VietNamNet Bridge 11 Nov 12;
Viet Nam will establish a large system of biodiversity conservation areas in order to preserve endangered animal and plant species and ecosystems, said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen.
By 2020, these areas would cover 10 per cent of the nation's land area and 0.24 per cent of territorial water.
This plan is part of the drafted National Strategy on Biodiversity Conservation by 2020 with a vision towards 2030, one of several long-term solutions the country has planned to address the challenge of preserving biodiversity in the face of rapid urbanisation and development.
Viet Nam is home to around 7,500 types of microbes, 20,000 kinds of vascular plants, and 10,500 species of land animals, according to the ministry.
However, some of these animals might soon be extinct. These included the tiger, sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), and gaur (Bos gaurus), said Professor Dang Huy Huynh, chairman of the Viet Nam Zoological Society.
Only 200 individual sao la remain - 50 fewer than five years ago - and the number of gaurs has dwindled to about 300. Wild tigers and elephants are also nearing extinction, with only about 50 remaining of each species.
Huynh attributed this desperate situation to the poor management of authorised agencies.
Increasing population, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, the effects of climate change, and limited public awareness of biodiversity conservation have also contributed to the decline in population, scientists say.
According to Tuyen, the ministry has collected feedback on the draft and plans to submit it to the Government in the first quarter of next year.
Under the draft, Viet Nam will have 164 special-use forests covering 2.1 million hectares, 30 national parks, 58 land nature reserves, and five marine nature reserves for biodiversity conservation.
In a related move, the ministry also made public the National Report on Biodiversity Conservation 2011 last week.
Pham Anh Cuong, head of the ministry's Biodiversity Conservation Department, said that the national report was compiled when the quality and quantity of animal and plant species began to significantly decline.
The report would be useful reading for scientists, researchers and policy-makers looking to contribute to conservation efforts, he said.
It explains the current situation and the causes for the decline in biodiversity and outlines conservation policies and goals for the next five years.
VietNamNet/VNS
