The decision was announced at the 33rd session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB/ICC), which took place from September 13-17, 2021 in Nigeria.
Thus, the number of world biosphere reserves in Vietnam has now reached 11, making it the country with the second largest number of biosphere reserves in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia (19 reserves).
According to Ms. Le Thi Hong Van - Ambassador, Head of the Vietnamese delegation to UNESCO, Vietnam is the only country to have 2 dossiers approved in the first round of review; thus, after 6 years, Vietnam has a new biosphere reserve registered at the world level.
Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve
Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve covers an area of over 106 thousand hectares, including the mainland and sea areas of Ninh Thuan province, located at the end of the Truong Son range. This is a place with harsh climate with sunny, hot, dry weather and minimal rainfall. Nui Chua has a rich ecosystem, biodiversity typical of the South Central region, including unique semi-arid vegetation, sea turtle nesting grounds and coral reefs.
Kon Ha Nung Biosphere Reserve has an area of 413 thousand hectares, located in the highlands of Central Vietnam, with the unique characteristics of the Central Highlands forests, the richness of the tropical closed forest ecosystem, and high biodiversity. The biosphere reserve is also home to rare species such as the grey-shanked douc langur - a primate endemic to Vietnam, classified as critically endangered, with only about 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild.
Kon Ha Nung Biosphere Reserve
In addition, the two biosphere reserves of Nui Chua and Kon Ha Nung both contain a rich and unique treasure of cultural heritage with many outstanding features of tangible and intangible cultural values of the ethnic minority communities living here.
"The event demonstrates international recognition of the diverse and unique development of natural, biological, flora and fauna values and cultural values of the community in Vietnam's two biosphere reserves as well as the efforts of localities and people in sustainable biodiversity conservation," said Ms. Van.
List of 11 World Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam:
1. Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve (2000).
2. Biosphere Reserve - Cat Tien National Park (2001).
3. Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve (2004).
4. Cat Ba Archipelago Biosphere Reserve (2004).
5. Kien Giang coastal and island biosphere reserve (2006).
6. Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve (2007)
7. Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve (2009).
8. Ca Mau Cape Biosphere Reserve (2009)
9. Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve (2015).
10. Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve (2021)
11. Kon Ha Nung Biosphere Reserve (2021).
