Bac Me Proposed Nature Reserve
| Alternative site name(s) Cang Bac Me Province(s) Ha Giang Area 27,800 ha Coordinates 22°38' - 22°47'N, 105°08' - 105°25'E Agro-ecological zone North-eastern Decreed by government No 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
In 1994, Ha Giang Provincial DARD prepared an investment plan for Bac Me, which proposed establishing a 27,800 ha Special-use Forest, comprising a strict protection area of 9,450 ha, a forest rehabilitation area of 17,125 ha and an administration and services area of 1,225 ha. This investment plan was approved by Official Letter No. 88/NL-TL of MARD, dated 8 March 1994, and by Decision No. 143/UB-QD of Ha Giang Provincial People's Committee, dated 22 April 1994. Following this, a management board was established by the provincial people's committee on 24 November 1994 (Bac Me Forest Enterprise in litt. 2000). The management board is under the management of Bac Me Forest Enterprise (Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board in litt. 2003).
Bac Me is included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD, as a 27,800 ha nature reserve, called Bac Me (FPD 2003); this list has not yet been approved by the government. According to Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board (in litt. 2003), the proposed nature reserve also contains an historical site, called Cang Bac Me.
Topography and hydrology
Bac Me proposed nature reserve is situated in Bac Me district in south-eastern Ha Giang province. The topography of the proposed nature reserve is mountainous, and there are several peaks above 1,000 m, the highest of which is 1,420 m, on the border with Tuyen Quang province. The lowest point in the proposed nature reserve is under 200 m.
Streams originating in the north and west of the proposed nature reserve feed the Gam river, which flows south, into Tuyen Quang province, and eventually meets the Lo river. Streams originating in the south-east of the proposed nature reserve feed the Pao Nam river, a tributary of the Gam river.
Biodiversity values
Bac Me proposed nature reserve supports a representative example of the limestone forest ecosystem typical of north-eastern Vietnam (Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board in litt. 2003). To date, however, the biodiversity of the site has not been comprehensively surveyed.
Conservation issues
Around 7,000 people live inside the proposed nature reserve, and over 5,000 more live in the buffer zone. The majority of these people belong to the Hmong, Tay and Dao ethnic groups. These people practice both fixed and shifting cultivation, and there are 411 ha of wet rice land and 884 ha of hill agricultural land inside the nature reserve (Bac Me Forest Enterprise in litt. 2000, Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board in litt. 2003).
In recent years, human pressures on the proposed nature reserve have increased, particularly clearance of forest for agriculture. One major underlying cause is considered to be population increase: especially the recent resettlement of 7,000 Hmong people into the area by the government (Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board in litt. 2003). These problems are compounded by the low capacity of the Special-use Forest management board, which only has four members of staff and a very limited budget from the provincial people's committee. The management board does not even have sufficient resources to demarcate the boundaries on the ground and erect signboards (Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board in litt. 2003).
Other documented values
Bac Me proposed nature reserve protects part of the catchment of the Gam river. In addition, with its beautiful landscape and scenic caves, the proposed nature reserve has potential for ecotourism development. Furthermore, Bac Me proposed nature reserve includes the Cang Bac Me historical site, where political prisoners, including some senior members of the Vietnamese Communist Party, were held by the French Colonial Regime, between 1938 and 1942 (Bac Me Special-use Forest Management Board in litt. 2003).
Related projects
Prior to 1999, investment funding for Bac Me proposed nature reserve came from the national 327 Programme; since 1999, this programme has been replaced by the national 661 Programme as the main source of investment funding (Bac Me Forest Enterprise in litt. 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
The site is eligible for VCF funding because it meets criteria A, B and C.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
NH2 - Northern Highlands Limestone |
| AII |
|
| BI |
Proposed Special-use Forest |
| 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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