Ea Sô Nature Reserve has been upgraded to national park status. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐẮK LẮK — The People's Committee of Đắk Lắk Province has upgraded the Ea Sô Nature Reserve to national park status, marking a significant milestone in Việt Nam's efforts to strengthen nature conservation and biodiversity protection, while preserving natural and cultural heritage.

According to a committee's decision, Ea Sô National Park is tasked with conserving natural values and biodiversity, including endangered, precious and rare flora and fauna. It also aims to contribute to environmental protection, climate change adaptation, national defence and security, tourism development and sustainable socio-economic growth in the park's buffer zone.

The upgrade makes Ea Sô the country's 37th national park.

Ea Sô National Park, located in Ea Knốp Commune in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk, covers a total natural area of 26,959.01 hectares. Of the total, 21,676.92ha (80.41 per cent) is designated as a strictly protected zone, 4,118.60 ha(15.28 per cent) as an ecological restoration zone, and 1,163.49 ha(4.31 per cent) as an administrative and visitor services zone.

The park's buffer zone spans 18 villages and hamlets in five communes across Đắk Lắk and Gia Lai provinces, with a total area of 18,229.06 ha.

The national park will prioritise protecting its natural forests, restoring and enriching forest ecosystems, and promoting the growth of native and rare plant species. It will also strengthen watershed protection, regulate water resources, reduce soil erosion and flooding risks, and safeguard the ecological environment.

The park will step up scientific research, public communication and environmental education to raise community awareness of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.

At the same time, it will promote local cultural values, support sustainable livelihood improvement, and enhance living standards for local communities, particularly ethnic minority groups residing in the buffer zone.

The decision also envisions harnessing the park's ecotourism potential, forest environmental services and biodiversity values to promote local economic development in association with nature conservation.

The Đắk Lắk People's Committee has assigned the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment to take the lead, in coordination with relevant agencies and local authorities, in implementing the decision.

Its responsibilities include completing the necessary procedures, officially announcing the upgrade of Ea Sô National Park, and advising on the establishment of the Ea Sô National Park Management Board under the department.

The department will also continue to effectively carry out forest protection and biodiversity conservation tasks.

Relevant departments and agencies have been tasked with coordinating to strengthen the park's organisational structure and allocate resources for programmes and projects in accordance with regulations.

Meanwhile, local authorities are required to enhance State management of forestry, land and biodiversity, while implementing measures to balance conservation objectives with sustainable socio-economic development in the park's buffer zone.

Before being upgraded to national park status, Ea Sô Nature Reserve was recognised as one of the few areas that still preserves an intact forest ecosystem in the transitional zone between the Central Highlands and the South Central Coast, making it a site of outstanding biodiversity value.

Surveys have recorded 789 species of vascular plants, belonging to 494 genera, 148 families and three plant divisions, within the reserve. Among them, 22 species are listed on the 2025 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, while 23 species are included in the 2024 Việt Nam Red Data Book.

The reserve is also home to 30 mammal species, representing 15 families and six orders. Of these, 12 species are listed on the 2025 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while 21 species are included in the 2024 Việt Nam Red Data Book.

Notably, five species are classified as Critically Endangered, including the Indochinese silvered langur, Sunda pangolin, large-spotted civet, silver-backed chevrotain, and gaur.

Silver-backed chevrotain, listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is spotted at Ea Sô National Park. — VNA/VNS Photo

Scientists have also recorded 179 bird species, belonging to 54 families and 19 orders, in the reserve. Among them, five species are listed on the 2025 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species –the green peafowl, great hornbill, mountain hawk-eagle, lesser fish eagle, and red-breasted parakeet – while eight species are included in the 2024 Việt Nam Red Data Book.

The survey also documented 48 reptile species and 35 amphibian species, including 14 species listed on the 2025 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and 22 species included in the 2024 Việt Nam Red Data Book. Notably, researchers recorded 36 reptile and amphibian species that had not previously been documented in the area.

The surveys confirmed the presence or rediscovery of several rare and threatened species. Most notably, the lesser fish eagle was recorded again after an absence of around 20 years, while the silver-backed chevrotain – a critically endangered species that had long been considered absent from Việt Nam for more than two decades – was also found in Ea Sô.

These findings further underscore Ea Sô National Park's exceptional biodiversity value and highlight the importance of its upgrade to national park status in strengthening nature conservation efforts in the years ahead. — VNS

A Siamese fireback (Lophura diardi), a Group IB protected species listed in the Việt Nam Red Data Book, photographed in Ea Sô Nature Reserve. — VNA/VNS Photo