19 extensive farming ponds near the Red River) and extensive clam
rearing areas (a part of the sandy plain near the end of Con Ngan).
Tents and huts pitched to look after such ponds were built without planning.
The land in the Buffer Zone can be divided into several categories including residential land, agricultural farming land, aquaculture land, mangroves and flats and a few mangrove areas along the river canals.
Most of the areas in Bai Trong and Con Ngan, Xuan Thuy’s Buffer Zone, have been divided into ponds to raise shrimps and crabs. This activity grew exponentially in the 90’s. The culturing season is May to January (April to December lunar calendar
). During the off season some local people culture yellow thread seaweed
for commercial purposes.
Hunting of birds and other animals is prohibited and has decreased. Nevertheless such illegal activities are still present. It is also forbidden for the farmers to graze their buffaloes
in the Core Zone.
To prevent the over-exploitation of the given natural resources, there are projects like the Mushroom Club which aim to create alternative livelihoods. Also, the National Park has the task to raise awareness in the communities of the Buffer Zone to care about the environment and to protect it on a long-term basis. To achieve this goal, the National Park started some educational activities which include annual lessons in nine local secondary schools. In the future there will also be a project concerning the solid waste management in the Buffer Zone; at the moment, waste is not separated and simply thrown away.
, Xuan Thuy National Park has been subject to many both Vietnamese and international scientific researches. According to the National Park, there have been written more than 10 PhD theses
, tens of master and hundreds of research papers by students from over 30 Vietnamese universities. Non-governmental organizations also conducted research before implementing new projects which usually are related to the conservation of environment
or to sustainable development
.
Especially in the Core Zone there are many projects regarding conservation as there is no human activity allowed in this area. The aim is to protect the mangroves, migratory birds, other aquatic and terrestrial species and the wetland
ecosystem in its entirety. In the Buffer Zone the focus of scientific research lies on the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative livelihoods and the promotion of environmental protection. Also there is still the need to find mechanisms which end fights between local interests and the park policies. Projects concerning the co-management of clamp culture are a first step to solving those problems. In the whole area there are also projects which focus on building capacity both for the staff of the National Park and for the local community to reduce the current pressure on the natural resources of the park.
One problem of any scientific research concerning the park is the missing long-term basis. Most of the projects are conducted by outsiders who sometimes fail to meet the given needs. Furthermore there is no database in the National Park which collects all research that is ever made so that a lot of basic information needs to be collected repeatedly.
varies between 1,023 and 1,331 people per square kilometer, due to more than one percent population growth
every year it is still rising.
The local inhabitants earn most of their income by agricultural activities, mainly by cultivating rice
. 39.3% of the average income is gained this way, the productivity being 632 kg rice per capita per annum. Because of unfavourable changes in nature, agricultural land is shrinking year by year, creating a lack of land for agricultural production extension. While this economic field has therefore reached its capacities, the second most important one still is seen to have a high potential: In 2007, fisheries came up for 36.1% of a family’s income, there were 1,800 hectare of aquaculture
ponds in the Buffer Zone. With the annual growth rate of the marine business being 14.9%, this sector is in fast expansion and is seen to have a higher economic turnover than traditional agriculture
. On the other side, clam-rearing for example can have a high financial return, but also needs big investments and puts a high pressure on the environment. As the water quality is endangered, it can be seen that some aquacultural ponds stop making any profit after some years and put the owner into a very difficult financial situation.
Husbandry makes up 10 % of the annual income, it can improve the daily life of inhabitants and produce organic fertilizer
needed for agricultural activities. Since the veterinarian
network at its present status is not capable of dealing with major diseases, a further increase in this sector is not possible. New industries and techniques belonging to the sector of services and trade meet a high demand and have a big potential for the future, now making up only 14.6% of the average income. The field of industry
and handicraft
is underdeveloped and only responsible for 5%; the reasons for this can be found in missing education and a poor material base.
The labour source is structured according to the average income: 78.6% of all inhabitants are working in the sector of agriculture, 16.2% in fisheries, 2% in fields of trading and services and 3.2% in the sector of industry, handicraft and construction. It can be seen that the sector of fisheries is more profitable than traditional agriculture, it is also a more stable employment: people working on the rice fields are unemployed between the two harvests, creating more pressure on the resources of the National Park by exploiting its resources in this time. The general rate of unemployment
declined from 8.26% to 6.51% in the period from 2001 to 2005, but since 96.8% of all residents in the Buffer Zone grow their own rice, a high number of workers depends on the agricultural season.
