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Management history

A Yun Pa is not included on any government decision regarding the national Special-use Forests system (MARD 1997). However, a recommendation to establish a 37,800 ha nature reserve in south-eastern Gia Lai province was made by BirdLife International and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), following their review of Vietnam's protected areas system (Wege et al. 1999). Consequently, BirdLife International and FIPI prepared a feasibility study for this site, based upon a detailed field survey in April 2000. This feasibility study recommended establishing a 44,268 ha nature reserve, with a buffer zone of 54,190 ha (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Subsequently, Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee sent an official letter to MARD, requesting that A Yun Pa be included on the list of Special-use Forests in Vietnam (Tran Van Thieu 2001). To date, however, an investment plan for the site has not been prepared and a management board has not been established. Moreover, A Yun Pa is not included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD (FPD 2003).

Topography and hydrology

A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve is located in Ia Tul, Chu Mo and Ia K Dam communes, A Yun Pa district and Ia R Sai commune, Krong Pa district. The buffer zone comprises the remaining areas of these four communes, together with Ia Broai commune, A Yun Pa district and Chu R Cam commune, Krong Pa district.

The proposed nature reserve is situated in a low mountainous area, in the transition zone between the central and southern Annamite mountains. The proposed nature reserve rises in elevation from c.150 m in the valley of the Ba river in the west and south of the site to over 1,200 m on the border with Phu Yen province in the north-east. The proposed nature reserve is drained by several permanent streams, all of which feed the Ba river, one of the major rivers in Gia Lai province. The Ba river flows to the south-east and meets the sea at Tuy Hoa town.

Biodiversity values

The proposed nature reserve supports 40,120 ha of natural forest, equivalent to 91% of the total area. Large areas of forest have been degraded by selective timber extraction, although the canopy is closed in most areas. Despite past and continued disturbance, the proposed nature reserve still supports suitable habitats for most plant and animal species that naturally occur in the area. If any species have been extirpated from the area, this has probably been as a result of over-exploitation not habitat degradation or loss (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

The proposed nature reserve supports three major forest types: lowland deciduous forest, lowland semi-evergreen forest and lower montane evergreen forest. In addition, riverine forest occurs as a subtype of the first two forest types; this habitat subtype has a greater proportion of evergreen trees and supports a different assemblage of plant and animal species (Le Trong Trai and Tran Hieu Minh 2000, Tran Quang Ngoc 2001). A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve is situated in the transition zone between the dry forests landscapes of central Indochina and the moist forests of the Annamite mountains. This transition in natural forest type is, in large part, the result in the shift from a dry, seasonal climate to a moist, aseasonal one.

During the BirdLife/FIPI survey, a total of 439 vascular plant species were recorded at the site, including nine globally threatened species: Anisoptera costata, Dalbergia cochinchinensis, D. oliveri, Dipterocarpus alatus, D. baudii, Hopea ferrea, H. odorata, Mangifera minutifolia and Shorea roxburghii. In addition, a number of plant species endemic to Vietnam were recorded, including Croton dongnaiensis and C. maieuticus (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

With regard to the fauna of A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve, 27 mammal and 147 bird species were recorded during the BirdLife/FIPI survey. These included six globally threatened mammal species (Northern Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca leonina, a species of douc Pygathrix sp., Asian Black Bear Ursus thibetanus, Tiger Panthera tigris, Southern Serow Naemorhedus sumatraensis and East Asian Porcupine Hystrix brachyura) and two globally threatened bird species (Green Peafowl Pavo muticus and Pale-capped Pigeon Columba punicea).

A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve is a nationally important site for the conservation of Green Peafowl. A recent study of the habitat requirements of Green Peafowl in Dak Lak province revealed that the species occurs at highest densities in deciduous forest within 2 km of permanent water and greater than 2 km from permanent human settlement (Brickle et al. 1998). A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve contains 16,070 ha of this habitat, compared with 12,300 ha at Yok Don National Park (Brickle et al. 1998, Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001). Therefore, assuming that relative abundances of Green Peafowl are comparable between the two sites, A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve can be considered to be potentially as important for the conservation of Green Peafowl as Yok Don National Park (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001). Moreover, A Yun Pa qualifies as an Important Bird Area (Tordoff 2002).

