LookAtVietnam – Tram Chim National Park in the southern province of Dong Thap is home to 101 species of freshwater fish, accounting for a quarter of the total freshwater fish species found in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta,

The two Ramsar Sites in Viet Nam are Xuan Thuy National Park in northern Nam Dinh province and Cat Tien National Park in the south.

There are about 62 species of freshwater fish and seven species of crustaceans that move in and about 41 species of freshwater fish that move out of the park during the flooding season, WWF researchers said.

Meanwhile, some 49 species of freshwater fish and two species of crustaceans move out the park during the dry season.

Wetlands restoration

This aquatic diversity will have a better chance of being sustained because of a three-year project launched in April 2008 to try to restore the natural wetlands of Dong Thap Muoi (the Plain of Reeds) in which national park is located.

The project, with an annual budget of US$250,000, has built drains and spillways to improve the water flow regime, helping the park’s freshwater fish species develop sustainably.

The Dong Thap province’s People’s Committee has also approved a two-year pilot programme to use and exploit natural resources of the national park in a reasonable and sustainable manner.

Under the programme, the maximum output limit of aquatic exploitation is 50 tonnes of fish and shrimp each year and exploitation will not be allowed from May to July, the breeding season of aquatic creatures.

The programme is part of efforts by the province to make the national park in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta become the third Ramsar Site in Viet Nam.

The Ramsar Site gets its name from the first modern inter-governmental treaty between nations aiming to conserve natural resources – the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

The convention aims to halt worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve those that remain through sustainable use.

The two Ramsar Sites in Viet Nam are Xuan Thuy National Park in northern Nam Dinh province and Cat Tien National Park in the south.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News