In Xuan Thuy District there are 8510 Primary and Secondary school students and 1187 High School students. While every child goes to Primary school and 95% also visit the Secondary school
, the number of High school
students is still very low. Also, in 2003 only 5% of all inhabitants were trained labourers.
Furthermore there are still problems caused by the poor infrastructure. All the residents have electricity
, but the water supply manly still relies on collected rain water since half of the inhabitants use drilled wells and driven wells
, but only 20 to 30% of those have clean water. The low living standard and infrastructure also can be seen as the reason for the unstable and spontaneous production and the missing knowledge and experience of market business, which also causes economic difficulties.
Because there is no possibility of further increasing agriculture and the number of inhabitants is rising, the pressure on the resources of the National Park is growing. Besides the investment in aquaculture
, the mangrove forests
are a possible resource. Researches by the non-governmental organization Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) have shown that more than half of the annual income of an above-average family relies on mangroves while poor families rely more on traditional cultivation and husbandry and only gain one fifth of their annual income by mangroves. To reduce the pressure on the National Park and lower the level of poverty which still lies between 10 and 15%, alternative livelihoods must be created and supported.
, the use of small net fishing, by-catch
fishing and electric fishing, uncontrollable shrimp pond making and illegal hunting.
The focus of the program to create alternative livelihoods lies on guaranteeing technical and financial support in cooperation with numerous local and international organizations (both governmental and non-governmental), some of the most important ones being MCD, CORiN-ASIA and the Wetlands Alliance Program (WAP). On the financial level the park mainly invests in the local infrastructure building for example roads, a community center of environmental education
and public health
centers. The goal of gaining awareness on ecological issues and creating a sustainable development
mainly is tried to reach by technology support. The transfer of technology to the local population includes the teaching of techniques to grow mushrooms, keep bees and maintain extensive shrimp farms. Because it is seen as an extremely effective service sector, community-based eco-tourism is stimulated.
The project of the Mushroom Club started in 2008. Before, grazing buffaloes in the Core Zone were a major problem as they were destroying the forest. The fight between the Park policies and local interests was tried to solve by creating mushroom culture as an alternative livelihood. With the support of CORiN-ASIA and WAP the Xuan Thuy National Park Mushroom Club was established. This way not only jobs regardless of gender and age were created, the very common open field rice straw burning was also reduced since the straw is now used as humus for the mushrooms. In the future there is the plan to finally use the rice straw as organic fertilizer
in agriculture. After one year the Mushroom Club had 78 members who not only worked together but also started to organize small social events like the Mushroom cooking contest for the health of the community.
In November 2010 the project is an important employment possibility between the harvests, now being the Xuan Thuy National Park Mushroom and service cooperation it also has an improved legal status. The grown mushrooms are sold in the surrounding communes and in Hanoi
on the Long Bien
-market and the South-market.
In case of the Honeybee Group the project’s aim was to structure previous activities of honey bee keeping. A group was created which now according to the National Park can work more effectively together, thereby increasing the number of bee cages and honey production and gaining a higher income.
The field of eco-tourism still sees some difficulties since it is a new model in Vietnam and missing infrastructures are an obstacle for potential visitors. Now the Park has the plan to slowly upgrade facilities, services and marketing until the year 2025. Guest rooms are already available, three new big guest houses will be finished in 2011.
situation. There were only five staff members with limited technical and professional capacities. The given infrastructure and facilities were insufficient. Since institutional arrangements were unclear, the National Park was not able to implement monitoring activities which could have helped stopping over-exploitation quickly. Besides the overlapping management responsibilities there was a constant fight between local interest groups whose livelihoods depend on the natural resource
s, and the management board
which wanted to decrease the high rate of exploitation. On governmental level there was a lack of coordination and cooperation to implement effective management mechanisms.
Since 2003, the situation has improved. A new office including different function rooms and a natural museum was built and can now meet the given demand for infrastructural and technical capacities. On the level of human resources
there were recruited more staff members from different professions such as tourism
, forestry
, aquaculture
and biology
. Now there are not only 20 people working in the office, the staff also participates regularly in workshops and training programs to improve there skills in fields of environmental education
, eco-tourism and community development
.
The institutional level is still a challenge. As successful story can the project of co-managing clam culture be seen. Now, the Xuan Thuy National Park management board, local councils and clam farmers cooperate so that clams are harvested under control and responsibilities and rights of each side are clearly defined. The on-going task of strengthening its institutional capacity is very important for the National Park, for example there is still the need to know about the land use rights in the area to have basic information which then can be used to manage the given resources and activities. Since there are a lot of agencies and organizations which somehow have an influence on or responsibility for the Park, there is the need to organize and structure all the interests to keep a strict Park policy and avoid overlapping responsibilities which prevent the management board from succeeding with its plans.
