Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary Nature Reserve
| Alternative site name(s) San Chim Bac Lieu, Vinh Thanh Province(s) Bac Lieu Area 127 ha Coordinates 9°13' - 9°15'N, 105°43' - 105°45'E Agro-ecological zone Mekong Delta Decreed by government Yes Management board established Yes |
Investment plan prepared Yes VCF eligibility criteria met A, B, C Social screening criteria met None Conservation needs assessment prepared No Operational management plan prepared No Tracking tool completed No Yes |
Management history
Decision No. 194/CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, dated 9 August 1986, decreed the establishment of a 500 ha nature reserve called Cac San Chim in the former Minh Hai province. This nature reserve comprised three separate sites: one in Vinh Loi district, in present day Bac Lieu province, and one each in Ngoc Hien and Tran Van Thoi districts, in present day Ca Mau province (MARD 1997) (see Cha La bird sanctuary and Dam Doi bird sanctuary site cards). The site in Bac Lieu province is now known as Bac Lieu bird sanctuary.
A management board for the three sites was established in 1977 under Minh Hai Provincial FPD. After Minh Hai province was split into Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces, a nature reserve management board for Bac Lieu bird sanctuary was established under Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee. An investment plan for Bac Lieu bird sanctuary was approved by the provincial people's committee in 1997. The area of the nature reserve given in the investment plan was 127 ha, all of which is forest. Bac Lieu bird sanctuary is included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD, as a 127 ha nature reserve (FPD 2003); this list has not yet been approved by the government.
Topography and hydrology
Bac Lieu bird sanctuary is located in the plain of the Mekong Delta. The site is a remnant of an elevated mangrove forest, which is waterlogged during the rainy season. The site is surrounded by paddyfields (Phung Trung Ngan 1987).
Biodiversity values
In terms of area, Bac Lieu bird sanctuary is the largest of all the bird colonies in the Mekong Delta. The vegetation at the site comprises small areas of mangrove forest dominated by Lumnitzera racemosa and the palm Phoenix paludosa; plantations of Thespesia populnea and Acacia auriculiformis scattered with the shrub Wedelia biflora; and small patches of seasonally inundated grasslands.
A substantial colony of breeding waterbirds is to be found at Bac Lieu bird sanctuary, one of the most important in the Mekong Delta. Bac Lieu bird sanctuary is particularly important for Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis: 930 birds were recorded at the site in 1999, constituting over 3% of the global population (Buckton et al. 1999). Consequently, the site qualifies as an Important Bird Area (Tordoff 2002).
Conservation issues
The overall level of human impact on the nature reserve is considerable. The population density in surrounding communes is high. Driven by past economic development policies, settlements have expanded up to the canals that form the boundary of the nature reserve. The 258 ha buffer zone is currently being exploited by over 300 households, who are using the land for intensive shrimp aquaculture (Vietnam News 2002), and causing the loss of key habitat for waterbirds.
The major threats to biodiversity at this site are, therefore, habitat loss, hunting and over-exploitation of natural resources. The total number of birds recorded at this site declined by approximately 90% during the years between 1980 and 1992 (Do Tuoc and Le Trong Trai 1996). Buckton et al. (1999) report that illegal hunting and poisoning of birds, together with the collection of eggs and fishing still occur on a huge scale at Bac Lieu bird sanctuary. Control of bird poaching, promoting alternative sources of income and conducting conservation awareness activities could mitigate these threats (Nguyen Duc Tu verbally 2000).
Other documented values
Bac Lieu bird sanctuary is a well known tourism destination in Bac Lieu province and the Mekong Delta.
Related projects
No information.
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
The site is eligible for VCF funding because it meets criteria A, B and C.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
|
| AII |
VN008 - Bac Lieu |
| BI |
Decision No. 194/CT, dated 09/08/86 |
| BII |
Nature Reserve |
| BIII |
Under provincial management |
| CI |
Management board established |
| CII |
Social screening requirements
A social screening report has not been prepared for the site.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| A |
|
| B |
|
| C |
|
| D |
Literature sources
Buckton, S. T., Nguyen Cu, Ha Quy Quynh and Nguyen Duc Tu (1999) The conservation of key wetland sites in the Mekong Delta. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme.
Buckton, S. T., Nguyen Cu, Ha Quy Quynh and Nguyen Duc Tu (2000) [The conservation of key wetland sites in the Mekong Delta]. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme. In Vietnamese.
Do Hieu Liem (1999) Bac Lieu bird sanctuary. Vietnam Cultural Window 11: 25.
Do Tuoc and Le Trong Trai (1996) [Bird sanctuaries in the Mekong Delta]. Tap Chi Hoat Dong Khoa Hoc [Journal of Science] 7: 24-26. In Vietnamese.
Khoa Hoc va Phat Trien (2001) [Is Bac Lieu bird sanctuary nearly destroyed?]. Khoa Hoc va Phat Trien [Science and Development] 12 September 2001. In Vietnamese.
Khoa Hoc va Phat Trien (2001) [Shrimp pond development halted, in order to protect Bac Lieu Bird Garden]. Khoa Hoc va Phat Trien [Science and Development] 20-26 September 2001. In Vietnamese.
Le Dien Duc and Le Dinh Thuy (1987) The status of rare bird species in three colonies in Minh Hai province: Vinh Thanh, Tan Khanh and Tan Hung. Garrulax 2: 7.
Luthin, C. S. (1987) Minh Hai province, Vietnam bird colonies: recommendations for protection, research, management and public education. Garrulax 3: 10-12.
Luthin, C. S. (1988) Management of Minh Hai bird colonies II. Garrulax 4: 14-16.
Phung Trung Ngan (1987) Notes on the vegetation at the waterbird colonies in Minh Hai province. Garrulax 2: 8-10.
Scott, D. A. (1989) A directory of Asian wetlands. Gland: IUCN.
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.
Vietnam News (2000) Free as the birds in a timeless place. Vietnam News: 17 September 2000.
Vietnam News (2002) Bac Lieu to protect birds in sanctuaries. Vietnam News 7 December 2002.
Vietnam News (2002) Profiteering shrimp farms eat away at Cuu Long Delta bird sanctuary. Vietnam News 13 September 2002.
Vo Quy (1987) Birds in the Mekong Delta. Garrulax 2: 11-14.
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