VN: nominated at least 5 new Ramsar sites before 2008

Currently, Vietnam has 27 out of 63 important bird areas identified to meet Ramsar criteria (wetland criteria of international importance).

Swarms of lotus in Ramsar area Xuan Thuy, Nam Dinh (Photo: Birdlife Vietnam, TTO)

However, so far only two important bird areas are nominated as Ramsar sites, including National Park (National Park) Xuan Thuy (Nam Dinh province) and Bau Sau Lake, Cat Tien National Park (Dong Nai province).

Ms. Pham Viet Hong, representative of Vietnam Environment Protection Agency (VEPA), said that VEPA now needs support from individuals and other organizations in efforts to conserve and sustainably manage wetlands in Vietnam. In particular, in implementing VEPA's commitments, at least 5 new Ramsar sites will be nominated before 2008.

In the 28 countries and territories of the Asian region today there are up to 1,111 important bird areas meeting the criteria of Internationally important Wetlands (Ramsar sites). In each country and territory, at least one important bird area has been identified as a potential Ramsar Site.

According to Birdlife (global network of conservation organizations), as of August 2005, a total of 144 Ramsar sites have been nominated by parties to the Ramsar Convention in Asia. Of these, 123 (85%) zones overlap with one or more important bird areas.