Vietnam national park recognized as wetland of int’l importance

Mui Ca Mau National Park in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Photo: VGP News

A national park in the southernmost province of Ca Mau named to Ramsar’s Wetlands of International Importance list last December received its official certificate of recognition in an April 13 ceremony.

Mui Ca Mau National Park is the fifth site in Vietnam to receive such recognition.

The park, which is one of the three main zones within the UNESCO-recognized Mui Ca Mau Biosphere Reserve, occupies 41,862 hectares of Dat Mui Commune in Ngoc Hien District. Its unique biodiversity includes 93 species of birds, 26 species of mammals, nine amphibian species and 233 aquatic animal species.
The Ramsar list, which now includes more than 2,110 sites worldwide, is based on the Ramsar Convention – an agreement 165 member governments committed to the sustainable use of wetlands – also known as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.The member governments have pledged to take action domestically and cooperate with other nations to conserve wetlands internationally, according to Ramsar, which was named after the Iranian city where the convention was established in 1971.

Vietnam became the 50th signatory to the convention in 1989.
Vietnam’s four other Ramsar sites are Xuan Thuy Natural Wetland Reserve in Nam Dinh Province; Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan Province; Bau Sau (Crocodile Lake) in the Cat Tien National Park in Dong Nai Province; and Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap Province.