sourcebook

Management history

The Bach Ma area has long been known for its exceptional diversity of flora and fauna. The first proposals to protect the site were made prior to the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1975. In 1925, a proposal was made to create a 50,000 ha national park in the Hai Van region, primarily in order to protect Edwards's Pheasant Lophura edwardsi. Subsequently, several areas of what is now Bach Ma National Park were designated as forest reserves in 1937 (WWF/EC 1997a). On 17 January 1941, L. Cadiere proposed establishing a nature reserve at Bach Ma (Cao Van Sung 1995). Finally, in 1962, the South Vietnamese government established a protected area at Bach Ma-Hai Van, with a total area of 78,000 ha (WWF/EC 1997a).

In the post-reunification period, Decision No. 194/CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, dated 9 August 1986, decreed the establishment of Bach Ma-Hai Van National Park, with a total area of 40,000 ha (MARD 1997). The purpose of this national park was to protect "high-mountain forest with beautiful landscape and diverse plant species, such as Aquilaria tree, and typical wildlife species in the central coastline of central Vietnam” (Cao Van Sung 1995).

The management board of Bach Ma-Hai Van National Park was established on 21 December 1987, following Decision No. 1359/QD-UB of the then Binh Tri Thien Provincial People’s Committee (WWF/EC 1997a).

A further planning process then took place, which resulted in Bach Ma-Hai Van National Park being split into the current Bach Ma National Park, together with Bac Hai Van and Nam Hai Van proposed cultural and historical sites. An investment plan for the revised Bach Ma National Park was prepared in 1990 (Anon. 1990), which defined a 22,031 ha national park, situated entirely within Thua Thien Hue province. This investment plan was approved by Decision No. 214/CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, dated 15 July 1991 (WWF/EC 1997a).

On 31 June 1995, a first revision of the investment plan for Bach Ma National Park was approved by the former Ministry of Forestry, following Official Letter No. 1491/CNR. This revision only concerned infrastructure and a revision of the initial budget for the period 1995-2000. In 1997, WWF proposed a second revision of the investment plan for the period 1997-2000 (WWF/EC 1997a).

Bach Ma National Park is zoned into three areas: a strict protection area of 7,123 ha, a forest rehabilitation area of 12,613 ha, and an administration and services area of 2,295 ha. In addition, there is a buffer zone of 22,300 ha (Gilmour and Nguyen Van San 1999). The strict protection area and forest rehabilitation area are under the management of MARD, while the administration and services area is managed jointly by MARD and Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee.

Bach Ma is included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD, as a 22,300 ha national park (FPD 2003); this list has not yet been approved by the government.

Topography and hydrology

Bach Ma National Park is situated in the central Annamite mountains. The national park lies on a high mountain ridge that runs west-east from the Laotian border to the East Sea at the Hai Van pass. This ridge interrupts the coastal plain of Vietnam, and, therefore, forms a biogeographical boundary between the faunas and floras of northern and southern Vietnam. This ridge also affects the local climate at the national park, which is probably the wettest place in Vietnam: the mean annual rainfall at the summit of Mount Bach Ma is 7,977 mm (WWF/EC 1997a).

The geology of the national park is dominated by granite, with some overlying areas of sandstone, schist and gneiss. The topography is generally steep and rugged, formed by heavy dissection of the substrate by surface water. The national park is dominated by a west-east ridge, with several peaks above 1,000 m, the highest of which is Mount Bach Ma at 1,448 m. The lower slopes and hills are less steep, and are bordered by a narrow alluvial plain (WWF/EC 1997a).

There are many springs on the lower slopes and foothills of the national park. Generally, the north of national park is drained by the Truoi river, which flows into the coastal lagoons south of Hue city. The south of the national park is drained by tributaries of the Ta Trach river, which flows westwards.

Biodiversity values

The Bach Ma area has long been noted for its rich biodiversity. One reason is that, within a relatively small area, the area supports a wide range of habitat types, from coastal lagoons to montane forest. Additionally, Bach Ma is situated at a biogeographical boundary between northern and southern Vietnam, and between the Annamite mountains and the coastal plain.

The main forest types found within the national park are lowland evergreen forest below 900 m, and montane evergreen forest above this elevation (Gilmour and Nguyen Van San 1999). As a result of human disturbance, however, no undisturbed forest now remains, and scrub and grassland, characterised by Rhodomyrtus tomentosa, Melastoma candidum and Imperata cylindrica, cover large areas of the national park (WWF/EC 1997a). Natural regeneration of scrub and grassland is slow, particularly as a result of periodic burning, and these areas are of little conservation importance. Plant species richness within remaining forest areas is, however, still high, and the wider Bach Ma-Hai Van area is considered to be one of seven globally important Centres of Plant Diversity in Vietnam (Davis et al. 1995).

