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| Rangers of Dong Nai Nature and Culture Reserve carry out their duties in the forest. Photo: An Nhon |
Deputy Director of the Reserve, Dinh Thi Lan Huong, shared: The Reserve being recognized as an ASEAN Heritage Park is not only an honor for Dong Nai province but also a common pride of Vietnam. This is also scientific evidence for the efforts to preserve and promote biodiversity and restore natural forests that Dong Nai province's leaders have persistently carried out since 1997, and is also an outstanding achievement in the 20-year journey of formation and development of the Reserve. This title helps to enhance Dong Nai's position on the nature conservation map and become the "green gem" of the region.
The result of persistent effort
In 2004, Dong Nai province had a policy of merging 3 Forest Enterprises: Ma Da, Hieu Liem, Vinh An to establish a Conservation Area, converting from production forest to special-use forest with a total natural area of over 100 thousand hectares (more than 68 thousand hectares of forestry land and more than 32 thousand hectares of Tri An lake water surface). Since then, the Conservation Area has undertaken many important functions, including: conserving genetic resources of animals, plants and the ecosystem of native natural forests in the Dong Nai river basin; protecting Tri An lake, protecting the water environment and conserving aquatic species; conserving cultural and historical relics to educate revolutionary traditions for future generations; rationally and sustainably exploiting forest resources, forest land and Tri An lake; developing eco-tourism, source tourism and community tourism; coordinating production and service activities to contribute to creating jobs and stabilizing the lives of people in the buffer zone...
The Deputy Head of the Thai Nguyen Lake Conservation Area Forest Protection Department said: To effectively manage and protect the forest, the Conservation Area has allocated 18 ranger stations in the forest area to ensure patrolling and sweeping. However, many stations are located deep in the forest, with very difficult living conditions (no electricity, no phone signal, lack of water during the dry season...). At the same time, rangers must assign patrolling tasks and keep watch day and night, especially during the rainy season, which is extremely difficult and arduous.
“During raids, there were nights when we had to lie in wait in the middle of the forest, facing reckless subjects who could endanger the lives of our teammates. In fact, the blood of many forest rangers was shed while on duty. But it was the love and protection of our teammates as well as the love for the forest that helped us overcome all challenges to complete the assigned tasks well,” Mr. Nguyen confided.
Not only promoting forest protection patrols, the Reserve also focuses on communication and engagement with the community.
Director of the Center for Ecology - Culture - History of the D War Zone Nguyen Van Ha said: One of the most typical and influential models that the Conservation Area has implemented over the years is the Green Club model. From 2009 to now, the unit has established and maintained 12 green clubs with more than 360 members voluntarily participating in activities, creating a bridge of information channels between the Conservation Area and the locality and bringing practical results, contributing to changing people's awareness and behavior in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. The model is currently a bright spot and is highly appreciated by many agencies and units nationwide.
The synchronous implementation of many solutions has helped the management and protection of the Reserve's forests to have many clear changes. Poor forests have been restored and developed into lush natural forests. The value of forest resources has been increasingly enhanced and has become a place with an extremely rich ecosystem with more than 2,200 animal species and nearly 1,600 plant species, including many endangered species listed in the Vietnam Red Book and the IUCN Red List.
ASEAN Heritage Park is a title recognized by ASEAN for nature reserves in ASEAN member countries. When recognized with these titles, national parks and nature reserves will be known to more organizations and individuals and will be given priority in funding activities, financial and technical support to carry out the task of maintaining, preserving and promoting the values of biodiversity, ecosystems and habitats.
Investing in sustainable development
When referring to the ASEAN Heritage Park, Deputy Head of the Department of Nature Conservation and Cooperation (Protected Areas) Vo Quang Trung said: According to the regulations of the nomination dossier for the ASEAN Heritage Park, the Conservation Area must fully meet 12 criteria (10 criteria of the ASEAN Council and 2 criteria of the country). All criteria are very important and of international interest, the most notable of which are ecological integrity, biodiversity conservation and legality, and the management plan of the nominated Conservation Area. In particular, the nomination dossier of the Conservation Area has been highly appreciated for the 12 criteria and all criteria have achieved 85% or more.
According to Deputy Director of the Conservation Area Dinh Thi Lan Huong, Vietnam currently has 15 ASEAN heritage parks, including the Conservation Area. This contributes to affirming Vietnam's strong commitment to conservation, sustainable development and international integration. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for the Conservation Area to strengthen cooperation, attract resources, promote the image of a green country - rich in identity, linking conservation with ecotourism development and community livelihoods.
In the coming time, the Conservation Area will determine the orientation of ecotourism development as "Development without trade-offs, exploitation associated with conservation". Accordingly, the unit will focus on building typical ecotourism products, based on the value of forests, lakes and cultural and historical heritage; preserving forests, preserving water, preserving biodiversity; at the same time, managing in a sustainable direction, limiting negative impacts on the ecosystem, using renewable energy when possible. The unit will focus on developing community tourism, enhancing environmental education, raising awareness of tourists and people about nature conservation. In addition, the unit will expand domestic and international cooperation, attracting resources to both promote the image of the ASEAN Heritage Park in Dong Nai, and preserve the biodiversity and cultural values of the Conservation Area in the long term.
“We expect the community and businesses to actively join in preserving the title, preserving the green lung of the Southeast region, the Dong Nai ASEAN Heritage Park. The joint efforts of the community and businesses are the key for Dong Nai to both preserve the precious heritage and exploit it reasonably to bring long-term benefits to today's and future generations,” Ms. Huong shared.
The Reserve's forest is located in the core zone of the Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve - one of the most special biospheres in Vietnam, with forests, inland wetlands, national historical and cultural relics (Central Office of the South, Southeast Regional Party Committee, Suoi Linh Tunnels...) and many beautiful natural landscapes (Rang Waterfall, Tri An Lake...). This place has both conservation value and historical significance, educating revolutionary traditions.
Thanh Nhan - Quynh Giang
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202510/trai-ngot-sau-hon-20-namno-luc-giu-rung-e8407e5/
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