The establishment of Con Co Island Marine Reserve is a basis for central
Quang Tri province to manage its marine resources and environment in a
collective, unified and effective way.
A marine
reserve does not only help guarantee the ecological balance of the sea,
protect biodiversity, make the environment equable and ensure aquatic
breed resources, but it plays an important role in long-term economic
development, scientific research, education and marine tourism.
Apart from those benefits, the Con Co reserve provides administrative
and legal tools in the struggle for national sea and island sovereignty
and security in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.
Con Co Island Marine Reserve was established under Quang Tri
provincial People’s Committee Decision No. 2090 dated October 14, 2009,
and became operational on April 21, 2010.
It aims to
improve local residents’ awareness of biodiversity, marine resources,
as well as the management, protection and sustainable development of
those resources.
The reserve covers 4,532 hectares,
including three subregions – namely a 534 ha protected subregion, a
1,392 ha subregion for ecological recovery and a 2,376 ha subregion for
development.
In terms of biodiversity, the reserve
now boasts 113 coral species, 57 species of seaweed and seagrass, 67
zoobenthos species, 19 crustacean species, 224 species of saltwater
fish, 87 species of coral reef fish, 164 phytoplankton species and 68
species and groups of zooplankton. Of which, numerous species are rare
and have high economic value such as lobster, sea cucumbers, Asian green
mussels, mackerel, squid and sea whips.
Total
reserves of aquatic resources in Con Co’s waters are estimated at 40,000
tonnes with a sustainable exploitation output of 12,000 tonnes per
year.
Coral reef is of crucial importance to the
site’s biodiversity. Thus, protecting the reef is vital for sustainable
development. Con Co’s coral reef is assessed as being in good condition,
but overfishing and pollution have had their toll.
Therefore, the reserve management board has installed a float system to
delimit regions and coordinated with the Aquatic Resources Exploitation
and Protection Sub-department and the border guard post on the island to
conduct patrols within and around the area.
A group
of volunteers that includes local residents was also set up to help
popularisation and supervision work, timely discovering activities that
have negative impacts on the reserve.-VNA
In addition,
the board has worked with schools in coastal communes to launch beach
clean-up activities and an environment and marine biodiversity
protection contest which involved more than 2,000 students.
These activities aim to improve the community’s awareness,
particularly students, of protecting the environment and marine
biodiversity as well as the reserve’s goals and benefits it will create.
They are also set to influence households and the
local community, improving behaviours towards the environment and marine
resources.