(Refer to Map 10 of Appendix for MPA sites and other relevant areas)

 

9.1 Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
The coastline of Vietnam extends for some 3,260 km through more than 15 degrees of latitude from 8º30’ N to 23º N and shows a variation in climate and biodiversity along this broad N-S cline. The country has more than 3,000 inshore and offshore islands and islets that extend to claims covering the Spratly and Paracel Islands. Coral reefs are the richest marine habitats in the country with the greatest diversity of species. All coral reefs in the north are fringing; the more complex coastline and insignificant effect of rivers in the south has also favored the development of fringing as well as platform reefs. Atolls in the Spratly Islands enclose reefs hundreds of meters long and have a high species diversity and cover. The most extensive tracts of seagrass occur in the Thuy Trieu lagoon of Khanh Loa province with some 800 ha. The offshore islands of Con Dao and Phu Quoc also have extensive tracts of seagrass beds of 200 ha and 300 ha, respectively. Estuaries, river deltas, coastal lagoons and river mouths, tidal marshes, mud and salt flats are the other coastal and marine habitats of the country; it is in these areas where the country’s mangroves can be found.

Mangrove formations now cover less than 150,000 ha and can be found in many areas along Vietnam’s coastline. Extensive mangroves occur on Mekong Delta in the south and Red River Delta in the north. The southern estuaries of the Mekong and Dong Nai rivers are the most favorable for mangrove growth. The lower temperatures and poorer soils in the north have limited the height of trees. Although mangroves occur along the central coast, the narrow tidal flats in this region combined with poor sedimentation from rivers, and exposure to typhoons and floods offer less favourable conditions for growth in some of the regions that are most disaster prone.

9.2 Species of Significance
Over 300 species of scleractinian corals are found in Vietnam’s coastal waters with 277 species belonging to 72 genera identified in the south, compared with the less diverse areas in the north of the country with 165 species in 52 genera. Fourteen seagrass species have been recorded in the shallow coastal waters of Vietnam, with species diversity increasing from the north with nine species, and to the south with 13. There are around 32 true mangrove species and another 32 associate mangrove species.

Marine turtles include the Green (Chelonia mydas), the Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Loggerhead (Caretta olivacea) and the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), all of which have traditional nesting sites along the coast. Despite legal protection, the turtles are still hunted and their eggs collected. Northern populations are almost wiped out so most of the catch now comes from the south and mainly on islands and waters far from the mainland. They are very rare along the coast now except at Con Dao islands where they are protected by the National Park. Today, the endangered Dugong (Dugong dugon) is known to inhabit the waters of Con Dao islands. A dugong was captured near Nha Trang in 1962, and the animals were previously known to occur in the Tonkin Gulf, Phu Quoc islands of Thailand Gulf. Sixteen Cetaceans including one baleen whale and 15 toothed whales (dolphins and porpoises) have thus far been sighted in Vietnamese waters, though other species are likely to occur.

9.3 Legislation and Management Framework
The Law on Environmental Protection (LEP), which was passed by the National Assembly on 27 December 1993 but came into effect on 10 January 1994, sets out a broad and basic framework for policies on environmental protection. Chapter II provides for the prevention of and combat against “environmental degradation, pollution and incidents”. Chapter III outlines the remedies to be adopted against these environmental threats. The state apparatus and institutions for environmental protection are set out in Chapter IV, and the country’s international obligations with respect to environmental protection treaties are established by Chapter V. Chapter VI deals with breaches and violations of the LEP, and Chapter VII anticipates implementing provisions to enforce the LEP. However, the lack of specificity of the LEP has resulted in many environmental issues left without legal regulation. These include overlapping jurisdiction amongst government bodies, EIA requirements for specific industries, international treaty obligations, harmonisation of liability for environmental violations, and new issues such as trade and the environment and the use of economic instruments to motivate compliance (Tan 2000).

In addition, the Ordinance on Fisheries Resource Protection contains specific regulations on fish catch, methods, seasons, etc. that are being enforced by the Department of Fisheries Resources Protection, which was established in 1993 under the Ministry of Fisheries (MoF).

The Ministry of Forestry has the mandate and responsibility over nature reserves, national parks and other protected areas on land including mangrove areas. However, there is as yet no government department clearly authorised to manage MPAs although the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE) have both shown concern about the issue. Management of existing island reserves tends to be more focused on the terrestrial area since these are run by the Forestry Department. The lack of a clearly identified responsible authority has been repeatedly emphasized as the major obstacle against marine conservation, and specifically on MPA viability (Biodiversity Action Plan Planning Committee, 1994 draft; Roop et al. 1994).

