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Cat Tien Biosphere Reserves

The second biosphere reserve in Vietnam
 

Official name:                                 Cat Tien Biosphere Reserve.
The date approved by UNESCO:     November 10, 2001.
Administrative boundary:               4 provinces: Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Dac Lac, Lam Dong
 

Zonation:
- Core zone:                 73 878 ha.
- Buffer zone:              251 445 ha.
- Transtion zone:        403 433 ha.
Total:                          728 756 ha.
 

Conserving the heritage of mankind for today and tomorrow.
- Heritage belonging to humankind but its existence depends on individuals.
- Every our action in one local area will impact to global environment and every little or big changes in the world will affect to us.
- Whenever or wherever keeping environment clean is criteria of cultural value and advanced lifestyle.
- People become egotist as forcing the nature to serve them, but becoming noble when living frienly with the nature.
 

Brief Introduction

The Cat Tien tropical forest ecosystem forms part of the Indo-Pacific Biogeographical Region. The typical forest types are: evergreen broad leaves forest, bamboo forest and other mixed forest. A large mosaic of these forests are protected by Cat Tien National Park which was established by the Central Government in 1992. Within the park there is great variation in the topography from steep hill areas in the north to large lowland areas, wetlands, riverine areas and cultivated fields in the south. What is significant about the park's location is that it lies on the border of two major biogeographical zones (Annamite Moist Forests and Forests of the Mekong Delta Complex) and contains habitats representing both. Human intervention in the area falls on a gradient between the buffer area and core area. This gradient ranges from the buffer area, where there is agriculture and a high population density, to the core area, which has a hierarchy of access from zones open to tourism to human-free zones in fragile habitats.

Area of significant biological diversity

Within all the taxonomic groups so far surveyed, Cat Tien National Park has been shown to have a high diversity of species (Table 1), especially for a relatively small area with a limited altitudinal range. The high biodiversity of the park stems from its location in a transitional zone between the biogeographically distinct Dalat Plateau and east Nam Bo Delta. The area has been able to retain much of its original diversity due to the survival of areas of unmodified habitat and the suppression of hunting and other forms of disturbance. There are seven different habitat types and a total of 1,610 botanical species on five geographical landscape. Of the known species 31 are listed as rare and 23 are endemic to Cat Tien. The large number of botanical species in Cat Tien National Park has many values:

- 38 species for genetic protection
- 22 species are of indigenous endemic value
- 511 species are wood trees (176 species of precious timber)
- 550 species are medicinal plants
- Hundreds species have essential oil and special use

The forest types and geographical sites are habitat for the unique tropical fauna: 60 species of mammals, 46 species of reptiles, 23 species of amphibians, 283 species of birds, 99 species of fish and many species of insects. There are some cultivated areas with traditional penenrial trees (high value product like cashew, coffee, pepper, fruit). The full range of biodiversity in Cat Tien National Park is still unknown and future estimates will require tropical biological indicators and continuing work.

Organisational arrangements as legal structure

The authority in charge is the National Park Management Board for protected forest in core areas. All management policies should be followed by Environmental Protection Law 1995, Forest Protection and Development law 1991, and other concerned decrees or regulations at National levels.

Land use history

Nam Cat Tien received protected status in 1978 (Decision 360/TTg of July 7, 1978), it became a National Park in 1992 (Decision 08-CT of January 13, 1992). Cat Loc received protected status in 1992 from Lam Dong Province. The area remained managed by Cat Tien District and a formal Management Board was established only in 1996. The decision of January 13, 1992 (08-CT) included the suggestion to extend Nam Cat Tien National Park with Tay Cat Tien and Cat Loc. Decision 38 1998 QD of February 16, 1998 approved the integration of Nam Cat Tien, Tay Cat Tien and Cat Loc in what is currently known Cat Tien National Park. The documents regulating the handing-over of responsibility from the Provinces to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development took place on December 22, 1998.

Local communities living within or near the Cat Tien Biosphere Reserve

There are several villages located within the core area. In Nam Cat Tien, people are concentrated in Village 4 of Talai (S'Tieng and Chau Ma ethnic minorities who have been resettled) and a small group of people lives within the park in the Dak Lua area. A large number of people of different ethnic origin who recently settled from elsewhere in Vietnam, live on the border between Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc Provinces (Nam Cat Tien and Tai Cat Tien) in the Da Bong Cua area.

Cultural significance

There are 11 different ethnic groups living within Cat Tien National Park. They can be divided into three main groups, which have different histories in the area, different connections to administrative structures, and also differ in land use strategies. These three groups are:
- Lowland Vietnamese (Kinh);
- Indigenous ethnic minorities: S'Tieng and Chau Ma;
- Recently migrated minorities from northern provinces (Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan provinces) such as Tay, Nung, Dao, Hoa, H'Mong, etc.

The differences between these three groups suggest that different strategies will be required to achieve a goal of sustainable development that incorporates ideas of resource conservation. S'Tieng, Chau Ma, and Chau Ro tribes have lived in the region of the park for several centuries. Village 5, Village 6 and K'lut (Tien Hoang) K'lo - K'it, Village 4 (Phuoc Cat 2) people are all but a few Chau Ma. S'Tieng people are concentrated in Village 3 and Phuoc Son (Phuoc Cat 2) and Village 4 (Talai). These indigenous minorities have a long history of shifting cultivation. For these people, it takes time to change their traditional cultivation practices and style of living to more sedentary livelihood. The recently migrated minorities from the northern provinces started arriving around 1987-1988, but most settled after 1990. Their principal means of livelihood are fishing, hunting and shifting cultivation. They predominately occupy the Da Bong Kua area (Dang Ha Commune, Bu Dang District, Binh Phuoc Province).

Types of habitat/land cover

- Primary Evergreen Forest (0.9 % of the total Park area) - Local
- Secondary Evergreen Forest (23.1 % of the total Park area) - Regional
- Semi-evergreen Forest (7 % of the total Park area) - Regional
- Mixed Forest (19.3 % of the total Park area) - Regional
- Bamboo Forest (40.1 % of the total Park area) - Regional
- Wetlands (2.2 % of the total Park area) - Regional