The Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve (established 2004) is a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
in the coastal region of northern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
Mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
s and intertidal
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s of the
Red River Delta
The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta ( vi, Châu thổ sông Hồng) is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese wor ...
form
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s of high
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
especially in the Xuan Thuy and Tien Hai districts. These wetlands are of global importance as migratory sites for several bird species.
The reserve's surface area (terrestrial and marine) is . The core area is , of which is terrestrial and is marine, surrounded by buffer zone(s) of ( terrestrial, marine) and transition area(s) of ( terrestrial, marine).
Ecological characteristics
The Red River basin is shared by China, Laos and Vietnam. The main Red River is approximately in length and covers over in Vietnam. The coastal areas of the Red River Delta support a complex system of natural, semi-natural and agricultural vegetation types. The natural vegetation consists mainly of salt tolerant species and plant communities, including mangrove, salt marsh and dune vegetation.
The mangrove ecosystem comprises the mangrove forest and the adjacent intertidal area, which represent a transitional zone between the
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
and
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
environments. There are 26 mangrove species found in the coastal zones of which the most dominant are ''
Kandelia candel
''Kandelia candel'' is a species of mangrove in the family Rhizophoraceae, found around the coasts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, from western India to Borneo. Populations further east, from Vietnam to Japan were formerly included in ''K.&nbs ...
'' and ''
Sonneratia caseolaris
''Sonneratia caseolaris'', commonly known as mangrove apple, is a species of plant in the family Lythraceae. The fruit is noted for its outward similarity to the persimmon fruit.
This tree is a type of mangrove growing up to 20 m in height and ...
''.
During spring and autumn migrations, huge numbers of birds stop en route from their breeding grounds in northern Asia to their wintering sites in the Indo-Malaysian and Australian regions. A total of 78 species of water birds have been recorded in the Red River Delta including 38 species of shorebirds. Eleven of these birds fall under the category of threatened or near-threatened species, including
spoonbill sandpiper
The spoon-billed sandpiper (''Calidris pygmaea'') is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has de ...
(''Calidris pygmaea''),
black-headed ibis
The black-headed ibis (''Threskiornis melanocephalus''), also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeast As ...
(''Threskiornis melanocephalus'') and
Japanese paradise flycatcher
The Japanese paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone atrocaudata''), also called the black paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird native to southeastern Asia. It is a glossy black, chestnut and white bird, slightly smaller than either t ...
(''Terpsiphone atrocaudata'').
Other animal species found in the reserve include the saltwater
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
(''Crocodylus porosus'') and the
seacow
The Sirenia (), commonly referred to as sea-cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The Sirenia currently comprise two distinct ...
or Dugong (''Dugong dugon'').
In recognition of the fundamental ecological functions performed by its wetlands, Xuan Thuy was declared the first Vietnamese
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**