Dong Thap province: Media training on the Sarus Crane Conservation Project

In the morning of November 20, Tam Nong District People's Committee arranged a training session on the topic of Sarus Cranes in Tram Chim National Park with the goal of educating, informing, and encouraging their development and restoration. This second course was offered both directly and online to leaders of several departments of Dong Thap province, and People's Committees at the district level.

Delegates attend training at the Tam Nong district. Photo: by Thanh Long

Mr. Doan Van Nhanh, the Deputy Director of the Center for Conservation and International Cooperation (which is part of Tram Chim National Park), gave an overview of the fundamentals and salient features of biodiversity management, conservation, and Tram Chim National Park.

Covering 7,313 hectares, Tram Chim National Park is the fourth Ramsar site in Vietnam and the 2,000^th worldwide. It is a national monument and a part of the East Asia-Australia Migratory Bird Flyway Network and was  recognized as such in 2017. There are 104 kinds of waterfowl, including 16 uncommon species of conservation value, including the Sarus Crane; there are 139 plant species, with Melaleuca trees making up over one-third of the park's surface.

Dr. Tran Triet informed about the conservation and development of Sarus Cranes and noted the points that need to be focused on in propaganda work and raising awareness in the community. Photo: by Thanh Long

Dr. Tran Triet, a lecturer at the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City National University) and the director of the Southeast Asian Crane Conservation Program, claims that the Sarus Crane is found throughout northern Australia, Southeast Asia, India, and Nepal. Indian, Oriental, and Australian Sarus Cranes are the three subspecies of the Sarus Crane. Of these, the Oriental Sarus Crane is the least common and is found in Southeast Asia, mostly in the Mekong River basin, which includes Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

At one point, Tram Chim National Park had more than 1,000 Sarus cranes, the most in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. However, the population is currently quickly decreasing. The province of Dong Thap's People's Committee has released a project to preserve and grow the sarus crane population in Tram Chim National Park from 2022 to 2032 in an effort to recover the species.

Building an ecological rice production area in the National Park's buffer zone; restoring the cranes' habitat in the core zone; establishing livelihood development and environmental education programs in Tam Nong district; and collaborating with Thailand to receive young cranes and transport them to Tram Chim and raise them are the four components of the project. By restoring, conserving, and developing Sarus Cranes in Tram Chim National Park, the goal is not only to have fifty cranes living and breeding here and in the surrounding area in ten years, but also to preserve the park's ecosystem and help people grow their incomes through tourism, livelihood models, and other means.

Regarding Tram Chim National Park's conservation significance, Dr. Tran Triet highlighted the park's "model of the Dong Thap Muoi ecosystem" and deemed it to be its most significant value. To help achieve NetZero by 2050, it also aims to conserve the importance of carbon storage, wetlands, acid sulfate soil ecosystems, the Mekong Delta's last seasonally flooded grasslands, and Dong Thap province's iconic crane and lotus.

Nguyet Anh

Translated by Gia Vi

https://dongthap.gov.vn/chi-tiet-bai-viet-tieng-anh/-/asset_publisher/n7gyLONAyDF6/content/id/21196204?plidlayout=15979