At the moment, there is a wide range of responsible organizations: local governmental authorities, state agencies, the Xuan Thuy National Park Management Unit as a special agency, internal agencies like the court
, the public security
and the army
, local associations which become more and more important, companies related to credit
and banking, religious organizations and, playing a very important role, international organizations including non-governmental organizations. An effective management has to implement all these different players; the present management activities however still lack effectiveness. In the future, the main task for the National Park will be the strengthening of its own institutional status.
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in Hong River Biosphere Reserve in the province of Nam Dinh
Nam Dinh
Nam Định is a big city in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is the capital of Nam Dinh Province and capital of the South of Red River Delta. Nam Dinh province was, at one time, part of Ha Nam Ninh province until it was split up again in 1996 to return to being two separate provinces,...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
The national park was established according to the Decision number 01/2003/QĐ-TTg dated 2 Jan 2003 signed by premier Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, this decision turned Xuan Thuy Wetland Nature Reserve into Xuan Thuy National Park. The park was the first wetland area to be announced a Ramsar site in south-east Asia and is internationally significant as a migratory bird habitat.
History
On January 2 in 1989, the area of 12,000 hectare around the mouth of the Red River in Giao Thuy district located in north-east Vietnam were recognized as south-east Asia’s first Ramsar site, being the 50th site worldwide. Six years later the establishment of Xuan Thuy Wetland Natural Reserve was decided by the government, soon after it was upgraded to be the Xuan Thuy National Park in 2003, putting the National Park under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Dinh province. Furthermore, the park was acknowledged by the UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as part of the core zone of the Red River Biosphere Reserve. The numerous titles given by both national and international agencies and the strong support from the government and international organizations (governmental and non-governmental) reflect the importance of the area.
Landscape
Xuan Thuy National Park is located in Giao Thuy district (Nam Dinh province), 150 km south-east from HanoiHanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
. It is the largest coastal wetland ecosystem in the north of Vietnam and placed in the south of the Red River mouth
Red River Delta
The Red River Delta is the flat plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries joining in the Thai Binh River in northern Vietnam. The delta measuring some 15,000 square km is well protected by a network of dikes. It is an agriculturally rich area and densely populated...
. The Core Zone has a total area of 7.100 hectares, 4000 hectares of low tide wetlands and 3.100 hectares of land. It covers the islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s of Con Ngan, Con Lu and Con Xanh. Aquaculture farms
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
and some parts of mangrove forest cover the largest islet, Con Ngan. Con Lu islet is covered by sandy areas as such as alluvial
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
flats and aquaculture farms. Con Lu, which is the smallest of the three islets is being widen by alluvium
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
from the Red River and covered by sandy layer.
The Buffer Zone has a total area of 8.000 hectares. The Park is a delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
and estuary islands (Ba Lat river-mouth) support coastal mangroves and the mud flat ecosystem in the Red River delta. The area includes land enclosed by sea dikes
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
with fringing marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es.
‘The land is also noted for the human ecological model of VAC (model of planting vegetable gardens, rasing fish in ponds and animal husbandry all in one home) and silvofishery models. The area has a long history of wet rice cultivation as well as dike construction and land reclamation’
Climate
Giao Thuy district lies in the tropical monsoon regionTropical monsoon climate
Tropical monsoon climate, occasionally also known as a tropical wet climate or tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate in climate classification, is a relatively rare type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category "Am."Tropical monsoon climates have monthly...
, which has two distinct seasons. One hot and rainy season from April to October and a cold and dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
from November to March. The annual average temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
is 24 °C. The highest temperature in summer is 40.3 °C and the coldest temperature in winter is 6.8 °C. The average humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
is 84 %. The annual rainfall is between 1700 mm and 1800 mm. Averagely there are 133 rainy days per year. Rain mainly falls in summer or winter. With 15-18 rainy days August is the month with the most rainfall in contrast to autumn and winter with the lowest rainfall (25–50 mm per month). From July to October the Red River is flooded, which influences the region as well as the northeast monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
. In winter the wind mainly comes from the north and in summer from the east. July and August seem to be the stormiest months in the year where storms are followed by heavy rain. Three strong storms hit the north of Vietnam in 2005 (28 July one wind with level 7, 18 September with level 9 and on 28 September with level 12). There are two types of soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
formed from the alluvium
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
of the Red River. One is alluvial mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
(which becomes loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
) and one is sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
. Transported by water the alluvial forms the coastal soil like light soil (sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
and light loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
and pure sand), medium soil and heavy soil (loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
).
