The picturesque Con Dao national park in the southern coastalprovince of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has been internationally recognised asVietnam’s first ever sea Ramsar site, according to the RamsarConvention.

There are nine criteria for the recognition ofwetland as Ramsar sites of the world, but the Convention provisions areopen that if any wetland satisfied only one of criteria, it is alsorecognised as a Ramsar site, the Communist Party of Vietnam onlinenewspaper reported.

As one of 2,203 important Ramsar sites ofthe world, Con Dao national park is home to 69 species of birds, 28species of animals, 39 species of reptiles, and 8 species of amphibians.

Surveys conducted by the Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography showCon Dao’s marine ecology boasts 1,321 species of fauna and flora,including 37 species listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam.

Its marine ecosystem also includes mangroves, coral reefs and seagrassbeds. The coral reefs at Con Dao are in their pristine condition inVietnam, and are distributed in shallow waters around the islands,covering a total area of around 1,000 ha. They support high levels ofbiodiversity, including over 270 coral species.

The park isalso home to approximately 200 ha of seagrass beds, which support asmall population of the globally threatened marine mammal includingDugon Dugong, blue whales (Neophonphocaenoides), and Orcaellabrevirostric.

It also contains a number of nesting beachesfor green turtle Cheloniamydas and Hawksbill turtleEretmochelysimbricata, two globally threatened marine turtles. More than250 females visit a total of 14 nesting sites annually, forming over1,000 nests.

In 1995, Con Dao national park was listed in a Global Representative System of Marine Protected Areas by the World Bank.

So far, Vietnam has six Ramsar sites of the world including TramChim (Bird sanctuary) national park in Dong Thap province, Ca Mau capenational park in Ca Mau province, Xuan Thuy natural wetland reserve inNam Dinh province, Bau Sau in the Cat Tien national park in Dong Naiprovince, the Ba Be lake in the mountainous province of Bac Kan, and ConDao national park.

Thanks for this title, the Con Daonational park will raise the position, importance, attention of theinternational community, and raise awareness as well as the protectionmechanism, associated with the promotion of maximum economic efficiency,especially in the tourism sector.

Con Dao national parkcovers 19,991 hectares is an archipelago of 14 islands located some 80km off the coast of southern Vietnam. Con Son, the largest of theislands at 5,700 ha, is situated at its centre. Con Son and Hon Cau arethe only two islands in the archipelago with year-round freshwatersupplies.

The site supports a representative range of coastaland terrestrial ecosystems that are important for the biogeographicregion. There are low montane Melaleuca forests inland, while along thecoast there are dry forests as well as shallow marine waters, coralreefs, seagrass beds, intertidal flats and mangrove forests. Thesewetland habitats are particularly intact and support a highbiodiversity. Some 355 coral species have been recorded, of which 56 areclassified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation ofNature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List. Also present are thecritically endangered mangrove, Bruguiera hainesii, and the criticallyendangered Leatherback Turtle Dermochelys coriacea and Hawksbill TurtleEretmochelys imbricate. The archipelago has been inhabited for 4,000years.

The French colonial government occupied Con Lon islandin the late 19th century, and established a prison from 1936 to 1975which is now preserved as a national historic site. Traditionallymanaged capture fishing is allowed, and local people have also adoptedother livelihoods including tourism-related ventures.-VNA