An international workshop was held in Hanoi on September 4 on the
draft proposal for the Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve, which will be
submitted to UNESCO.
Co-organised by the Vietnam National
Commission for UNESCO and the People’s Committee of Lam Dong province,
the event brought together a group of national and international
scientists and experts, as well as representatives from several
international organisations.
The Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve
will span 260,000ha, with its core area of 56,000ha encompassing
Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park.
An 86,000-hectare buffer zone, in which human settlement is permitted, will surround the reserve’s core.
The remaining 118,000ha comprise a wide transitional area covering
parts of Da Lat city and Lac Duong, Lam Ha, Duc Trong and Don Duong
districts.
The Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve’s core area, a
national centre for biodiversity conservation, is home to more than
2,000 plant species and nearly 400 animal species, of which 127 are rare
species included on Vietnam’s red list.
Speaking at the
workshop, Vice Chairman of Lam Dong provincial People’s Committee Pham
S highlighted the need to conserve the reserve’s biodiversity, saying
it plays a vital role in preserving protective forests and providing
environmental services, which in turn promote socio-economic development
in the locality.
Nguyen Hoang Tri, Secretary General of the
National Man and Biosphere Programme said the value of Lang Biang
lies in its connection to the culture of the Central Highlands region.
Participants agreed that in order to complete the scientific database new data on the reserve should be collected.
Experts
said it is vital to collect more information on the reserve’s flora
and fauna, as well as environmental protection measures, due to their
essential contributions to sustainable ecosystems.
Additional
surveys on the participation of the community in conserving and
developing the reserve were considered important, particularly with
regard to green economic growth.
According to schedule, all the
necessary English and Vietnamese documents will be completed and
submitted to UNESCO in September.
Vietnam
currently has eight UNESCO-recognised Biosphere Reserves: Can Gio
Mangrove Swamp, Cat Ba, Cat Tien, Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An, Kien Giang, Mui Ca
Mau, the Red River Delta, and Western Nghe An.-VNA