national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Hong River The Red River, also known as the Hong River (; vi, Sông Hồng; Chữ Nôm: 瀧紅; Chữ Hán: 紅河), the ' and ' (lit. "Mother River") in Vietnamese, and the (, ' Nguyên Giang) in Chinese, is a -long river that flows fro ...

Nam Định Province Nam Định () ( vi, Tỉnh Nam Định) is a Provinces of Vietnam, province in the southern part of the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. It borders Ninh Bình , Ninh Bình province to the southwest, Hà Nam province to the northwest, T ...

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 ...

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng (born 17 November 1949) is a Vietnamese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Vietnam from 2006 to 2016. He was confirmed by the National Assembly on 27 June 2006, having been nominated by his predecessor, Phan Văn ...

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) **

Red River in

Giao Thủy District Giao Thủy is a Districts of Vietnam, rural district of Nam Định province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 207,273. The district covers an area of 166 km². The district capital lies a ...

located in north-east Vietnam were recognized as Southeast Asia's first

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) **

Nam Định Province Nam Định () ( vi, Tỉnh Nam Định) is a Provinces of Vietnam, province in the southern part of the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. It borders Ninh Bình , Ninh Bình province to the southwest, Hà Nam province to the northwest, T ...

. Furthermore, the park was acknowledged by

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 ...

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. Office Xuan Thuy National Park

Landscape and climate

Landscape

Xuân Thủy National Park is located in

Giao Thủy District Giao Thủy is a Districts of Vietnam, rural district of Nam Định province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 207,273. The district covers an area of 166 km². The district capital lies a ...

(

Nam Định Province Nam Định () ( vi, Tỉnh Nam Định) is a Provinces of Vietnam, province in the southern part of the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. It borders Ninh Bình , Ninh Bình province to the southwest, Hà Nam province to the northwest, T ...

), 150 km south-east from

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. It is the largest

coastal 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 p ...

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 An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

s of Con Ngan, Con Lu and Con Xanh. Aquaculture farms and some parts of

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...

cover the largest islet, Con Ngan. Con Lu islet is covered by sandy areas as such as

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

flats and aquaculture farms. Con Lu, which is the smallest of the three islets is being widened 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 Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

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 Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

with fringing marshes. ‘The land is also noted for the human ecological model of VAC (model of planting vegetable gardens, raising 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 region, which has two distinct seasons. One hot and

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * ''T ...

from April to October and a cold and

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

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 A monsoon () is traditionally 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 annual latitudinal oscil ...

. 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 Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

of the Red River. One is alluvial mud (which becomes

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

) and one is

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

. 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 Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

).

Biological characteristics

Fauna

Xuân Thủy National Park is a staging and wintering area for

shorebirds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

,

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

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 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

for example the

spoon-billed 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 dec ...

and

Nordmann's greenshank Nordmann's greenshank (''Tringa guttifer'') or the spotted greenshank, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. Description The Nordmann's greenshank is a medium-sized sandpiper, at long, with a slightly upturned, bicol ...

. 65- 75

black-faced spoonbill The black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the ...

– who were chosen to be the symbol of Xuân Thủy 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 Xuân Thủy National Park during the winter season. The park also provides a habitat for other rare animal species. These include species of

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

, endangered cetaceans such as

Chinese white dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...

s,

finless porpoise ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China. They are commonly known as finless porpoises. Genetic studies indicate that ''Neophocaena'' is ...

, and

rorqual Rorquals () are the largest group of baleen whales, which comprise the family Balaenopteridae, containing ten extant species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach , and the fin wha ...

whales. Furthermore, it has 30 species of reptiles and an uncounted number of different insects.

Flora

In Xuân Thủy National Park are 120 species of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

s (20 of which thrive particularly well in the wetland habitat). The

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...

helps stabilizing the

alluvial soil Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

as well as functioning as

flood protection Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

and playing an important role in different biochemical cycles. 111

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

species have been recorded. Certain species of

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

in particular are of high economic value. Over 500 species of

benthos Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

(

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

, fish,

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

,

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

s etc.) have also been identified.

Nature conservation activities

In Xuân Thủy National Park's Core Zone there is a portion of unoccupied land used for shrimp-rearing ponds (about 19 extensive farming ponds near the Red River) and extensive

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...