Institutional and administrative complications have been an impediment to effective protected area design and management in the country. The planning process is sectoraldriven and centrally-oriented, often resulting in planning conflicts at the provincial level and little recognition of real on-the-ground needs at the district level. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) through its Forest Protection Department (FPD) is the designated management authority for all protected areas in the country, but is primarily focused on the terrestrial (forested) ecosystems. There remains an institutional vacuum and a limited management capacity to cover the needs of the MPA component. The initial result has been that all coastal protected areas lacked marine components; when extensions to cover the marine environment were confirmed (as in the case of Cat Ba), management and staff on the ground were ill-prepared to carry out the activities necessary in managing the marine environment. The staff were mainly trained for terrestrial conservation. Up to the present, there is no agency solely responsible for marine conservation. This means that management effectiveness for marine environment may be lower than as discussed.

Recently, the Vietnam Government authorised the Ministry of Fisheries (MoFi) to develop a National Plan for Marine Protected Areas. The results of the project,ADB 5712-REG, have been used in this plan. The MoFi plan has put emphasis on areas (15 areas listed) with dominantly marine components, particularly coral reefs and seagrass beds, and also includes a marine protected area in the Spratly archipelago. The plan, which is pending approval by the government, will consequently address the problem of institutional vacuum. This means that Vietnam will have two systems responsible for managing PA systems in the future. The FPD of MARD will continue to manage terrestrial PAs including mangroves, and the coastal forest ecosystem while MoFi will be responsible for the MPAs with the objective of conserving mainly coral reefs, seagrass beds, island ecosystems and marine living resources, some of which the FPD presently manages.

9.4 Extent of Existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) System
Establishing protected areas was considered as a tool toward the conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems in Vietnam in 1986 when some reserves dominated by mangroves such as Ca Mau cape, Bac Lieu were established. In the same year, the 15, 043-ha Cat Ba National Park was approved. The Park included some 5, 400 ha of coastal waters, making it the first protected area in the country with an approved marine component. Further, based on the marine surveys they conducted, the Oceanographic Institute in Haiphong had recommended an expanded marine component for the park but which is awaiting formal approval.

At present, there are 31 existing protected areas considered relatively as coastal and marine protected areas with the purpose to conserve coastal forest, mangroves, seagrass beds and wetlands (WCMC/WRI 2002). Besides Cat Ba and Con Dao National Parks and Halong Bay World Heritage, the others do not include marine areas. Marine components of former terrestrial reserves such as Cat Ba and Con Dao national parks have only recently been recognized as integral components of these protected areas, but even so they still need to undergo further expansion to cover critical marine habitats. Presently, only a nominal proportion of Vietnam’s coastal and marine resources are included in the existing protected areas system.

Of these MPAs, three are designated as protected landscape, two as national parks, and 16 as nature reserves (WCMC/WRI 2002). Halong Bay, which surrounds around 3,000 islands, was approved in 1994 as an UNESCO World Heritage Site and established for its landscape qualities. The famous site covers up to 43,700 ha, including the marine environment. The Red River Estuary is included as a Ramsar site (Kelleher et al.1995).

Based on the criteria of the project of Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia, only two areas (Con Dao National Park and Can Gio Biosphere Reserve) are considered as having good management, while 13 others belong to the medium level of management effectiveness. Meanwhile, almost all MPAs (18 out of 22) still need highly enforced protection.

It should be noted that all existing areas have been mainly designed for terrestrial biodiversity conservation.

9.5 Proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Six of the seven MPAs proposed as a result of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Marine Conservation Project (1992-1994) that was launched to carry out biodiversity, socioeconomic surveys and conservation potential, have already been established. Through subsequent surveys conducted by the Institute of Oceanography in large level at the sites proposed by the WWF project and other sites, MPAs representative for the coastal ecosystems of Vietnam have been selected.

9.6 Evaluation of MPAs - Status, Threats and Management
By the end of the American war, some 105, 000 ha of mangroves or 36% of the total mangrove formation in South Vietnam have been destroyed by herbicides. Since then most of the mangroves that were defoliated have recovered naturally or through replanting. However, human migration to the coast has since caused serious negative impacts to the mangrove and other coastal ecosystems. Mangroves have been cleared for aquaculture (shrimp and fish) in most coastal provinces, and have even replaced areas formerly used for agriculture. These activities impact even on mangroves inside protected areas such as Ca Mau and Can Gio.

