A'Vuong Proposed Nature Reserve
| Alternative site name(s) Quang Nam Saola Conservation Area Province(s) Quang Nam Area Undetermined Coordinates 16°00'N, 107°30'E Agro-ecological zone South Central Coast 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
Following a biodiversity survey of western Quang Nam province in 1997, the WWF Indochina Programme, the FPD of MARD, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute and Quang Nam Provincial FPD proposed establishing a nature reserve to the north of the A'Vuong river, to protect the globally endangered large mammal, Saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis (Wikramanayake et al. 1997). Since this proposal was made, the process of establishing a protected area at A'Vuong has not progressed: a feasibility study has not been conducted, nor has an investment plan been prepared. Moreover, A'Vuong is not included on a list of Special-use Forests to be established by the year 2010, prepared by the FPD of MARD (FPD 2003).
The exact location and size of A'Vuong proposed protected area have yet to be determined. However, the Management of Strategic Areas for Integrated Conservation (MOSAIC) Project plans to establish A'Vuong as a species/habitat conservation area within a wider conservation landscape for Saola; in 2004, work is planned to demarcate a protected area boundary, based on new biological data and community consensus exercises (B. Long in litt. 2003).
Topography and hydrology
A'Vuong proposed protected area is located in northern Tay Giang district, and borders Thua Thien Hue province to the north. The proposed protected area is situated in the central Annamite mountains, and the topography is steep and mountainous, with elevations ranging from under 600 m to around 1,500 m. All streams in the proposed protected area originate close to the border with Thua Thien Hue province, and flow south and west into the A'Vuong river, which, in turn, feeds the Con river.
Biodiversity values
The proposed protected area supports two natural forest types: lowland evergreen forest and lower montane evergreen forest. The forest is intact, with a high species richness: during the 1997 biodiversity survey, 402 species of vascular plant were recorded in what is now Tay Giang district. Although the fauna of the proposed protected area is poorly surveyed, it is known to support two recently described mammal species: Saola and Annamite Muntjac Muntiacus truongsonensis (Wikramanayake et al. 1997).
A'Vuong proposed protected area is linked by intervening forest areas to Bach Ma National Park to the east, Sao La proposed nature reserve to the north, and Xe Sap National Protected Area in Laos to the west (see Bach Ma and Sao La site cards). At the regional scale, A'Vuong proposed protected area is an important link in a transboundary conservation landscape from Xe Sap to the coast of Vietnam. This landscape, which has been termed the "Green Corridor", is the last chain of contiguous natural forest between the Annamite mountains and the East Sea.
Conservation issues
The population density in the area is one of the lowest in Vietnam. In A'Vuong commune, for instance, the population density is only nine people per km2. The majority of the inhabitants of Tay Giang district belong to the Ka Tu ethnic group. The socio-economic situation of these people is generally poor: shifting cultivation is the main agricultural practice, and agricultural productivity is low. Many households suffer three or four months of food shortages per year, during which time they hunt and harvest forest products in order to supplement their diets (Wikramanayake et al. 1997). Clearance of forest for shifting cultivation and hunting are believed to be the biggest threats to conservation at A'Vuong proposed protected area (Vu Van Dung in litt. 2000), with one village moving into the centre of the proposed protected area from Thua Thien Hue province (B. Long in litt. 2003). Indiscriminate trapping is threatening the populations of Saola and Annamite Muntjac at the site.
Other documented values
The forest at the proposed protected area protects the watershed of the Con river, an important source of water for irrigation and domestic use in north-western Quang Nam province.
Related projects
Since 2002, the WWF Vietnam Programme, in collaboration with Quang Nam Provincial FPD have been implementing an integrated programme of activities in Quang Nam province, as part of the MOSAIC Project. A'Vuong has been the focus of some activities under this project to date, including socio-economic surveys and preliminary biodiversity assessments. The site will become a focal area for the project in 2004 (B. Long in litt. 2003).
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 currently ineligible for VCF funding because it is not under appropriate conservation management.
| Criterion |
Eligibility |
| AI |
CA1 - Central Annamites |
| AII |
|
| 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
Wikramanayake, E., Vu Van Dung and Pham Mong Giao (1997) A biological and socio-economic survey of west Quang Nam province with recommendations for a nature reserve. Hanoi: WWF Indochina Programme, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute and the Forest Protection Department.
Wikramanayake, E., Vu Van Dung and Pham Mong Giao (1997) [A biological and socio-economic survey of west Quang Nam province with recommendations for a nature reserve]. Hanoi: WWF Indochina Programme, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute and the Forest Protection Department. In Vietnamese.
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