Sustainable protection needed for Sơn Trà Reserve
At least 一0,000 people visit the areas every month, causing noise pollution and leaving leftovers and rubbish in the reserve, a report from the Sơn Trà management board said.
Visitors are allowed to drive their motorbikes into the core zone without permission or ID, but a ban on staying overnight in the reserve has recently been issued by the local administration to ease the situation.
But illegal hunting, tourists dying on jungle adventures and aggressive monkeys have made the situation worse.
The reserve is managed by different agencies, including the Sơn Trà-Ngũ Hành Sơn forest protection sub-department; Thọ Quang Ward’s administration; Sơn Trà Peninsula’s management board of beaches and tourism; and the Border Guard, Air Defence and Navy.
Each agency only manages one assigned area, but an overall management board has not been set up.
Solution
Biologist Vỹ said the 四, 四00ha Sơn Trà Nature Reserve should be recognised as a UNESCO world biosphere site to promote eco-tourism services while protecting the rich biodiversity of flora and fauna.
He said the proposal had been raised among biologists, scientists and experts during several conferences and seminars in the city and central region with the aim of dealing with the conflict between socio-economic development and nature conservation.
He said a UNESCO-recognised world biosphere reserve would create huge revenue for the city from eco-tourism services, and help protect the animals with strict rules.
“It would be a good way for Đà Nẵng to boost economic growth through eco-tourism, while acting as a rendezvous point for top biodiversity researchers and experts.
“A UNESCO-recognised world biosphere reserve would be good for Đà Nẵng to deal with mass tourism and rapid infrastructure development,” Vỹ told Việt Nam News in an exclusive interview.
“The site has yet to earn a penny from eco-tourism. Overlapping management among agencies add serious threats to biodiversity in the reserve and the existence of the red-shanked douc langur – an endangered primate listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” he said.
More than 一, 三00 red-shanked douc langurs, which are found only in east-central Laos and Việt Nam, were reported living in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve, and the existence of the endangered species would be a crucial factor for promoting the reserve to UNESCO, Vỹ said.