HA NOI — Australia and Viet Nam are to implement a one-year nature conservation project in the Lower Mekong Region that will seek to improve natural resources within protected areas and review the impact of the natural environment on socio-economic development in the region.

A field study in Thua Thien–Hue Province is to examine the relationship between economic planning and protected areas at a local level.

The protected areas in the province cover a wide range of ecological conditions from the forests of Bach Ma National Park to the wetlands of the Tam Giang lagoons. The region is renowned for its high biodiversity and wide range of habitats which include several rare species of large mammals and birds. It is also an important economic development centre of the country.

The conservation project is being financed by Viet Nam’s Forest Protection Department (FPD), the Australian Government through the Australian Agency for International Development, which has contributed US$160,000 (VND2.4 billion), and the governments of Denmark and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, a review by the FPD, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and international experts has targeted a number of cases for further research. These include: the role of protected areas in flood protection to major rivers such as the O Lau, Bo and Huong; the establishment of the Tam Giang Lagoon as a protected area to improve fishery production; the sustainable use of non-timber forest products in Phong Dien Nature Reserve; the role of forests in Bach Ma National Park for irrigation activities; and the park’s potential for increased ecotourism.

The results of the review will be presented by a regional delegation at the World Park Congress in 2003. — VNS

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