The mammal fauna of Bach Ma is incompletely known, and only 48 species have so far been confirmed to occur at the national park (WWF/EC 1997a). However, a large number of mammal species of conservation concern have been recorded at Bach Ma National Park, for example, Robson et al. (1991) recorded Red-shanked Douc Pygathrix nemaeus and a species of gibbon Hylobates sp. in 1990. However, the current status of many of these species at the national park is unclear.

To date, 249 bird species have been recorded at Bach Ma National Park, and the number of species recorded in the wider Bach Ma-Hai Van area totals 330 (Eve 1996a). The national park lies at the southern extent of the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area (Stattersfield et al. 1996), and is known to support populations of at least four of the restricted range species found in this EBA: Annam Partridge Arborophila merlini, Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata, Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler Jabouilleia danjoui and Grey-faced Tit Babbler Macronous kelleyi (Eve 1996a). In addition, the national park supports a population of an endemic subspecies of Silver Pheasant Lophura nycthemera beli (WWF/EC 1997a). Also of great conservation importance was the record, in May 1998, of Edwards's Pheasant Lophura edwardsi, 1 km outside of the buffer zone of Bach Ma National Park (Huynh Van Keo 2000a). This globally endangered species was believed extinct until its rediscovery at Phong Dien and Dakrong proposed nature reserves in 1996 (Le Trong Trai et al. 1999). Because of its importance for globally threatened and restricted-range bird species, Bach Ma qualifies as an Important Bird Area (Tordoff 2002).

Conservation issues

Large areas of forest in the national park were destroyed by defoliants, bombing and use of heavy machinery during the Second Indochina War, and subsequent commercial logging by state forest enterprises over a 10-year period resulted in the removal of most commercially valuable trees. Since the cessation of official logging operations, large scale illegal exploitation of both timber and non-timber forest products has continued. Forest fires, particularly in the regenerating forest, have contributed to the degradation and inhibited regeneration (Gilmour and Nguyen Van San 1999).

Although there are still two communities living inside the national park, these number only 65 households (Gilmour and Nguyen Van San 1999). In comparison, 61,387 people live in the buffer zone of the national park (WWF/EC 1997a). Collection of forest products is a major source of income for the inhabitants of the buffer zone, who report that supplies of certain forest products are now exhausted near to the villages (Gilmour and Nguyen Van San 1999). This suggests that forest product exploitation is occurring at unsustainable levels.

In order to extend the conservation coverage of the national park, BirdLife International and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute proposed a 22,500 ha extension to the east (Wege et al. 1999). Although the exact boundary of this extension was not defined, it is likely to include all or part of Bac Hai Van and Nam Hai Van proposed cultural and historical sites. Bach Ma National Park also has wider significance as a link in the last chain of contiguous natural forest between the Laotian border and the East Sea (Eve 1996b).

Other documented values

Between 1933 and 1943 the French colonial administration established a hill station on Mount Bach Ma. This hill station comprised two hotels, 130 holiday cottages, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Of the original buildings, however, only ruins now remain (WWF/EC 1997a). Since reunification in 1975, a tourism resort has been re-established at Bach Ma. There is a guesthouse at the national park headquarters and several nature trails (Dodd and Lewis 1996). The forest at the national park protects two important watersheds, which supply water for irrigation and domestic use to households in the surrounding lowlands.

Related projects

Between 1995 and 1998, an FAO project focusing on the allocation of forest land to local households was implemented in Nam Dong and Phu Loc districts of Thua Thien Hue province. This project (GCP/VIE/080/ITA) was funded by the Italian government and included two more pilot schemes in other buffer zones in Vietnam (R. Delnoye in litt. 2000).

Other donor-funded projects that have been implemented in the buffer zone of Bach Ma National Park include: (i) a health project implemented by GVC; (ii) a social forestry project implemented by HELVETAS and Hue University; (iii) a village and commune level rural development project implemented by Nordic Assistance to Vietnam, (iv) a project to support afforestation and train technicians implemented by Nord Pas de Calais; (v) a rural development project implemented by World Vision; and (vi) a buffer zone socio-economic survey implemented by IUCN (R. Delnoye in litt. 2000).

Between 1995 and 1997, WWF implemented a European Commission-funded project entitled Participatory Development of Bach Ma National Park (Newman and Siebert 1996). This project resulted in the development of a national park management plan (WWF/EC 1997a), an ecotourism development plan (Hill undated) and a socio-economic assessment of the buffer zone communities (WWF/EC 1997b).

