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[ Background index ] Wetland sites Towards a national system of wetland protected areas Wetlands are among the most threatened habitats in Vietnam, they also support some of Vietnam's most threatened species. For instance, 15 of Vietnam's 33 species of globally threatened birds are wetland-dependent species, including White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni, Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus and Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis (BirdLife International 2000). Until very recently, government policy towards wetlands focussed on promoting their exploitation and conversion to other uses. The first official policy to address wetlands was formulated in 1994 and embodied within Prime Ministerial Decision No. 773/TTg on the 'exploitation and utilisation of uncultivated lands, estuary and coastal mudflats, and water bodies in the plains and basins'. This policy actually contributed to the loss of wetlands by promoting their conversion into agricultural land. Although some wetlands are included within the national Special-use Forests network, for example Tram Chim National Park and Xuan Thuy and Vo Doi Nature Reserves, wetlands remain notably under-represented. In addition, the management objectives of Special-use Forests are generally focussed on conservation of terrestrial forests, not wetlands. Wetland protected areas today Wetlands have yet to gain official recognition as a distinct land-use or conservation management category. By ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity, the government of Vietnam committed itself to establishing a representative network of wetland protected areas. The Biodiversity Action Plan for Vietnam included a list of 61 important wetland areas (Government of SRV/GEF 1994). More recently, the National Environment Agency (NEA) of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (MOSTE) identified 79 wetlands of national importance (see Table 4) (MOSTE/NEA 2000). Of the wetlands included on the MOSTE/NEA list, only 16 are included within decreed Special-use Forests. This list was prepared for submission to the government for approval, although this has yet to happen. Vietnam's marine biodiversity With approximately 3,260 km of coastline (excluding islands), marine resources constitute an important natural asset to Vietnam. The diversity of marine natural resources makes an important contribution to the national economy, through the provision of marine products (fish, invertebrates, algae, etc.), energy (crude oil and gas), raw materials (mineral resources), storm protection, and recreation (Government of SRV/GEF 1994, ADB 1999). While information on Vietnam's marine biodiversity is incomplete, 11,000 species have so far been recorded in Vietnam's marine and coastal waters (Nguyen Chu Hoi et al. 2000). Species diversity is known to increase from north to south, and fish abundance is higher in offshore than in inshore coral reefs (Chou 2000). Vietnam's known diversity of hard corals, 350 species, can be compared with that of Indonesia or the Philippines, which have 450 and 400 species respectively (Chou 2000). Several species of marine turtles continue to use traditional nesting sites along the Vietnamese coastline (ADB 1999). Table 4: Wetlands of national importance according to MOSTE/NEA (2000)
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