Cu Lao Cham in Tan Hiep island commune, Hoi An city, Quang Nam province seen from above (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has nine biosphere reserves with a total area of 4 million hectares, accounting for 12.1 percent of the country’s total natural land area. These reserves are home to 1.78 million people. According to the Vietnam Environment Administration , the nine biosphere reserves, which are located in plains, mountains, coastal areas and islands, are recognised by UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme ( MAB-UNESCO ). Among the nine Southeast Asian countries which have biosphere reserves, Vietnam is second only to Indonesia in the number of biosphere reserves , with the latter owning 11. However, there is still no document that regulates the management of biosphere reserves, causing loose coordination between ministries and sectors. Lack of unified organisational structures The core zones, mostly national parks, nature reserves and special-use forests, account for 11 percent of the total area of the biosphere reserves, about 450,000 hectares. There is high biodiversity concentration with diverse ecosystem services. Cat Ba archipelago is the smallest biosphere reserve, with an area of 26,241 hectares, while the largest is Western Nghe An with more than 1.3 million hectares. There is also no common organisational structure for biosphere reserve management boards as each locality follows its own way of organising its board. Meanwhile, a unified management model is important for unifying State management. The problem is that there are no detailed guidelines from central agencies for the biosphere reserves on the need to strengthen organisational structure and coordinate their operations. Some biosphere reserves are put under the administrative management of many districts, towns and provinces with large areas and populations, which makes it difficult to manage the reserves. Dong Nai Biosphere, for example, is located …
[Read more...] about Measures sought to manage, preserve Vietnam’s biosphere reserves