Fauna
Xuan Thuy National Park is a staging and wintering area for shorebirds, gulls and waterfowlWaterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta.
The National Park is a living space for 250 species of birds (150 migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
and 50 water bird species
Anatidae
Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
) from 41 families and 13 orders. 9 species are designated as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
for example the Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper , is a small wader which breeds in northeastern Russia and winters in Southeast Asia.- Taxonomy and systematics :...
and Nordmann’s Greenshank.
65- 75 Black-faced Spoonbill
Black-faced Spoonbill
The Black-faced Spoonbill has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one currently regarded as endangered. Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution...
– who were chosen to be the symbol of Xuan Thuy National Park - are seen in the migratory season. The total number of Black-faced Spoonbill
Black-faced Spoonbill
The Black-faced Spoonbill has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one currently regarded as endangered. Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution...
in the world are about 1000, it shows that 5 % of the whole population of the species are living in Xuan Thuy National Park during the winter season.
The park also provides a habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
for other rare animal species. These includes species of otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
, porpoise
Porpoise
Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
and whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
.
Furthermore it has 30 species of reptiles and an uncounted number of different insects.
Flora
In Xuan Thuy National Park are 120 species of vascular plants (20 of which thrive particularly well in the wetland habitat).The mangrove forest helps stabilizing the alluvial soil
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
as well as functioning as flood protection and playing an important role in different biochemical cycles.
111 aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
species have been recorded. Certain species of seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
in particular are of high economic value.
Over 500 species of benthos
Benthos
Benthos is the community of organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. This community lives in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.Many organisms...
and zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
(shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
, oysters etc.) have also been identified.
Nature Conservation Activities
In Xuan Thuy National Park’s Core Zone there is a portion of unoccupied land used for shrimp-rearing pondsShrimp fishery
A shrimp fishery is a fishery directed toward harvesting either shrimp or prawns. .-Commercial shrimping:...
(about 19 extensive farming ponds near the Red River) and extensive clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
rearing areas (a part of the sandy plain near the end of Con Ngan).
Tents and huts pitched to look after such ponds were built without planning.
The land in the Buffer Zone can be divided into several categories including residential land, agricultural farming land, aquaculture land, mangroves and flats and a few mangrove areas along the river canals.
Most of the areas in Bai Trong and Con Ngan, Xuan Thuy’s Buffer Zone, have been divided into ponds to raise shrimps and crabs. This activity grew exponentially in the 90’s. The culturing season is May to January (April to December lunar calendar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
). During the off season some local people culture yellow thread seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
for commercial purposes.
Hunting of birds and other animals is prohibited and has decreased. Nevertheless such illegal activities are still present. It is also forbidden for the farmers to graze their buffaloes
Water Buffalo
The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovine animal, frequently used as livestock in southern Asia, and also widely in South America, southern Europe, northern Africa, and elsewhere....
in the Core Zone.
To prevent the over-exploitation of the given natural resources, there are projects like the Mushroom Club which aim to create alternative livelihoods. Also, the National Park has the task to raise awareness in the communities of the Buffer Zone to care about the environment and to protect it on a long-term basis. To achieve this goal, the National Park started some educational activities which include annual lessons in nine local secondary schools. In the future there will also be a project concerning the solid waste management in the Buffer Zone; at the moment, waste is not separated and simply thrown away.
Scientific Research
Since it is a very important natural site in Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, Xuan Thuy National Park has been subject to many both Vietnamese and international scientific researches. According to the National Park, there have been written more than 10 PhD theses
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
, tens of master and hundreds of research papers by students from over 30 Vietnamese universities. Non-governmental organizations also conducted research before implementing new projects which usually are related to the conservation of environment
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
or to sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
.
Especially in the Core Zone there are many projects regarding conservation as there is no human activity allowed in this area. The aim is to protect the mangroves, migratory birds, other aquatic and terrestrial species and the wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
ecosystem in its entirety. In the Buffer Zone the focus of scientific research lies on the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative livelihoods and the promotion of environmental protection. Also there is still the need to find mechanisms which end fights between local interests and the park policies. Projects concerning the co-management of clamp culture are a first step to solving those problems. In the whole area there are also projects which focus on building capacity both for the staff of the National Park and for the local community to reduce the current pressure on the natural resources of the park.
