Tien Lang Proposed Nature Reserve
| Alternative site name(s) Thai Binh and Van Uc estuaries Province(s) Hai Phong Area 5,000 ha Coordinates 20°37' - 20°41'N, 106°36' - 106°42'E Agro-ecological zone Red River Delta Decreed by government No Management board established No |
Investment plan prepared No VCF eligibility criteria met A, B Social screening criteria met None Conservation needs assessment prepared No Operational management plan prepared No Tracking tool completed No Yes |
Management history
In 1996, BirdLife International and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute identified Thai Binh estuary (Thai Thuy district), Thai Binh estuary (Tien Lang district) and Van Uc estuary as key sites for wetland conservation in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta. As a result, the two organisations proposed that a nature reserve should be established stretching from the Diem Dien river in Thai Binh province to the Van Uc river in Hai Phong province, and covering all three sites (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
In 1996, however, Thai Thuy District People's Committee nominated the Thai Binh estuary (Thai Thuy district) site for nature reserve establishment (Nguyen Huy Thang et al. 2000), and, in July 1997, a nature reserve investment plan was prepared, covering the entire coastal zone of Thai Thuy district (Anon. 1997) (see Thai Thuy site card). Tien Lang proposed nature reserve can, therefore, be considered to comprise only the coastal zone of Tien Lang district, Hai Phong province.
The precise boundaries of Tien Lang proposed nature reserve have not been defined; the approximate area of the site is 5,000 ha (Tordoff 2002). An investment plan for the site has not been prepared, nor is it included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD (FPD 2003). The site is currently under the management of Tien Lang District People's Committee (FIPI 1998).
Topography and hydrology
Tien Lang proposed nature reserve covers about 13 km of coastline. The site is bordered by the Van Uc estuary to the north and the Thai Binh estuary to the south.
Biodiversity values
The coastline of Tien Lang proposed nature reserve supports a mixture of habitat types, including saltmarsh, aquacultural ponds, sand dunes and mudflats. Some of the sandy areas have been planted with the exotic Casuarina equisetifolia. The proposed nature reserve supports over 150 ha of aquacultural ponds, including a 50 ha area south of the Van Uc estuary that is estimated to be more than 100 years old. The old-growth mangrove is dominated by Sonneratia caseolaris but also includes Kandelia candel, Aegiceras corniculatum and Acanthus ilicifolius. Almost all of the old-growth mangrove at the site is enclosed within aquacultural ponds (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
Three globally threatened or near-threatened bird species have been observed at the site: Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi and Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996, Pedersen et al. 1998). In 1996, maximum counts of 16 Black-faced Spoonbill and 30 Saunders's Gull were recorded (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996). In addition, over 1% of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway population of Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus has been recorded at the site (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996). For these reasons, Tien Lang qualifies as an Important Bird Area (Tordoff 2002).
Conservation issues
Enclosure of mangrove within aquacultural ponds and cutting of mangrove trees for fuel are the biggest threats to the old-growth mangrove at the site. The use of airguns, shotguns and mist nets to hunt birds has been recorded at the site (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
Other documented values
There are several economic activities taking place at Tien Lang proposed nature reserve, including aquaculture, collection of crabs, snails and other marine products, inshore fishing, and grazing of domestic animals. The old-growth mangrove at the site has potential cultural and educational value (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
Related projects
Prior to 1996, a mangrove afforestation project implemented by Actmang had afforested 50 ha of intertidal mudflats with Kandelia candel and established a nursery for Sonneratia caseolaris (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
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
Tien Lang is currently ineligible for VCF support because it is not under appropriate conservation management.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
|
| AII |
VN015 - Tien Lang |
| BI |
Proposed Special-use Forest |
| BII |
Nature Reserve |
| BIII |
Under provincial management |
| CI |
|
| CII |
Social screening requirements
A social screening report has not been prepared for the site.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| A |
|
| B |
|
| C |
|
| D |
Literature sources
Anon. (1997) [Investment plan for Thai Thuy Wetland Nature Reserve, Thai Binh province]. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.
FIPI (1998) [Database for establishment of a wetland protected areas network in Vietnam]. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.
Le Dien Duc (1992) Final report on monitoring of hunting pressure on waterbirds on the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Unpublished report to Asian Wetlands Bureau.
Nguyen Huy Thang, Vu Van Dung, Nguyen Huy Dung and Ho Manh Tuong (2000) Information sheet on Ramsar wetlands: Thai Thuy wetland, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province, Vietnam. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute.
Pedersen, A. and Nguyen Huy Thang (1996) The conservation of key coastal wetland sites in the Red River Delta. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme.
Pedersen, A., Nielsen, S. S., Le Dien Thuy and Le Trong Trai (1998) The status and conservation of threatened and near-threatened species of birds in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Bird Conservation International 8(1): 31-51.
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.
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