Xuan Thuy National Park was established to conserve the coastal estuarine wetland ecosystem, an ecosystem with particularly significant biological, economic, and social value.

Jerome Montemayor, Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, presented the ASEAN Heritage Park certificate to Xuan Thuy National Park.

It is the core zone of the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve and also Viet Nam’s first Ramsar site, home to high biodiversity with hundreds of waterbird species, including many species that are rare, endangered, or hold global conservation values.

Located along the international migratory route of waterbirds within the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, Xuan Thuy National Park is not only important to Viet Nam but also plays a vital role in the regional and global biodiversity conservation network.

In recent years, with the close guidance of authorities at all levels, support from domestic and international organisations, and the active participation of local communities, many positive results have been achieved in the management, conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources at Xuan Thuy National Park.

Mangrove ecosystems have been gradually restored and developed, biodiversity has been protected, livelihoods in buffer zones have improved in an environmentally friendly direction, and public awareness of nature conservation has been increasingly enhanced.

The recognition of Xuan Thuy National Park as an ASEAN Heritage Park opens new development opportunities while also placing greater responsibilities on conservation and the promotion of its valuable natural assets.

Speaking at the ceremony, Tran Anh Dung, Vice Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial People’s Committee, emphasised that in the context of climate change, increasing natural disasters and growing threats to many species, Xuan Thuy National Park has affirmed its position as a representative wetland conservation area of Viet Nam and the region.

Biodiversity protection efforts here have consistently received close attention and effective coordination among authorities, local communities, and international organisations.

The title of the ASEAN Heritage Park is a well-deserved recognition of long-standing efforts to preserve the ecosystem. It not only affirms the park’s status but also enhances the reputation of Viet Nam’s nature reserves on the international biodiversity map.

This is not only a source of pride for Xuan Thuy National Park but also an honour for Viet Nam within the network of nature reserve areas in ASEAN.

He added that in the coming time, Ninh Binh Province will continue to direct relevant agencies and localities to strengthen forest protection and conserve ecosystems and biodiversity, especially rare flora and fauna and migratory bird species with high conservation value, while also improving management and monitoring efficiency of activities within the national park, linking conservation with sustainable livelihood development for local communities, raising public awareness of environmental protection and nature conservation, and gradually developing sustainable economic models.

New plant species discovered in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park

This woody climbing shrub can grow up to five metres tall. Its leaves are alternate, obovate or oval in shape, while its flower clusters grow at branch tips or leaf axils, with funnel-shaped, dark purple corollas.

 

National park works to restore habitat to save red-crowned cranes

Conservation efforts to restore habitat and boost the population of red-crowned cranes in Tram Chim National Park are finally showing progress, with the cranes and many other rare wild birds coming back to the park.

 

National parks of Vietnam, Laos recognized as transboundary world heritage site

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on Sunday approved the expansion of the world natural heritage site of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam to include Hin Nam No National Park in Laos' Khammouane Province.

Three new plant species discovered in Nui Chua National Park

The newly discovered species are shrub-like smaller trees with floriferous branchlets called Sam cuong dai (Memecylon longipedunculatum), Diep ha chau Nui Chua (Nymphanthus adenophorus) and Long muc Nui Chua (Wrightia nuichuaensis). Their discovery was officially published in Phytotaxa, a leading international journal on plant taxonomy and biodiversity, on January 19, 2025.