MARINE CONSERVATION


( Project VN0011 )


R


ich coastal and marine habitats are found along Vietnam's over 1,000km coastline. Only a few, however, such as Halong Bay, Cat Ba, Son Tra, Con Dao, and some mangrove forests are inside protected areas. The Ministry of Forestry, which runs the national nature reserve system, has, at present, no clear mandate to include marine areas under its jurisdiction, despite the fact that several marine species such as sea turtles, clams, and corals are clearly being over­harvested.


WWF is helping the Vietnamese authorities develop a marine conservation programme. This includes designing a system of marine protected areas, as well as providing input for the marine component of the national biodiversity action plan (see description of project VN0017). But before this could be done, information on the status of these habitats in terms of biological richness, resource utilization, and conservation potential had to be obtained.


Between January 1993 and August 1994, WWF conducted seven surveys in Cat Ba, Coto Islands, Hon Mun, Hon Cau, and other important coral reef areas spread along the length of the country. The surveys produced a wealth of baseline data, which Vietnam's National Remote Sensing Centre is already using for sensitivity analyses of oil production and petroleum processing plans. The local scientists who participated learned to dive and conduct underwater studies, exchanging information with the mainly foreign project staff, several of whom had volunteered their services.


The most important outcome, however, was the government's approval for establishing the Hon Mun Marine Park in Nha Trang, which is well­known for excellent fishing, snorkelling, and scuba diving. The approval came in May 1994, after months of negotiation and awareness campaigns. A selection of the high­quality underwater photographs which were taken during the survey were displayed at a four­day public exhibition: the first Hon Mun Underwater Photo Contest. This exhibition impressed many government officials who had never before thought about marine protection.


Besides Hon Mun, WWF hopes the other surveyed sites will soon be established and developed as marine reserves. Discussions with both national and provincial authorities as well as local partner institutions (Haiphong Institute of Oceanography, Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography, and Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Tropical Biology-Marine Conservation Unit) are ongoing. WWF is also exploring the possibility of assisting in research and experimental projects including the restocking and culture of depleted marine species.




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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature