Sarus cranes lose their living land

Standing between the eagle grass conservation area in Phu My commune, Kien Luong district (Kien Giang), looking at the field of rice fields, more than 50 hectares, Mr. Tang Phuong Gian, staff of the Grassland Conservation Project sighed: ' Go on I think this is a safe place for cranes, but now people come to win land and dig shrimp ponds wildly. On the side of Hon Chong too, shrimp land encroached on cranes, the impact environment forced the crane to leave . '.

No shelter!

Rare and precious red cranes in Kien Luong, Kien Giang are under attack without land.(Photo: ND)

Tram Chim National Park, Tam Nong (Dong Thap) and Ha Tien - Kien Luong (Kien Giang) area are where the Sarus Crane has lived for decades. Dr. Tran Triet, Head of the Department of Plant - Environment, Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Sciences, who for many years studied cranes, was worried when he saw the crane flock to Vietnam every year. He said: ' Back in 1980, there were many cranes about Tram Chim, there were more than 800 children. The presence of rare and precious cranes is one of the reasons for the functional sectors to establish nature conservation areas (now Tram Chim National Park). Meanwhile, Kien Luong area was still deserted with over 20,000 hectares of grass fields - oyster grass . running from Ha Tien sea to Vinh Te canal in Vinh Dieu commune. In 1997, we joined British scientists and asked Kien Giang provincial leaders to keep and preserve for tomorrow . But in the end, there was no one who agreed! '.

After a series of wildfires caused damage, the Board of Directors of Tram Chim National Park advocated to bring water to the garden all year round to prevent fire. The main way to do this leads to a mass of grasses (the crane's food) that dies in mass. At the same time, mimosa trees attack the cranes' accommodation, plus hunting birds, fish and animals . forcing cranes to find other places.

The Kien Luong wilderness area is an ideal place for crane cranes. Here, there are protection forests, cajuput, grass, oyster grass . creating an environment suitable for cranes. In 2004, after actual research. The International Crane Foundation sponsors 200,000 USD to establish the Phu My Lepironia Grass Conservation Project, which functions to keep the natural ecosystem and develop residential life on the spot.

Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee agreed to allocate 2,000 hectares of land for the project to implement. However, projects that have not been implemented for long are affected by the ' movement ' of wild shrimp farming. Meanwhile, thousands of hectares of land in Hon Chong (Kien Luong), also ' turn ' into shrimp prawns. Night of high pressure lights lit up, then the fan, the sound of roaring machine . made the crane no longer live!

The risk of cranes will . disappear!

The mass of shrimp in Kien Luong 'attacked' the red-headed crane.(Photo: ND)

Crane flocks will disappear in Vietnam's protected areas, which is a concern for scientists. In fact, in recent years, the cranes of crane have been severely reduced. If before, the crane to Tram Chim came to 800, only recently about 100 children. Kien Luong area is from 300 to 400 animals, now only more than 200 children (!?). At present, shrimp farming continues to expand - the land of cranes shrinks. A 150-hectare grassland in Hon Chong is also allocated to the Holcim Cement Plant for exploitation. While the grass field in Phu My, has just been ' channeled ' leading water to shrimp farming, changing the ecological environment, the risk of dead grass is dead.

Scientists are concerned: Hon Chong and Phu My are both fresh water, but before the profit of the shrimp, the functional sectors have " torn the fence " to bring salt water into shrimp farming. Changing environment, overturned sanctuary, discarded cranes, saline soils . are dangers of being suspended later (!?).

For Tram Chim, digging and dividing the year of the year 7 has lost its specificity and broken the core zone of the national park. Ecosystems change, leading to many plant and animal species suffering, in which cranes are also affected. In addition, of the more than 40,000 people living around the poor majority buffer zone, life is difficult . While Tram Chim is a ' bait ' of many fish, snakes, turtles, birds . it is difficult to prevent them from entering the garden to steal. ?

Dr. Duong Van Ni, Director of the Center for Experimental Biodiversity - Can Tho University, said: ' It is necessary to change the way to manage and keep water in Tram Chim. There should be a 'fire-fighting ' approach, actively controlling ' burning ' in the dry season. This reduces the risk of forest fires that plants and animals still thrive. Preserving and developing restraint to retain cranes. At the same time, propaganda for everyone to have the responsibility to protect and benefit, is sustainable. '

Dr Tran Triet worried: ' If it is not urgent to preserve Kien Luong's natural grassland, then the disappearance of the crane is inevitable .' In fact, recently the crane flock in Vietnam is often divided into small flocks, scattered in Hon Chong, Phu My, Hon Dat, Tram Chim, Lang Sen . due to the narrowing of the feeding grounds.

It can be said that Kien Giang is the place with the most crane flocks. However, so far no industry is interested in monitoring and managing to know how the 'live dead' crane? Even the three cranes died in the first quarter of 2006, were discovered and reported to the Veterinary Department and related branches, no one looked at (!?).

'Previously, cranes returned to Thailand very much, but the country strongly developed agriculture, which affected the habitat of making cranes away.After that, the Thai government invested a lot of money but the cranes still did not return.This is a very lesson to learn . '- Dr. Tran Triet warned.