QUẢNG NINH — Bái Tử Long National Park in the northern province of Quảng Ninh has been recognised as the 38th ASEAN Heritage Park.

The national park meets all the criteria to become an ASEAN Heritage Park, including ecological integrity, preservation of genetic diversity, sustainable utilisation of resources and the provision of opportunities for outdoor recreation, tourism, education and research.

The park covers a total area of nearly 16 hectares with more than 9 hectares of sea and 6 hectares of islands. It is home to nearly 2,000 species of flora and fauna, of which, 72 animal species and 30 plant species have been listed in the Việt Nam Red Book.

An award ceremony for the park was held in Ha Long city on May 19, coinciding with a ceremony to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22) and International Migratory Bird Day (May 10).

“Being aware of the importance of biodiversity, the government has taken steps to enhance conservation work. Until now, 43 provinces and cities nationwide have constructed and implemented action plans on biodiversity,” said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Nguyễn Linh Ngọc.

In a bid to strengthen the biodiversity work, Ngọc asked the community, especially the young and businesses to raise awareness about the importance, as well as the role and value, of biodiversity and sustainable tourism to socio-economic development

Over the years, the park has rescued, taken care of and released back into nature more than 200 forest animals and five sea turtles. It has collaborated with international organisations to implement projects including sea turtle preservation, enhancing management capacity and biodiversity conservation, and supporting eco-tourism development and environmental education.

The ASEAN Heritage Park programme is an initiative by the ASEAN Working Group on Nature Conservation and Biodiversity implemented since 2002.

Previously, the title was bestowed on five national parks in Việt Nam, including Ba Bể, Hoàng Liên, Kon Ka Kinh, Chư Mom Ray and U Minh Thượng. 

Việt Nam currently has 8 Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance), 9 World Biosphere Reserves, 6 ASEAN Heritage Parks and 63 important bird areas identified by Birdlife Conservation. —VNS