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,

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 flats and a few mangrove areas along the river canals. Most of the areas in Bai Trong and Con Ngan, Xuân Thủy's buffer zone, have been divided into ponds to raise shrimps and crabs. This activity grew exponentially in the 1990s. The culturing season is May to January (April to December

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

). During the off season some local people culture yellow thread

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

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 Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

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 Asia, Xuân Thủy 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 A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

also conducted research before implementing new projects which usually are related to the conservation of environment or to

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

.

Mangrove forest in phase of regeneration

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

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,

migratory bird Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between Breeding in the wild, breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Animal migration, Migration carries high costs in predation a ...

s, other aquatic and terrestrial species and the

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 ...

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.

Socioeconomic background

Overview

According to statistic data of the

Giao Thủy District Giao Thủy is a Districts of Vietnam, rural district of Nam Định province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 207,273. The district covers an area of 166 km². The district capital lies a ...

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 population 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 Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. 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 (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

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 or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. 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 Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

makes up 10% of the annual income, it can improve the daily life of inhabitants and produce

organic fertilizer Organic fertilizers are fertilizers that are naturally produced. Fertilizers are materials that can be added to soil or plants, in order to provide nutrients and sustain growth. Typical organic fertilizers include all animal waste including mea ...

needed for agricultural activities. Since the

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

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 Xuân Thủy District there are 8510 primary and secondary school students and 1187 high school students. While every child goes to

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

and 95% also visit the

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, the number of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

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 Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

, 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.

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

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

, the use of small net fishing,

by-catch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

fishing and electric fishing, uncontrollable shrimp pond making and

illegal hunting Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

. 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 (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

and

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". Analyzing the det ...

centers. The goal of gaining awareness on ecological issues and creating a

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

mainly is tried to reach by technology support. The transfer of technology to the local population includes the teaching of techniques to grow

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s, keep

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s and maintain extensive

shrimp farms Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business that exists in either a marine or freshwater environment, producing shrimp or prawns (crustaceans of the groups Caridea or Dendrobranchiata) for human consumption. Marine Commercial marine shrimp farm ...

. Because it is seen as an extremely effective service sector, community-based

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

is stimulated. Mushroom Club Xuan Thuy National Park

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 ''Xuân Thủy 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 In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

for the mushrooms. In the future there is the plan to finally use the rice straw as

organic fertilizer Organic fertilizers are fertilizers that are naturally produced. Fertilizers are materials that can be added to soil or plants, in order to provide nutrients and sustain growth. Typical organic fertilizers include all animal waste including mea ...

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 ''Xuân Thủy 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 or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

on the

Long Biên Long Biên (Vietnamese), also known as Longbian ( <

Eastern Han Chinese

: *''lioŋ-pian/pen'';Schuessler, Ax ...

-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

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

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 management 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 resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

s, and the

management board Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

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 (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...

there were recruited more staff members from different professions such as tourism,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

,

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. Now there are not only 20 people working in the office, the staff also participates regularly in workshops and training programs to improve their skills in fields of

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

,

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

and

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

. The institutional level is still a challenge. As successful story can the project of co-managing clam culture be seen. Now, the Xuân Thủy 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 ongoing 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 Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use a ...

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 Xuân Thủy National Park Management Unit as a special agency, internal agencies like the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government 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 ...

, the

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensure ...

and the army, local associations which become more and more important, companies related to

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...

and banking, religious organizations and, playing a very important role, international organizations including

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

. 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.Pham Dinh Viet Hong, Nguyen Viet Cach, Le Thanh Binh & Nguyen Xuan Dung, ''Xuân Thủy National Park: Management'', VEPA-MCD, Hanoi, 2007, p. 21ff.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* The Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia Wise – Use Workshop and Training Session on Wetland Management 19 – 26 September 2009, Changnyeong, South Korea, p. 60 -64 * Vuon Quoc Gia Xuân Thủy, CORiN-ASIA, The Wetlands Alliance, Sida, Building local capacities for sustainable resource management in Xuân Thủy National Park, Vietnam * Phan Thi Anh Dao, Phan Nguyen Hong, Le Xuan Tuan, Tran Minh Phuong & Nguyen Huu Tho, 2007, Xuân Thủy National Park: Socio-Economics, MERC-MCD, Hanoi, Vietnam * Phan Nguyen Hong, Le Xuan Tuan & Phan Thi Anh Dao, 2007, Xuân Thủy National Park: Biodiversity, MERC-MCD, Hanoi, Vietnam

External links

Website of Xuân Thủy National Park

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xuan Thuy National Park National parks of Vietnam Ramsar sites in Vietnam Geography of Nam Định province