Thua Thien Hue Provincial DARD are currently implementing a four-year project called Strengthening the Forestry Management Capacity of Thua Thien Hue Province. This project aims to develop a sound approach towards management of the buffer zone of Bach Ma National Park. This project does not include the national park itself within its remit. Technical assistance is supplied by SNV, and funding is from the Dutch government. Furthermore, PAM (Food for Work) has been very active around Bach Ma National Park through the provincial FPD, realising mostly Pinus and Acacia plantations (R. Delnoye in litt. 2000).

The Netherlands Local Environment Fund, administered by SNV, provided a small grant to the management board of Bach Ma National Park for capacity building activities during 2003.

Bach Ma National Park will be one of the project sites of the medium-sized World Bank/GEF project Green Corridor: Meeting Global Conservation Targets in a Productive Landscape. The aim of this project is to provide the additional resources required to demonstrate and ensure that by improving the management of productive landscapes, global conservation targets can be met whilst sustaining benefits to local communities and provincial coffers. The project will have a duration of four years, and is scheduled to begin implementation in 2004.

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

Bach Ma meets eligibility criteria A, B and C. However, as a centrally managed Special-use Forest, it will only be eligible for VCF support if the Investment Plan and Operational Management Plan demonstrate a high proportion of government support directed towards conservation activities.

Criterion	Eligibility
A_I	CA1 - Central Annamites
A_II	VN026 - Bach Ma
B_I	Decision No. 214/CT, dated 15/07/91
B_II	National Park
B_III	Under central management
C_I	Management board established
C_II

Social screening requirements

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

Criterion	Eligibility
A
B
C
D

Literature sources

Anon. (1990) [Investment plan for Bach Ma-Hai Van National Park]. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.

Anon. (1995) Proceeding of the workshop on conservation of the pheasants Rheinartia o.ocellata and Lophura edwardsi: Bach Ma National Park (T. T. Hue). Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In Vietnamese.

Anon. (1996) List of books, documents and maps available at Bach Ma's project staff. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In English and Vietnamese.

Anon. (1997) Extract from report: "the buffer zone workshop": Bach Ma-Hai Van, Hue 18-20 August 1997. Unpublished extract.

Anon. (1997) [Bach Ma-Hai Van buffer zone workshop]. Hue: Bach Ma National Park Management Board, WWF and SNV. In Vietnamese.

Anon. (1998) [Bach Ma Nation Park (Thua Thien Hue province)]. Sinh Hoc Ngay Nay [Biology Today] 4(1): 12-13. In Vietnamese.

Anon. (undated) Bach Ma National Park. Unpublished draft tourism leaflet. In English and Vietnamese.

Anon. (undated) Checklist of plant species in the Bach Ma National Park. Unpublished list of plants.

Anon. (undated) [Renovation of biodiversity management policies for Bach Ma National Park]. Unpublished report to EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In Vietnamese.

Anon. (undated) Bach Ma National Park, Thua Thien Hue province. Unpublished list of plants and animals. In English and Vietnamese.

Casella, F. et. al. (1994) Bach Ma '93: an Oxford University entomological expedition to Vietnam. Unpublished report to the Department of Zoology, Oxford University.

Craik, R. (2001) Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam. OBC Bulletin 33 (suppl.): 1-3.

Davis, S. D., Heywood, V. H. and Hamilton, A. C. eds. (1995) Centres of plant diversity: a guide and strategy for their conservation. Cambridge, U.K.: WWF and IUCN.

Dodd, J. and Lewis, M. (1996) Vietnam: the rough guide. London: Rough Guides.

Eames, J. C. and Robson, C. R. (1993) Threatened primates in southern Vietnam. Oryx 27(3): 146-154.

Eames, J. C., Lambert, F. R. and Nguyen Cu (1994) A survey of the Annamese Lowlands, Vietnam, and its implications for the conservation of Vietnamese and Imperial Pheasants Lophura hatinhensis and L. imperialis. Bird Conservation International 4(4): 343-382.

Eve, R. (1996a) [Bird list of Bach Ma National Park]. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In Vietnamese.

Eve, R. (1996b) Bach Ma, Hai Van, Ba Na: why protect them?. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In English and French.

Eve, R. (1996c) Bach Ma, Hai Van, Ba Na: why protect them?. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In English and Vietnamese.

Eve, R. (undated) [Bach Ma, Hai Van and Ba Na: important areas for the conservation of endemic galliformes in Vietnam]. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In Vietnamese.

Eve, R. (undated) [Identification guide to mammal footprints for forest guards in national parks]. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In Vietnamese.

