Nui Cam Nature Reserve
| Alternative site name(s) Bay Nui, Nui Cam Chau Doc Province(s) An Giang Area 1,500 ha Coordinates 10°26' - 10°31'N, 104°58' - 105°02'E Agro-ecological zone Mekong Delta Decreed by government Yes Management board established Yes |
Investment plan prepared No VCF eligibility criteria met B, C Social screening criteria met None Conservation needs assessment prepared No Operational management plan prepared No Tracking tool completed No Yes |
Management history
Nui Cam was included on Decision No. 194/CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, dated 9 August 1986, as a 1,500 ha nature reserve (MARD 1997). Nui Cam Nature Reserve is included within the 12,880 ha Bay Nui Watershed Protection Forest, as a 3,784 ha Special-use Forest. Bay Nui was established in 1991, and is managed by a combined Special-use Forest-watershed protection forest management board, under the management of An Giang Provincial FPD (in litt. 2003).
Nui Cam is included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD, as a 1,500 ha nature reserve (FPD 2003); this list has not yet been approved by the government.
Topography and hydrology
At 710 m, Nui Cam is the highest point in the Bay Nui (seven mountains) area of An Giang province. These mountains are surrounded by the plain of the Mekong Delta, an anthropogenic landscape dominated by wet rice cultivation. Nui Cam is drained by a number of streams, which flow into the local canal system, which forms the main hydrological system in this part of the Mekong Delta.
Biodiversity values
The principal habitat types at the site are secondary forest and plantation forest. Botanical surveys at Nui Cam have recorded 178 plant species. Of greatest conservation significance, the site supports a population of the globally critically endangered tree species Aquilaria crassna.
Conservation issues
The forest at Nui Cam was heavily degraded during the Second Indochina War, and, following the war, this degradation has continued as a result of the activities of local people. Today, the principal threat to the site is rock quarrying, to supply construction materials for the Mekong Delta provinces (Le Hoang verbally 2000, Nguyen Cu verbally 2000).
Other documented values
Nui Cam Nature Reserve has potential ecotourism values. An Giang Provincial People's Committee plan to develop a 200 ha tourism area on top of the mountain, with a road, guesthouses and restaurants.
Related projects
Between 1995 and 1999, Nui Cam Nature Reserve was a focus of the Sustainable Agarwood Production in Vietnam's Rainforests Project, implemented by Ho Chi Minh City National University, with funding from the European Commission. This project aimed to reduce destruction of the last remaining A. crassna forests in the country by introducing innovative forestry techniques for cultivation and artificial induction of resin (agarwood) formation.
Between 1993 and 1998, reforestation activities in the areas were funded by the national 327 Programme. Since 1999, this programme has been replaced by the national 661 Programme (Le Hoang verbally 2000).
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
Nui Cam is ineligible for VCF support because it does not meet the criteria for supporting forest biodiversity of international importance.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
|
| AII |
|
| 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
None.
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