Nam Cat Tien
Location:
 11°32'N, 107°23'E; 110 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km southeast of Da Lat, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province.
Area:
2,500 ha.
Altitude
 120m.
Biogeographical Province:
4.5.1.
Wetland type:
 14, 15 & 21.
Description of site:

A small, permanent, freshwater lake and a large area of seasonal lakes and marshes surrounded by seasonally flooded swamp forest, in Nam Cat Tien Forest Reserve. The southern part of the reserve (15,000 ha) consists of the riparian lowlands of the Dong Nai River. Some 2,500 ha of these lowlands are flooded during the rainy season, creating three small lakes: Fish, Bird and Crocodile. Only Crocodile Lake (30-50 ha) retains water throughout the dry season.

A hydro-electric dam has recently been constructed at Tn An on the Dong Nai River downstream of the reserve. The dam will flood large areas of forest south of the reserve, and the shallow end of the reservoir will extend to within a few km of the reserve boundary.
Climatic conditions:
 Tropical monsoonal climate with a pronounced dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. The average annual rainfall is 2,435 mm, the mean annual temperature 25.5°C, and the mean relative humidity 80%.
Principal vegetation:
 No information is available on the aquatic vegetation. The seasonally flooded grassland is dominated by Saccharum spontaneum and Negradia neyraudiana, and the swamp forest by Hydrocarpus anthelmintica mixed with Ficus benjamica. The wetland is bounded to the east, south and west by dense humid evergreen forest with dipterocarps, such as Dipterocarpus alatus, D. dyeri, Anisoptera costata, and species of Shorea and Hopea. Land to the north is under cultivation, mainly for rice. The nearby hills support semi-evergreen and deciduous forest with Lagerstroemia calyculata and Leguminosae such as Azfelia xylocarpa, Dalbergia bariensis, D. cochinchinensis and Pterocarpus pedatus. A high diversity of orchids (Orchidaceae) has been recorded, particularly in the wetland areas; 62 species of 28 genera have been listed, the dominant genera being:
Dendrobium (17 species) Sarcanthus (6)
Eria (4) Bulbophytlum (4)
Land tenure:
 State owned.
Conservation measures taken:
 The wetland and surrounding forests are protected in the Nam Cat Tien Forest Reserve (36,500 ha), established in 1978 by decision No. 360/TTg 7/7/1978 of the Council of Ministers and entrusted to the Dong Nai Provincial Forestry Department for protection. The forestry protection staff are mainly concerned with preventing fires and illegal cutting of trees, and there is no management at the wetland. Some of the farmers living in the southeast of the reserve were relocated across the reserve boundary in 1986. In December 1987, the Dong Nai Forestry Department agreed to set aside a proportion (perhaps as much as 10%) of its profits from forest exploitation in the Province for Investment at Nam Cat Tien.
Conservation measures proposed:
 The Ministry of Forestry has made plans for the establishment of a National Park during the 1986-1990 five-year plan. In December 1987, a National Workshop supported by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme was held at Bien Hoa in Dong Nai Province to discuss the problems involved in establishing a National Park, and to finalize the proposal for the designation of Nam Cat Tien as the first Biosphere Reserve in Vietnam. Thai Van Trung has recommended that (a) all economic activites within the reserve be terminated; (b) the reserve staff be increased and more control posts established; and (c) the reserve be extended to the north to include the forest of Bac Cat Tien, which also has wetland areas.
Land use:
 Fishing and hunting; hunting, shifting agriculture and forestry in surrounding areas. A small number of Muong tribesmen live in the central valley of the reserve, but plans have been made to resettle these people outside the reserve.
Possible changes in land use:
  
Disturbances and threats: Excessive hunting and fires due to honey collection during the dry season are the only threats at the wetland. The principal threat in the reserve is human population growth and consequent increased exploitation of the forest and its wildlife for timber, food and profit. Most of the area was sprayed with chemical defoliants during the war, and since then much of the forest has been heavily exploited for timber and cleared for agricultural land. Wardening is reported to be inefficient.
Economic and social values: The reserve has considerable potential for scientific research, conservation education and tourism.
Fauna:

The wetland supports a wide variety of resident and migratory waterfowl. Groups of 10-20 Lesser Adjutant Storks Leptoptilos javanicus have been observed, and the species is said to breed in the centre of the marsh along with various herons and egrets. Ciconia episcopus has also been reported in recent years. Other waterbirds known to occur include Phalacrocorax niger, Anhinga melanogasler, Ixobrychus flavicollis, Nycticorax nycticorax, Ardeola bacchus (abundant), Butorides striatus, Egretta garzetta, E. intermedia, Ardea purpurea, Amaurornis phoenicurus, Metopidius indicus (up to 35), Himantopus hirnantopus, Glareola maldivarum, Charadrius dubius, Tringa erythropus, T. nebularia, T. ochropus, T. glareola, Actitis hypoleucos and Gallinago sp. Some migratory ducks occur during the winter months.
The reserve is rich in birds of prey including several species associated with the wetlands, such as Pandion haliaetus, Milvus migrans, Haliastur indus, Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, Spilornis cheela and Microhierax caerulescens.

The reserve is the only place in Indochina where the Southern Douc Langur Pygathrix nemaeus nigripes is still recorded. Other mammals known to occur in the reserve include Black Gibbon, Asian Elephant, Tiger, Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Gaur, Banteng, Indian Muntjac, Sambar and Wild Boar (Hylobates concolor, Elephas maximus, Panthera tigris, P. pardus, Neofelis nebulosa, Bos gaurus, B. javanicus, Muntiacus muntjak, Cervus unicolor and Sus scrofa). The Javan Rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus was once seen regularly in the marshes, but has now become very rare; about five individuals were believed to be present in the reserve area in 1983, but the population was no longer thought to be viable, Reports of the presence of Kouprey Bos sauveli are disputed.
Crocodile Lake was formerly a breeding area for large numbers of the endangered Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus siamensis (thousands according to some reports), but numbers have decreased rapidly in recent years and the species is now uncommon in the reserve. Other reptiles include monitor lizards Varanus sp.
Special floral values: The forests within the reserve are representative of the tropical lowland mixed Dipterocarp forest ecosystem largely destroyed by chemical warfare elsewhere in southern Vietnam.
Research and facilities: Several faunal and floral surveys have been carried out. In particular, the Forest Ecology Group of the Botanical Museum in Ho Chi Minh City has carried out many investigations in the reserve since 1982. An observation platform was constructed at the marsh in 1987, and there are plans to build a museum and research station capable of accommodating twenty people.
Criteria for inclusion: 1b, 2a, 2b, 3b.
References: IUCN (in prep); Morris (1986, 1987 & l988a); Thai Van Trung (1985, 1986 & 1988); Truong Quang Tam (1988).
Source:
 Thai Van Trung and G.E. Morris.