Hon Chong Cultural and Historical Site
| Alternative site name(s) None Province(s) Kien Giang Area 3,495 ha Coordinates 10°08' - 10°11'N, 104°36' - 104°40'E Agro-ecological zone Mekong Delta Decreed by government Yes Management board established Yes |
Investment plan prepared Yes VCF eligibility criteria met C Social screening criteria met None Conservation needs assessment prepared No Operational management plan prepared No Tracking tool completed No Yes |
Management history
Hon Chong was included on Decision No. 194/CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, dated 9 August 1986, as a 3,000 ha cultural and historical site (MARD 1997). In 1995, an investment plan for the establishment of a cultural and historical site at Hon Chong was approved by the then Ministry of Forestry. Following the approval of the investment plan, a management board was established by Decision No. 224/QD-UB, dated 11 March 1995. The management board currently has 12 members of staff, and is under the management of Kien Giang Provincial DARD. The cultural and historical site covers 930 ha, with a buffer zone of 201 ha (Phan Van Hung in litt. 2003).
Hon Chong is included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD, as a 3,495 ha cultural and historical site (FPD 2003); this list has not yet been approved by the government.
Topography and hydrology
The central feature of the cultural and historical site is a limestone karst promontory, bordered to the west, south and east by the Gulf of Thailand, and to the north by a flat coastal plain, criss-crossed by a network of canals.
Biodiversity values
The limestone hills at the south of the promontory support 285 ha of plantation forest, consisting of Acacia sp. and members of the Dipterocarpaceae. The limestone hills along the west of the promontory do not support forest.
The limestone hills of Hon Chong Cultural and Historical Site form part of a complex distributed through north-western Kien Giang province and adjacent areas of Cambodia. This complex is isolated from other limestone karst areas by great distances. Although the biodiversity of this limestone complex has only received preliminary survey effort to date, there are indications that it supports a rich limestone fauna, including one of the richest known deep-soil invertebrate faunas on earth. There may also be endemism in plant and vertebrates (L. Deharveng in litt. 2003).
Conservation issues
Many parts of the limestone complex in Kien Giang province are under severe and immediate threat from limestone quarrying (L. Deharveng in litt. 2003). While the limestone hills in Hon Chong Cultural and Historical Site are currently the least threatened by quarrying, they may come under increasing pressure in the future, as other sources of construction materials in the area become rapidly depleted.
Other documented values
The Hon Chong area is famous as a place of scenic beauty. Features of particular interest to visitors include Hon Chong beach, a cave pagoda and Hon Phu Tu (Father and Son) rocks. Some tourist infrastructure has already been developed at Hon Chong, including hotels and restaurants (Nguyen Duc Tu verbally 2002).
Related projects
The national 661 Programme (and, previously, the national 327 Programme) has supported tree planting at the site. Recently, these activities have finished, and the focus of 661 Programme funding has shifted to forest protection activities.
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
Hon Chong is ineligible for VCF support because it does not meet the criteria for supporting forest biodiversity of international importance. In addition, Hon Chong is a cultural and historical site.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
|
| AII |
|
| BI |
Decision No. 194/CT, dated 09/08/86 |
| BII |
|
| BIII |
Under provincial management board |
| 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
Kien Giang Provincial DARD (1992) [Summarised plan for forestry development in Kien Giang province in the period 1992-2000]. Rach Gia: Kien Giang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. In Vietnamese.
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