Wetland conservation in the Northern Delta

On May 26 in Hanoi, the International Bird Conservation Organization (BirdLife) in Vietnam has published a Report on Conservation of Critical Wetlands in the Northern Delta with the theme " Re-evaluating the Birdwatching Areas. weighted after 10 years of conservation, maintaining the integrity of wetlands ".

The report is the result of the conservation of key global bird regions in Asia implemented in Vietnam, East Timor and Mongolia.

From November 2005 to March 2006, BirdLife surveyed the site, re-evaluated the biodiversity status of 6 important wetland bird regions in the Northern Delta provinces, including: National Park Xuan Thuy, the habitat of Nghia Hung area (Nam Dinh), the habitat of Thai Thuy area, Tien Hai nature reserve (Thai Binh), the habitat of An Hai and Tien Lang (Hai Phong). Since 1996, this is the first time the region's biodiversity status has been fully assessed.

According to Nguyen Duc Tu, BirdLife expert, wetlands in the Northern Delta are the cradle of coastal fishing and aquaculture activities, creating livelihoods for people. It is an area of ​​vital significance for biodiversity conservation in Indochina, an important "stop" of birds migrating to and from Northeast Asia and Syberia. Oceania.

Mr. Tu said that the current situation of biodiversity in these wetlands lacks a sustainable development factor and needs to be strictly protected by the authorities and concerned agencies. Due to the rapidly increasing population combined with strong economic growth, the wetland resources here are being overexploited and seriously reduced compared to before 1996, especially the current habitat of Nghia Hung area. It is not possible to meet international conservation requirements as a result of hunting birds and destroying habitats of indigenous peoples.

The report made recommendations to preserve these areas for relevant ministries in Vietnam, the most pressing of which is to strengthen control of hunting birds and improve land use planning. aquaculture.