Conservation issues

The biodiversity and forest resources of A Yun Pa proposed nature reserve are threatened by a number of human activities. Presently, one of the biggest threats is hunting and trapping of wildlife. The gentle topography, wide stream valleys and open forest structure of the proposed nature reserve facilitate access to even the most remote areas. The results of the BirdLife/FIPI survey indicate that abundances of many animal species, including Sambar Cervus unicolor, Eurasian Wild Pig Sus scrofa and primates, have declined over the past 10 years. A threat associated with hunting is the fires that are frequently set by hunters (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Another major threat is timber extraction. In the past, parts of the proposed nature reserve were commercially logged by forest enterprises. Although commercial logging has now ceased, small-scale timber extraction by local people is widespread. This activity is concentrated in the dry season, and restricted to species with high economic value, such as Dalbergia cochinchinensis, D. oliveri, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Sindora siamensis and Markhamia stipulata. All these species are threatened by over-exploitation. The presence of large numbers of illegal loggers in the forest intensifies other threats, such as hunting and forest fire (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Clearance of forest for agriculture is currently not a major threat. However, forest clearance, together with hunting and timber extraction, may increase in the future as a result of population growth. The rate of population growth in the buffer zone communes is currently 2.6% per year: significantly above the national average. To date, in-migration into the buffer zone communes has not been particularly high. In the future, however, the rate of in-migration threatens to increase, as there already exist plans to settle migrants from northern Vietnam into the buffer zone (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Currently, part of the proposed nature reserve is under the management of Chu Mo Forest Enterprise. Establishment of a nature reserve at A Yun Pa will necessitate transferring 12,721 ha from this forest enterprise to the nature reserve (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Other documented values

Forest at the proposed nature reserve has an important role in protecting the water resources of local communities and the watershed of the Ba river. This role may become more important in the future, if irrigation is extended to larger areas of agricultural land in the buffer zone (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Related projects

Each buffer zone commune has abundant areas of flat land suitable for agriculture. However, the full potential of this land has not been realised because agricultural productivity is limited by low water availability, especially during the dry season. In order to more fully develop the agricultural potential of the area, Krong Pa and A Yun Pa District People's Committees have prepared plans for two rural development projects for buffer zone communes: Development of the Commune Group of Ia R Sai, Chu R Cam and Ia Suom and Construction of a Dam on the Ia Thul Stream. In mid-2001, neither project had begun implementation (Tran Quang Ngoc et al. 2001).

Conservation needs assessment

A conservation needs assessment has not been conducted for the site.

Operational management plan

An operational management plan has not been prepared for the site.

Eligibility against VCF criteria

A Yun Pa is not currently eligible for VCF funding because it is not under appropriate conservation management.

Criterion	Eligibility
A_I
A_II	VN024 - A Yun Pa
B_I	Proposed Special-use Forest
B_II	Nature Reserve
B_III	Under provincial management
C_I
C_II

Social screening requirements

A social screening report has not been prepared for the site.

Criterion	Eligibility
A
B
C
D

Literature sources

Brickle, N. W., Nguyen Cu, Ha Quy Quynh, Nguyen Thai Tu Cuong and Hoang Van San (1998) The status and distribution of Green Peafowl Pavo muticus in Dak Lak province, Vietnam. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme.

Le Trong Trai and Tran Quang Ngoc (2000) [Summary of field survey and assessment of two proposed protected areas in Gia Lai province]. Unpublished report to BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.

Tordoff, A. W. ed. (2002) Directory of important bird areas in Vietnam: key sites for conservation. Hanoi: BirdLife International in Indochina and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

Tordoff, A. W. and Tran Quang Ngoc (2000) Rapid field Survey of south-east Gia Lai province and south-west Lam Dong province, Vietnam. Unpublished report to BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute.

Tran Quang Ngoc, Tordoff, A. W., Hughes, R. Vu Van Can and Le Van Phong (2001) [A feasibility study for the establishment of A Yun Pa Nature Reserve, Gia Lai province, Vietnam]. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.

Tran Van Thieu (2001) Results of inventory and analysis of Special-use Forests system in Gia Lai province: draft report. Unpublished report to the Strengthening Protected Area Management in Vietnam Project.

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