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BAI TU LONG NATIONAL PARK
Translate into English by Ngô Thị Dung
Bai Tu Long National Park is located in Bai Tu Long Bay, adjacent to the World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay. From legend to history, as well as from myth to reality, Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long have proven to be a unified whole, with many historical, cultural and natural treasures. With its advantages in geographical location, topography and geomorphology, the National Park is extremely unique as a place that preserves the ocean and island ecosystems of northeast Vietnam, whose environment and wild natural landscapes have great appeal for tourists. With these many advantages, the National Park has great potential for the development of ecotourism to support nature conservation activities and to improve the livelihoods of people living in the core and buffer zones of the park.
In conservation and development, Bai Tu Long National Park has received the attention, direction, and help of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province branch, the Van Don District People's Committee; as well as the support of conservation organizations at home and abroad such as the Vietnam Frontier, the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN, World Wildlife Fund WWF, Global Environment Facility GEF / SGP, Japanese Student Conservation Volunteer Organization JSCV, Japan Fund for Global Environment (JFGE), Vietnam National Parks and Protected Areas VNPPA and National Park Centre NPC . Geographical location: Bai Tu Long National Park is located in Van Don District in Quang Ninh Province. The park was established on 06.01.2001 by Decision No.85/2001/QDTTg for the purpose of expansion and reclassification from Ba Mun Nature Reserve. It is one of seven national parks of Vietnam which has areas of both shallow land and sea.
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A part of Bai Tu Long National Park - Picture: Pham The Cuong |
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Geographical coordinates: It is located from 20o05'N to 21o15'N and from 107o30'E to 107o46'E.
Acreage: The total acreage is 15,783 hectares (the island is 6,125 hectares; the sea is 9,658 hectares) where the Ba Mun ecological island in Minh Chau commune is the core of the national park. Animal and plant species which live in the forests and in the sea of Bai Tu Long National Park are very numerous; the species are rare and valuable for the conservation of genetic resources.
Agency / management: Bai Tu Long National Park is managed directly by the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province.
Tourism: Bai Tu Long is an attractive tourist destination, located in the tourist area of Ha Long Bay a World Heritage Site. The park offers many
forest ecotourism and maritime routes.
The value of biodiversity:
Flora:
Dominant plants in the park include the species of Caesalpiniaceae, Theaceae Tea, Dipterocapasceae, Tram, Myrtaceae and Sapotaceae. More than 150 hectares of mangrove forests grow in the western Bai Tu Long islands. Forest vegetation is plentiful and diverse; so far, 398 species of vascular plants have been recorded, of which four species are listed in the Vietnam Red Book, which are Podocarpus fleuryi, Morinda officinalis, Smilax glabra...
The species of mangroves in Bai Tu Long National Park are really only 7 species in 7 genera from 5 families. Although these only account for 14.29% of the total number of mangrove species in Vietnam, they grow abundantly and play an important role in the plant communities of the mangroves in the park.
The true mangrove species in Bai Tu Long National Park are only 2% of total true mangrove species in Vietnam. Most plant species of these mangroves are Aegyceras corniculatum, Kandelia candel, Rhizophora stylosa, and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza. Aegyceras corniculatum originated as mangroves expanded into the sea. Other species originating from mangrove expansion into the sea include Lumnitzea littore, Acanthus ilicifolius, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Xylocarpus granantum, Scaevola taccada.
Fauna:
According to earlier records, Bai Tu Long had an abundant number of diverse vertebrate species, but such number has been severely reduced today. Some reports indicate that Sus scorofa, Muntiacus muntjak, Macaca mulatta , Capricornis sumatraensis still appear, but large mammals like bears have no longer been detected.
Insecta:
Total:
Species diversity: 1,909 plant and animal species are listed currently. The forest ecosystems have 1,028 species, including groups of vascular plants, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Marine ecosystems have 881 species, including mangrove plants, seaweed, phytoplankton, zooplankton, annelids, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, corals, and fish.
The total number of rare species is up to 60 species; among which 52 species are listed in the Vietnam Red Book (1996); 10 species are listed in the Decree 32/2006 / NDCP of the Government, which is a list of rare plant and animal species in need of protection; and two species are listed in both lists.
Population in the area: There are no people living in the National Park, but in the three buffer zones (Minh Chau, Quan Lan and Ban Sen), there is a very low population density of 41 people / km2.
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Lichtenfelder's gecko Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi - Picture: Pham The Cuong |
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Tourist activities:
Ecotourism development is one of the purposes of Bai Tu Long National Park. Although the park’s rich and diverse natural resources offer many opportunities for tourism, ecotourism at the park is only at the development stage to ensure that it is sustainable tourism that achieves economic objectives, but also conserves and preserves the park. At this time, the National Park is focused on protection of the park’s natural resources and environment.
In 2005, the park management, in collaboration with Van Don district, determined the park boundary on both the map and the field; they set up 27 boundaries between the park and 5 communes, which are located in conservation areas and buffer zones as Ban Sen, Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ha Long and Van Yen. One forestry management branch was built in Minh Chau Harbor, and three stations were set up on the islands. Since then, the Park has been equipped with 3 ships, which patrol the sea regularly to protect the park from activities which may harm its natural resources, preserved biodiversity, landscape and cultural history.
The Park has collaborated with many international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, universities and institutes to research and assess biodiversity. This is the reason for implementing conservation projects and scientific research, as well as allowing for opportunities in ecotourism development to attract tourists.
The Park has undertaken various educational initiatives, such as environmental education programs for students in schools in the garden area of the town as well as in the buffer zone. These programs have been implemented in many schools. The environmental education topics include environment and the importance of the environment, biodiversity and its role, the significance of water, environmental hazards due to population explosion and environmental pollution, and how to protect the environment. Through today, 1,600 students have attended environmental lectures. The Park also hosted a contest "exploring the ecological environment of Bai Tu Long Bay" and a contest "protecting the marine environment". Bai Tu Long National Park Centre is located in Minh Chau commune and is a community education center that provides information to visitors.
Since 2006, Vietnam National Parks and Protected Areas, National Park Centre, Japan Fund for Global Environment and Japanese Student Conservation Volunteer Organization have collaborated with Bai Tu Long National Park in multiple opportunities for ecotourism development, such as:
- Investigating and assessing of the Park’s natural resources and surveying the natural trail for tourism,
- Identifying sites to attract tourists, creating walking trails, and developing ecotourism merchandise.
- Creating training and education courses to provide knowledge for ecotourism guides among the Park staff and travel companies in Van Don district.
- Building a model for the participation of residents (here, Minh Chau commune) in participating in and facilitating ecotourism: Minh Chau residents have been trained to raise awareness about ecotourism, building ecotourism development plans, product development and training ecotourism tasks, such as cooking, reception, motel development, rescue services, food safety and environmental protection.
- Holding seminars about ecotourism development with participation by Bai Tu Long National Park and related organizations.
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References: Bai Tu Long National Park
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