One problem of any scientific research concerning the park is the missing long-term basis. Most of the projects are conducted by outsiders who sometimes fail to meet the given needs. Furthermore there is no database in the National Park which collects all research that is ever made so that a lot of basic information needs to be collected repeatedly.
Overview
According to statistic data of the Giao Thuy District People’s Committee from the year 2005, there are 47.123 inhabitants living in the five Buffer Zone Communes (Giao Thien, Giao An, Giao Lac, Giao Xuan and Giao Hai) belonging to the National Park. The average density of populationPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
varies between 1,023 and 1,331 people per square kilometer, due to more than one percent population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
every year it is still rising.
The local inhabitants earn most of their income by agricultural activities, mainly by cultivating rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
. 39.3% of the average income is gained this way, the productivity being 632 kg rice per capita per annum. Because of unfavourable changes in nature, agricultural land is shrinking year by year, creating a lack of land for agricultural production extension. While this economic field has therefore reached its capacities, the second most important one still is seen to have a high potential: In 2007, fisheries came up for 36.1% of a family’s income, there were 1,800 hectare of aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
ponds in the Buffer Zone. With the annual growth rate of the marine business being 14.9%, this sector is in fast expansion and is seen to have a higher economic turnover than traditional agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. On the other side, clam-rearing for example can have a high financial return, but also needs big investments and puts a high pressure on the environment. As the water quality is endangered, it can be seen that some aquacultural ponds stop making any profit after some years and put the owner into a very difficult financial situation.
Husbandry makes up 10 % of the annual income, it can improve the daily life of inhabitants and produce organic fertilizer
Organic fertilizer
Organic fertilizers are naturally occurring fertilizers .Naturally occurring organic fertilizers include manure, slurry, worm castings, peat, seaweed, humic acid, and guano. Sewage sludge use in organic agricultural operations in the U.S...
needed for agricultural activities. Since the veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
network at its present status is not capable of dealing with major diseases, a further increase in this sector is not possible. New industries and techniques belonging to the sector of services and trade meet a high demand and have a big potential for the future, now making up only 14.6% of the average income. The field of industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and handicraft
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
is underdeveloped and only responsible for 5%; the reasons for this can be found in missing education and a poor material base.
The labour source is structured according to the average income: 78.6% of all inhabitants are working in the sector of agriculture, 16.2% in fisheries, 2% in fields of trading and services and 3.2% in the sector of industry, handicraft and construction. It can be seen that the sector of fisheries is more profitable than traditional agriculture, it is also a more stable employment: people working on the rice fields are unemployed between the two harvests, creating more pressure on the resources of the National Park by exploiting its resources in this time. The general rate of unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
declined from 8.26% to 6.51% in the period from 2001 to 2005, but since 96.8% of all residents in the Buffer Zone grow their own rice, a high number of workers depends on the agricultural season.
In Xuan Thuy District there are 8510 Primary and Secondary school students and 1187 High School students. While every child goes to Primary school and 95% also visit the Secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, the number of High school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students is still very low. Also, in 2003 only 5% of all inhabitants were trained labourers.
Furthermore there are still problems caused by the poor infrastructure. All the residents have electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, but the water supply manly still relies on collected rain water since half of the inhabitants use drilled wells and driven wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
, but only 20 to 30% of those have clean water. The low living standard and infrastructure also can be seen as the reason for the unstable and spontaneous production and the missing knowledge and experience of market business, which also causes economic difficulties.
Because there is no possibility of further increasing agriculture and the number of inhabitants is rising, the pressure on the resources of the National Park is growing. Besides the investment in aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
, the mangrove forests
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
are a possible resource. Researches by the non-governmental organization Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) have shown that more than half of the annual income of an above-average family relies on mangroves while poor families rely more on traditional cultivation and husbandry and only gain one fifth of their annual income by mangroves. To reduce the pressure on the National Park and lower the level of poverty which still lies between 10 and 15%, alternative livelihoods must be created and supported.
Alternative livelihoods
In order to create alternative income generating sources, to reduce the pressure on the natural resources of the National Park and to generate sustainable employment-possibilities, there are different projects for the Buffer Zone. It is hoped that the human encroachment on the environment can be decreased, this way solving some of the most severe problems like deforestationDeforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, the use of small net fishing, by-catch
By-catch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
fishing and electric fishing, uncontrollable shrimp pond making and illegal hunting.
