The Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve in the northern province of Ninh Binh has been recognised as Vietnam’s ninth Ramsar site.

After receiving its certificate of recognition at a ceremony on May 22, the reserve is now the 2,360th Ramsar site in the world. The recognition will help Vietnam call for international support to research, conserve and sustain the wetland eco-system amid challenges from climate change. The area is one of the few intact lowland inland wetland areas remaining in the Red River Delta. It is centred on a block of limestone karst outcrops that rise from the flat coastal plain of northern Vietnam. The freshwater lake, marshes and swamps that surround the karst, together with subterranean hydrological systems, form a wetland complex that is very rare in the region.-VNA