Gilmour, D. A. and Nguyen Van San (1999) Buffer zone management in Vietnam. Hanoi: IUCN Vietnam.

Hill, C. (1996) A guide's guide: introductory guide training for Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam. Hanoi: WWF.

Hill, C. (undated) The ecotourism management plan: Bach Ma National Park. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project.

Huynh Van Keo (1999) [Main features of Bach Ma National Park]. Lam Nghiep [Vietnam Forest Review] September 1999: 20-21. In Vietnamese.

Huynh Van Keo (2000a) White-crest grey pheasant is found at Bach Ma National Park. Lam Nghiep [Vietnam Forest Review] January/February 2000: 39-40. In Vietnamese.

Huynh Van Keo (2000b) [Report on the biodiversity resources of Bach Ma National Park]. Paper presented at the workshop on the Central Annamites Ecoregion, Hue, 22 and 23 November 2000. In Vietnamese.

Huynh Van Keo et al. (1995) [Report on status and distribution of wild Crested Argus at Bach Ma National Park]. Paper presented at Workshop on Pheasant Biology and Conservation, 19-20 September 1995. In Vietnamese.

Larsen, P. B. (1997) Forest-use, youth and survival strategies in Huong Loc commune, Nam Dong district: a buffer zone study of Bach Ma National Park, Thua Thien Hue province. Dissertation submitted to the Institute of Anthropology, Copenhagen University.

Le Trong Trai, Richardson, W. J., Le Van Cham, Tran Hieu Minh, Tran Quang Ngoc, Nguyen Van Sang, Monastyrskii, A. L. and Eames, J. C. (1999) A feasibility study for the establishment of Phong Dien (Thua Thien Hue province) and Dakrong (Quang Tri province) Nature Reserves, Vietnam. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute.

Morris, G. E. (1994) Mountain Hawk-Eagles Spizaetus nipalensis in Vietnam. Forktail 10: 184-185.

Newman, S. M. and Seibert, B. (1996) Participatory development of Bach Ma National Park: final report. Bad Homburg: GOPA Consultants.

Ngo Minh (1995) [Report on captive Crested Argus at Bach Ma National Park]. Paper presented at Workshop on Pheasant Biology and Conservation, 19 and 20 September 1995. In Vietnamese.

Nguyen Cu, Eames, J. C. and Lambert, F. R. (1995) [Results of surveys of the Annamese Lowlands, Vietnam and its implication for the conservation of Vietnamese Pheasant Lophura hatinhensis and Imperial Pheasant L. imperialis]. Pp 264-275 in: Dang Huy Huynh, Nguyen Tien Ban, Vu Quang Con, Nguyen Thi Le, Pham Van Luc, Tran Dinh Ly, La Dinh Moi and Cao Van Sung eds. [Results of research by IEBR] Hanoi: Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources. In Vietnamese.

Nguyen Van Dzu, Nguyen Tien Hiep and Phan Ke Loc (1999) On three new aroid species from the centre Vietnam. Pp 108-111 in: Nguyen Thai Tu ed. [Selected reports on the biodiversity of the northern Truong Son range] Hanoi: Hanoi National University Press. In Vietnamese.

Robson, C. R., Eames, J. C., Newman, M. Nguyen Cu and Truong Van La (1991) Forest bird surveys in Vietnam 1989/90: final report. Unpublished report to the International Council for Bird Preservation.

Soer, A. (1997) Some reflections on the objectives, outputs and activities, now and in the future. Unpublished report to the Bach Ma-North Hai Van Natural Resource Area and Associated Buffer Zones Technical Advisory Committee.

Storey, R. and Robinson, D. (1995) Lonely planet travel survival kit: Vietnam. Third edition. Hawthorn: Lonely Planet Publications.

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.

Vu Dung (undated) Technical and economic feasibility study for the establishment of the national park of Mach Ma. Unpublished report.

Vu Van Dung and Huynh Van Keo (1993) Preliminary results of investigating the flora and fauna system of Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien Hue province. Hanoi: UNESCO and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

WWF/EC (1997a) Proposed second revision of the Bach Ma National Park management plan. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project.

WWF/EC (1997b) The socio-economic situation of buffer zone communes of Bach Ma National Park: preliminary edition. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project.

WWF/EC (1997c) [List of plant and animal species]. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In French.

WWF/EC (1997d) [Proposed second revision of the Bach Ma National Park management plan]. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In French.

WWF/EC (1997e) [The socio-economic situation of buffer zone communes of Bach Ma National Park: preliminary edition]. Hue: EC/WWF Bach Ma National Park Project. In Vietnamese.

Click here to download pdf file