The focus of the program to create alternative livelihoods lies on guaranteeing technical and financial support in cooperation with numerous local and international organizations (both governmental and non-governmental), some of the most important ones being MCD, CORiN-ASIA and the Wetlands Alliance Program (WAP). On the financial level the park mainly invests in the local infrastructure building for example roads, a community center of environmental education
Environmental education
Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...
and public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
centers. The goal of gaining awareness on ecological issues and creating a sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
mainly is tried to reach by technology support. The transfer of technology to the local population includes the teaching of techniques to grow mushrooms, keep bees and maintain extensive shrimp farms. Because it is seen as an extremely effective service sector, community-based eco-tourism is stimulated.
The project of the Mushroom Club started in 2008. Before, grazing buffaloes in the Core Zone were a major problem as they were destroying the forest. The fight between the Park policies and local interests was tried to solve by creating mushroom culture as an alternative livelihood. With the support of CORiN-ASIA and WAP the Xuan Thuy National Park Mushroom Club was established. This way not only jobs regardless of gender and age were created, the very common open field rice straw burning was also reduced since the straw is now used as humus for the mushrooms. In the future there is the plan to finally use the rice straw as organic fertilizer
Organic fertilizer
Organic fertilizers are naturally occurring fertilizers .Naturally occurring organic fertilizers include manure, slurry, worm castings, peat, seaweed, humic acid, and guano. Sewage sludge use in organic agricultural operations in the U.S...
in agriculture. After one year the Mushroom Club had 78 members who not only worked together but also started to organize small social events like the Mushroom cooking contest for the health of the community.
In November 2010 the project is an important employment possibility between the harvests, now being the Xuan Thuy National Park Mushroom and service cooperation it also has an improved legal status. The grown mushrooms are sold in the surrounding communes and in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
on the Long Bien
Long Bien
Long Biên is an urban district of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.Vietnam Airlines has its headquarters in Long Bien....
-market and the South-market.
In case of the Honeybee Group the project’s aim was to structure previous activities of honey bee keeping. A group was created which now according to the National Park can work more effectively together, thereby increasing the number of bee cages and honey production and gaining a higher income.
The field of eco-tourism still sees some difficulties since it is a new model in Vietnam and missing infrastructures are an obstacle for potential visitors. Now the Park has the plan to slowly upgrade facilities, services and marketing until the year 2025. Guest rooms are already available, three new big guest houses will be finished in 2011.
Management
Until the year 2003, the park had a very poor managementManagement
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
situation. There were only five staff members with limited technical and professional capacities. The given infrastructure and facilities were insufficient. Since institutional arrangements were unclear, the National Park was not able to implement monitoring activities which could have helped stopping over-exploitation quickly. Besides the overlapping management responsibilities there was a constant fight between local interest groups whose livelihoods depend on the natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s, and the management board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
which wanted to decrease the high rate of exploitation. On governmental level there was a lack of coordination and cooperation to implement effective management mechanisms.
Since 2003, the situation has improved. A new office including different function rooms and a natural museum was built and can now meet the given demand for infrastructural and technical capacities. On the level of human resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
there were recruited more staff members from different professions such as tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. Now there are not only 20 people working in the office, the staff also participates regularly in workshops and training programs to improve there skills in fields of environmental education
Environmental education
Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...
, eco-tourism and community development
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
.
The institutional level is still a challenge. As successful story can the project of co-managing clam culture be seen. Now, the Xuan Thuy National Park management board, local councils and clam farmers cooperate so that clams are harvested under control and responsibilities and rights of each side are clearly defined. The on-going task of strengthening its institutional capacity is very important for the National Park, for example there is still the need to know about the land use rights in the area to have basic information which then can be used to manage the given resources and activities. Since there are a lot of agencies and organizations which somehow have an influence on or responsibility for the Park, there is the need to organize and structure all the interests to keep a strict Park policy and avoid overlapping responsibilities which prevent the management board from succeeding with its plans.
At the moment, there is a wide range of responsible organizations: local governmental authorities, state agencies, the Xuan Thuy National Park Management Unit as a special agency, internal agencies like the court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
, the public security
Public security
To meet the increasing challenges in the public security area, responsible public institutions and organisations can tap into their own intelligence to successfully address possible threats in advance...
and the army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, local associations which become more and more important, companies related to credit
Credit (finance)
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
and banking, religious organizations and, playing a very important role, international organizations including non-governmental organizations. An effective management has to implement all these different players; the present management activities however still lack effectiveness. In the future, the main task for the National Park will be the strengthening of its own institutional status.