The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed the establishment of a network of Ramsar sites and wetland reserves around Vietnam.

The Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap

A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO that came into force in 1975.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said creating such a network would contribute to promoting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention’s mission in Vietnam and on a global scale.

According to the Vietnam Environment Administration, Vietnam has nine recognised Ramsar sites and has set up many wetlands with high biodiversity value.

The country joined the Ramsar Convention in 1989, becoming the second of 50 countries around the world and the first in Southeast Asia to do so.

It has promoted the nomination of Ramsar sites and successfully implemented a number of activities on the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.

However, the management of Ramsar sites in the country still faces difficulties, and the Ramsar Convention’s objectives and strategic plans on conservation and the sound use of wetlands have not been fully and promptly implemented, resulting in the threat of biodiversity reduction at these sites.

The reason for such limitations is that Ramsar sites tend to be located in natural reserves belonging to the special-use forest system, so have not been managed in line with regulations generally applied for wetlands.

For example, the Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta’s Dong Thap province is managed in line with regulations for special-use forests, so that forest fires can be controlled by preserving water. This, though, has undermined the biodiversity of the site.

There are still no links or sharing of information and experience on the management, conservation, and sound use of wetlands between management boards of Vietnam’s Ramsar sites and international partners.

Nhan said the establishment of a network of Ramsar sites and wetland reserves in Vietnam will also help their management boards promote links and the sharing of information and experience and improve management efficiency.

The network is expected to bring together scientists, managers, communities, and stakeholders in promoting the conservation and sound use of wetland resources in Vietnam, in particular improving management efficiency over Ramsar sites and mobilising stakeholders to participate in the management, conservation, and sustainable use of wetland resources.