The development and expansion of industry along the coast is beginning to add to the pollution load, particularly poisonous heavy metal waste, which is often released into the sea without any attempts to reduce toxicity. The expansion of ports and unregulated bilge cleaning is now becoming a more frequent source of coastal pollution, particularly in the northern areas of Quang Ninh and Haiphong. Other MPAs, such as Cat Ba, Ha Long Bay, are also vulnerable to this threat.

Overfishing, especially non-selective and illegal forms using poisons, explosives and fine mesh nets, had decreased somewhat but is still serious in some provinces. Other forms of non-selective fishing such as sluice traps, electric fishing, gill nets and the traditional gia cao (pelagic trawling net) continue to take their toll on marine fisheries. Rapid resource assessment (RRA) interviews conducted in early 1999 revealed that destructive fishing methods were an issue in 21 to 29 provinces. The magnitude of this issue not only encompasses the indiscriminate killing of incidental species, small fry and seedlings necessary for stock regeneration, and environmental damage, but also the
source of community conflict both for resident and non-resident marine harvesters that has arisen due to the use of these methods.

Live trade of groupers and other fish species for the Hong Kong and Chinese markets operate with impunity in the northern and central parts of the country, and even in the productive waters near the Con Dao National Park. Figures are difficult to determine, but fishermen in these areas illegally take the fish and sell them at sea to larger ‘tenders’ for onward transport. Divers use cyanide to poison and stun the fish, which in turn kill coral and other biota outright. This is one reason why the density of commercial fish is very low even in the waters of many MPAs.

Management of the marine areas at all three sites is minimal or non-existent. This is largely because the two national parks are under the Forestry Department, which has no authority in the sea and no expertise in marine resource management. Local expatriates and scientists at Hon Mun had done some voluntary activities including the installation of moorings and awareness programs, which were supported by provincial departments, but the government had not provided official management or protection effort. Status and threats at other undeclared MPAs also vary. Overall, overfishing, hunting of endangered species, destructive fishing and the curio trade have been identified as causing the most serious impacts on both the existing and undeclared coral reef MPAs (Figure 9.1).

Institutional Responsibility. The lack of any legal framework for MPAs means that, at the moment, no government agency has the clear mandate for MPA management in Vietnam.

Protected Area Boundaries. At present, there are no regulations specifying the process and materials required for submitting boundaries of candidate sites as MPAs when proposals are being made. A number of existing MPAs and current reserve proposals are without specific boundaries or have only vague boundary descriptions. Should conflicts arise with other forms of coastal development (i.e. locations of factories, ports, or shipping routes), MPAs with ambiguous boundaries will be open to compromise.

Status, Condition, and Biodiversity Significance of Existing Reserves. Many of the existing coastal and marine protected areas in the country are relatively small compared to what is required to support biodiversity conservation or protection objectives. Generally, a minimum size of about 10,000 ha is required for these types of ecosystems to ensure ecosystem and biodiversity integrity; for the protection of far-ranging species, the area should be much larger. The average size of Vietnam’s 20 existing coastal and marine protected areas is slightly more than 11,000 ha, which is encouraging.

 

 

However, none of the coastal and marine protected areas is in pristine condition,and many are degraded. The significant threats to coastal and marine ecosytems of Vietnam in general are unregulated access, over-exploitation of ecosystem resources, and habitat destruction. Marine resources are being exploited everywhere along the coasts of the country. As these resources decline, harvesting efforts increase, leading to increasing use of destructive fishing methods. Low returns on inshore harvesting efforts are due to declining marine resources, primitive fishing methods, and increased competition. The declining marine resources are in turn linked to the overall poverty context of inshore marine harvesting households to fishing methods and to changes in the marine environment. The situation is further exacerbated by competition and conflicts for provincial territorial resources by outsiders, especially fishers from other provinces and also, to some degree, by non-Vietnamese fishers.

