Ninh Thuan (VNS/VNA) — Coveringa total area of more th🉐an 106,646 hectares, the Nui Chua World BiosphereReserve in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan has become a populartourist attraction thanks to its rich and diverse ecosystems.

It is in the core of the reserve, the NuiChua National Park that covers 15,752 hectares and consists of three naturalareas of forest, sea and semi-desert, that visitors will find around 1,500plant species, including 10 endemics and 54 that are recorded in the Vietnam Red Book and the InternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s RedList. The fauna is also very rich with 756 species of wild animals, morethan 350 types of coral and hundreds of marine animals. The Nui Chua coastal area is a rare place on the mainland whereprotected sea turtles come to lay eggs every year. In recent years, provincial authorities have strengthened measuresto conserve endangered and rare species of marine fauna and flora, andsustainably restore and develop the ecosystem of the Nui Chua National ParkMarine Protected Area. The provincial People's Committee has spent more than 3.3 billionVND (nearly 145,000 USD) on a management plan of the Nui Chua National ParkMarine Protected Area in the 2021-25 period, which focuses on activities topreserve the value of natural resources and cultural and historical heritage,and rationally exploit and promote the value of the marine protected area. One of the special features of the national park is that this areahas a dry and hot climate similar to many places in Africa (the highesttemperature is approximately 42 degrees Celsius). Therefore, this place is alsocalled "Phan Rang Dry Forest". The harsh climate and diverse topography have created a standardfor the most typical and unique dry forest ecosystem of Vietnam and SoutheastAsia. The national park was recognised by UNESCO as a global biospherereserve at the 33rd session of its International Coordinating Council of theMan and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) held in Nigeria in September 7, 2021. Along with preserving and researching biodiversity, the Nui ChuaNational Park management board and the province in general have been focusingon developing various types of ecotourism to attract tourists. From the beginning of this year, the park has greeted more than130,000 local and foreign tourists./.