Ky Thuong Proposed Nature Reserve
| Alternative site name(s) Dong Son-Ky Thuong Province(s) Quang Ninh Area 17,640 ha Coordinates 21°05' - 21°12'N, 106°56' - 107°13'E Agro-ecological zone North-eastern Decreed by government No Management board established Yes |
Investment plan prepared Yes 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
Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve is located in Dong Son, Dong Lam and Ky Thuong communes, Hoanh Bo district, Quang Ninh province (Tordoff et al. 2000). An investment plan for Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve was prepared by North-eastern Forest Inventory and Planning Sub-institute in 1993 (Anon. 1993), but it was not approved by MARD, and a management board was not established immediately (Tordoff et al. 2000). In 2003, however, a revised investment plan, which proposed establishing a 17,792 ha nature reserve with the name Dong Son-Ky Thuong, was approved by Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee (Lao Dong 2003). A nature reserve management board has been established by Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee. The management board currently has 25 members of staff and is under the management of Quang Ninh Provincial FPD (verbally 2003)
Ky Thuong is included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD, as a 17,640 ha nature reserve (FPD 2003); this list has not yet been approved by the government.
Topography and hydrology
Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve is situated on a mountain ridge, which runs from west to east. Streams in the north of the proposed nature reserve flow north, into the Ba Che river, while streams in the south of the nature reserve flow south, into the Gulf of Tonkin at Hong Gai. Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve ranges in elevation from c.150 to c.1,120 m.
Biodiversity values
The natural vegetation at Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve comprises lowland evergreen forest and lower montane evergreen forest. The primary forest is dominated by Hopea chinensis, Canarium album, Cinnamomum obtusa, Madhuca pasquieri, Lithocarpus ducampii, Englehardia roxburghiana, Syzygium spp. and Schefflera octophylla. The proposed nature reserve also contains significant areas of secondary forest, characterised by Liquidambar formosana, Cratoxylon sp., Vernonia arborea and Mallotus spp. (Tordoff et al. 2000).
Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve supports viable populations of few mammal and bird species of conservation importance. However, Ky Thuong may be one of the few sites in Vietnam to support a population of Raccoon Dog Nyctereutes procyonoides (Tordoff et al. 2000).
Although, in places, the forest has been cleared or degraded, Ky Thuong supports one of the largest remaining areas of evergreen forest in north-eastern Vietnam (Tordoff et al. 2000). According to the investment plan (Anon. 1993), Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve supports 10,549 ha of natural forest, equivalent to 60% of the total area. This is consistent with 1993 land-use data provided by Quang Ninh Provincial FPD, which indicate that the proposed nature reserve supports 10,501 ha of natural forest (Tordoff et al. 2000).
Conservation issues
It would appear that hunting represents a serious threat to biodiversity at Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve. The presence of logging roads through the proposed nature reserve mean that most areas of forest are easily accessible. Additionally, groups of loggers living in camps at the site may be contributing to the hunting pressure on animal populations (Tordoff et al. 2000).
Another major threat to biodiversity at Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve is timber extraction, which is causing a steady decline in forest quality and extent in the area. Currently, the activities of Hoanh Bo Forest Enterprise are contributing greatly to this decline, both directly, by extracting forest products, and indirectly, by constructing logging roads, which facilitate illegal logging (Tordoff et al. 2000).
The boundary of the proposed nature reserve defined in the investment plan (Anon. 1993) includes five villages: Khe Luong and Khe Phuong in Ky Thuong commune, Tan Oc and Phu Lien in Dong Son commune, and Dong Tra in Dong Lam commune. These villages have a total population of 1,700 people in 260 households. The presence of so many people within Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve presents serious problems for its management, and, consequently, Tordoff et al. (2000) recommended that the boundary of the nature reserve should be revised to exclude these villages.
Other documented values
Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve and the surrounding area are currently the focus of commercial forestry activities. At present, 16,827 ha of forest land in Hoanh Bo district are under the management of Hoanh Bo Forest Enterprise, including 4,516 ha of production forest. The main duty of Hoanh Bo Forest Enterprise is to supply wood to coal mining companies in Quang Ninh province. While Hoanh Bo Forest Enterprise manages a total of 2,804 ha of plantation forest and is actively replanting bare land with Acacia mangium and Pinus kesyia, it continues to exploit natural forest: of the 1,449 m3 of timber extracted during 1999, only 348 m3 (24% of the total) were extracted from plantation forest. If this trend continues, the natural forest in the area will gradually be replaced by plantation forest (Tordoff et al. 2000).
Ky Thuong proposed nature reserve and the surrounding area also have an important role in catchment protection. A total of 4,349 ha of forest land under the management of Hoanh Bo Forest Enterprise are designated as watershed protection forest, for the purpose of protecting the water supply of Cam Pha town (Tordoff et al. 2000).
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 ineligible for VCF support because it does not meet the criteria for supporting forest biodiversity of international importance.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
|
| 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
Anon. (1993) [Investment plan for Dong Son-Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, Hoang Bo district, Quang Ninh province]. Viet Tri: North-eastern Sub-FIPI. In Vietnamese.
Anon. (1993) [Report on Dong Son-Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, Hoanh Bo district, Quang Ninh province]. Ha Long: Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee. In Vietnamese.
Kottelat, M. (1998) Fishes observed on Cat Ba island and in Quang Ninh province between 20 Sept and 5 Oct 1998. Unpublished report.
Lao Dong [Labour] (2003) Quang Ninh province: Dong Son-Ky Thuong Nature Reserve established. Lao Dong [Labour] 20 June 2003.
Tordoff, A. W., Vu Van Dung, Le Van Cham, Tran Quang Ngoc and Dang Thang Long (2000) A rapid field survey of five sites in Bac Kan, Cao Bang and Quang Ninh provinces: a review of the Northern Indochina Subtropical Forests Ecoregion. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In English and Vietnamese.
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