Preserving 'green treasures' to develop tourism

Natural scenery of Na Hang hydroelectric lake area.

How to do in Na Hang

Tat Ke - Ban Bung Nature Reserve (now Na Hang Nature Reserve) of Tuyen Quang province was established in 1994, with nearly 42,000 hectares of forest, divided into strict, restoration and service zones, becoming a shield to protect rare species.

According to statistics, Na Hang currently has more than 1,100 species of higher plants, 88 species of mammals, 294 species of birds; in particular, there are the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and the white-cheeked black monkey... With such potential, Thuong Lam commune has exploited tourism with tens of thousands of visitors each year, revenue from tourism services has reached over 50 billion VND, contributing to increasing income for local people.

To achieve the achievements of today, according to Mr. Le Hong Binh, former Director of Na Hang Nature Reserve: There were times when this place was also a "hot spot" with stories of illegal forest exploitation and hunting of wild animals.

However, thanks to the determination of local authorities and all levels of sectors in propagating and mobilizing people to participate in forest protection and development, along with practical policies of the State on supporting livelihoods for people living in core and buffer zones, for many years now there has been no illegal logging or deforestation, and many forest areas that were previously cut down have now returned to green.

Mr. Nguyen The Cuong, Deputy Director of the Center for Humans and Nature, a primate research expert, said: Through many years of accompanying domestic and international projects implemented in Na Hang, from building protection posts, paying forest patrols, building livelihood models for indigenous people, to scientific research... we feel that the forest here is reviving and has diverse developments.

Linking forest protection with ecotourism development

People of Na Tong village, Thuong Lam commune, Tuyen Quang province, perform art performances for tourists at homestays in the area.

Along with Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen province has also chosen the direction of combining biodiversity conservation with ecotourism development, notably Ba Be National Park with an area of more than 10,000 hectares of forest.

The Ba Be National Park ecotourism project for the period 2021 - 2030 aims to build 17 ecotourism points and routes, with the desire to choose conservation and development of Ba Be Lake and primeval forests into ecotourism products, both preserving the wild beauty and bringing income to local people.

Mr. Hoang Van Khoa, a resident of Pac Ngoi village, Ba Be commune, shared: In the past, we lived on slash-and-burn farming, going into the forest to collect wood to build houses and firewood, now we run homestays and row boats to take tourists around. The more tourists there are, the more opportunities we have for income and jobs, so we understand the value of protecting the forest and keeping the environment clean in the lake area.

Conservation is not only the story of forest rangers or scientists, but has become the livelihood of the community. Every tourist coming to Ba Be, when enjoying grilled fish, when listening to the locals tell mythical stories about the origin of Ba Be Lake, more or less carries with them a message about protecting nature.

The common point of Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang provinces is that they both consider the community as the center for development and conservation. In Na Hang, people become “unpaid forest rangers” patrolling the forest, while in Ba Be, the villagers do tourism, linking benefits with landscape preservation.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202509/giu-kho-bau-xanh-de-phat-trien-du-lich-ff616b7/