Vietnam Research

VIETNAM: Evaluating Threatened Conservation Areas

Vietnam a significant proportion of the world's rare and endemic species, including several new species of hoofed mammals, rodents, and birds. The country is at a critical juncture in its efforts to study and conserve its rich diversity of plants and animals, as many species are threatened or endangered by some of the world's fastest rates of both human population growth and deforestation. In the 1990s, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommended that the forested area within the National Protected Area System be increased from 1.3 million to two million hectares.

In 1998, the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) initiated a research program in Vietnam that has informed the government's decisions concerning the location and expansion of protected forest areas. The project–with participation from across the American Museum of Natural History's zoological and anthropological departments, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) in Hanoi, the World Wildlife Fund Indochina Programme, and BirdLife International's Vietnam Programme–is unprecedented for its degree of collaboration among research institutions, the variety of scientific disciplines involved, and the immediacy with which research results are being translated into conservation action. In March 2005, the CBC and IEBR signed an agreement to extend the conservation partnership for several more years.

Program Highlights

During eight field seasons to date, the CBC scientific team has mapped the distribution of biodiversity in proposed protected areas and studied resource use by people living near these sites. During these surveys, several new species of invertebrates and amphibians, as well as new birds and small mammals were discovered. In 2000, using self-triggering “camera traps,” CBC-trained Vietnamese scientists confirmed the existence of a species of otter thought to have been extinct in Vietnam for several decades. These biological surveys have helped improve our understanding of Vietnam’s biodiversity.

In 2003 the CBC's photographic exhibition, Discovering Vietnam's Biodiversity, made possible by the Arthur Ross Foundation and the National Science Foundation, highlighted the incredible diversity of animals and plants in Vietnam. The exhibition is now available online as an interactive website:

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/vietnam_biodiv/.

Highlights and recommendations from our 2003 symposium “Tiger in the Forest: Sustainable Nature-Based Tourism in Southeast Asia” are also online, at http://cbc.amnh.org/tigerhighlights/. This symposium provided a forum for biologists, tourism industry professionals, conservation practitioners, governmental decision makers, and community stakeholders to explore ways to address the needs of unique and fragile ecosystems through the economic and conservation potential of ecotourism.

In the fall of 2005, Biodiversity Specialist for Herpetology Raoul Bain, along with our in-country partners IEBR and WWF Indochina, completed a survey in Thua-Thien-Hué Province to assess priority areas for conservation in a “green corridor” connecting Bach Ma National Park to Phong Dien Proposed Nature Reserve. They recorded eight threatened species and several new amphibian records. During the survey, the team interviewed local hunters as well as directly identified and mapped local trade routes for illegal hunting and logging. Some of their survey activity took place in primary forest along the newly built Ho Chi Minh highway. Preliminary results and recommendations were presented to the Director of the Forest Protection Department of Thua-Thien-Hué, who plans to incorporate their suggestions into the province’s conservation plan.

The CBC has also offered in-country training for Vietnamese conservation specialists in the use of remote sensing and geographic information system (RS/GIS) techniques—tools critical for assessing Vietnam’s highly fragmented but globally significant habitats. In spring 2006, staff of the CBC and Vermont's Gund Institute conducted a workshop on watershed modeling for the Song Bung IV dam that will be constructed in Quang Nam Province. The workshop brought together 34 participants from across Vietnam and included members of government agencies, NGOs, and universities. All materials were translated into Vietnamese and distributed throughout the region. Materials are available at http://biodiversityinformatics.amnh.org and
http://wiki.cbc.amnh.org/vietnam/atelier/index.php/Main_Page.

Together with the Museum’s Library, the CBC is building the Mainland Southeast Asia Online Conservation Library. This initiative is designed to encourage sharing of information and best practices for biodiversity conservation. In addition, it will include an online field guide to species found in Vietnam. The Library is now available at http://www.conservationlibrary.org and research results from CBC projects in Vietnam are also available at: http://cbc.amnh.org/vietnamresearch/viet_main.html.

Spring 2006 marked the publication of Vietnam: A Natural History by Yale University Press. Authored by CBC Director Dr. Eleanor J. Sterling along with CBC scientists Drs. Martha M. Hurley and Le Duc Minh, this is the first book intended for a general audience that summarizes recent research of Vietnam’s wildlife and wildlands. Available at (800) 405-1619; http://www.yalepress.yale.edu/.

Next Steps

In 2006 the CBC launched the second phase of its MacArthur initiative in the Central Highlands. Activities will center on protected area monitoring and planning. In addition to building on its previous work in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province, the CBC will expand its efforts to include Lao PDR. A series of workshops are planned to begin in spring 2007.