Awareness and Knowledge of Coastal and Marine PAs. There is a lack of awareness and knowledge of coastal and marine protected areas among coastal communities in Vietnam. Most of those interviewed during the surveys had virtually no idea of what an marine protected area is, even if a marine protected area exists in their province. Those who ventured to guess were familiar with land-based protected areas. More importantly, many coastal communities’ concept of what a protected area might be is strongly tied to the notion of restrictions on fishing, whether these restrictions are season, fishing method and gear type, or species and size. Coastal communities are familiar and comfortable with this notion of a protected area. Also, this understanding of restrictions on resource use in a protected area does not necessarily mean permanent prohibition of access to and harvesting of biological resources. A number of communes indicated reluctance to support a coastal and marine protection area if it meant that part of the marine area would be permanently off limits to biological resource harvesting. As the existence and maintenance of MPAs largely depend upon strong public support, any programme or project relating to MPAs must focus on raising community support to overcome the information vaccum at the outset. Biological Basis for Protected Area Planning. Vietnam’s present system of coastal and marine protected areas has evolved through a series of proposals made over the years by different government departments including MARD, MoF, MOCI, and the provinces. The resulting system is a collection of protected areas that have been established for diverse purposes. It is not certain if the current system has developed from a consistent physical, biological, and socio-economic information base with an objective of ensuring representative ecosystem coverage. For example, the last comprehensive biological surveys of the existing protected areas were conducted about ten years ago, with only a few conducted in the last three years and some with incomplete surveys. This means that the current coastal and marine protected area system for Vietnam may not be completely representative of the biodiversity of these ecosystems. In the absence of such a systematic analysis, it cannot be confirmed if the requirements for an ecologically meaningful system of coastal and marine protected areas is being met in Vietnam.

Financial Support. One of the biggest constraints to the correct management of coastal and marine protected areas in Vietnam (as elsewhere in the region) is financial. Public sector financing of investments is insufficient to establish and effectively manage reserves. Even the bigger national reserves such as Cat Ba and Con Dao National Parks are underfunded - now receiving US $10/ha each year from the public sector for capital and operating expenses. Reserves that are not national parks receive even less. This low level of funding places constraints on what could be achieved with respect to effective protected area management.

All protected areas are severely understaffed. Currently, slightly more than 685 permanent staff are charged with protecting and managing some 226,400 ha of coastal and marine environment in Vietnam’s 20 existing coastal and marine protected areas.

The low levels of public sector funding mean that very little is left for protected area management itself: equipment and facilities; public awareness programs; reserve infrastructure; and monitoring, let alone basic operation and maintenance. The result is a coastal and marine protected area system in Vietnam that is under-equipped, lacking in basic infrastructure and facilities, and consequently limited in its capacity to achieve management, conservation, and protection objectives. An unfortunate consequence of all this is that opportunities for local participation in protected area planning and management have been very limited.

Management Capacity. Most of the staff in Vietnam’s reserves have limited formal education and are guided by managers who lack formal training in protected area management. Even in the most important reserves, only one or two university level staff are among the officers assigned to the protected areas. Training and capacity building is required at all levels of marine protected areas management, but present opportunities for the type and quality of training required are limited in the country.

9.7 Priority Sites
The draft Coastal and Marine Protected Areas Plan made by the project ADB 5712 - REG (Phase 2) had ranked 20 areas as priority. This proposed national system includes coastal and marine protected areas. Six MPAs have been prioritised for management strengthening, and eight others for expansion and management strengthening; six new MPAs will be established. Among these MPAs, eight are being considered of highest priority. These include the Con Dao and Cat Ba National Parks, the Ca Mau and Phu Quoc-An Thoi
Reserves, the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site, the proposed Phu Qui Nature Reserve, the Cu Lao Cham Nature Reserve, the proposed Hon Mun Marine Park, and the proposed Cu Lao Cau Habitat Protected Area. The Draft Plan made by the Ministry of Fisheries agreed with this list. Although not listed here, the Spratly Islands is of great regional (if not global) significance for marine biodiversity and resources conservation if sovereignty disputes can be settled.

With this plan, the areas of marine ecosystems will be increased significantly. The objectives and details of the plan were summarized by Vo Si Tuan et al. (in press). The report is available at Vietnam’s MOSTE or WWF-Indochina in Ha Noi.

9.8 Priority Actions

A. Identify a government body or a consortium of government bodies to be responsible for the planning, implementation and coordination of MPA establishment and management.

B. Revise laws and regulations to accommodate MPA management.

C. In the planning and management of MPAs, take into account ongoing and planned coastal development and master plans. The formulation of coastal master plans should in turn consider the existence of MPAs.

D. Quickly select pilot sites for MPA management. Document the ecological and socio-economic outcome at these sites in detail for dissemination to the government and local communities so as to encourage follow-up activities and new MPA sites to be managed. Small and easily managed sites such as Hon Cau and Hon Mun would be suitable pilot sites.

E. Provide training for MPA planners, managers and staff.

F. Promote non-destructive fishing techniques and alternative livelihood programmes, especially in and around MPAs.

G. Promote public awareness on marine conservation and sustainable resource utilization.

H. Carry out baseline surveys and feasibility studies to less-known sites, especially non-coral reef areas, to identify sites of high conservation priorities.

I. Promote Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in MPA management (Tuan, pers. comm.).