Cat Tien, a world biosphere zone

The Cat Tien national park, located in Lam Dong, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces, was recognised as a world biosphere zone on January 10, 2002 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). This is the second world biosphere in Vietnam, after the Can Gio mangrove forest.

UNESCO’s recognition of the park has shown the organisation’s high appreciation of the great efforts made by Vietnam to protect biodiversity. These efforts include two projects presently underway. One is the Cat Tien National Park conservation project, with duration of five years (from 1998 to 2003) and funded by the Vietnamese and Dutch governments. The other is for forest protection and rural development at a total cost of US $20 million, 70% of which came from the World Bank’s loans, the remainder being shared by the Vietnamese and Dutch governments.

Cat Tien National Park is a primeval forest covering a total area of 74,219 hectares. It is located about 160 kilometres northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. In 1978, it was put under the State’s protection. The national park of Cat Tien was set up in 1992 to manage and preserve the forest’s biodiversity.

The Dong Nai river is a natural boundary, embracing three sides, east, west and north, of the park. On the left bank, villages and gardens are built close to the water, and on the right bank are wild forests with primitive green canopies.

The vegetation cover inside the park consists mainly of evergreen and mixed forests. It harbours the largest lowland tropical forest in southern Vietnam. So far, 1,610 kinds of flora have been identified, many of them listed in the Red Book of Endangered Animals. There are 77 kinds of animals, 326 kinds of birds and 37 kinds of reptiles and a wide range of insects. Among these are animals listed in the Red Book, namely Ban ten bull, Gaur bull, tiger, bear, wolf, black-foot monkey, peacock, white-neck crane, pheasant (which are found only in Southeast Asia), crocodile, panther. In particular, there is a group of seven to eight single-horned rhinoceroses, which has attracted attention from both domestic and foreign scientists. On May 17, 1999, scientists took photos of a rhinoceros, which has been classified as a single-horned rhino found only in Indonesia and Vietnam.

People of the Ma and S’Tieng ethnic minority groups are the indigenous people who have lived in the area for generations. They have maintained the practice of ancient habits and customs permeated with national cultural identity.

The park’s diversity in the flora and fauna contexts as well as cultural identities of the local people has attracted many tourists. It is therefore not surprising that both scientists and policy makers regard the area as an irreplaceable ecosystem, which deserves being conserved for future generations.

By MINH ANH