sourcebook

Management history

The side of the Thai Binh estuary in Thai Thuy district was one of seven key wetland sites in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta identified by Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang (1996b). In 1996, Thai Thuy District People's Committee nominated the area for nature reserve establishment, and this proposal was supported by Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee and MARD (Nguyen Huy Thang et al. 2000). An investment plan for Thai Thuy was prepared by the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute and Thai Thuy District FPD in July 1997, which proposed establishing a 13,696 ha nature reserve, comprising a strict protection area of 4,463 ha, a forest rehabilitation area of 7,695 ha and, an administration and services area of 1,538 ha (Anon. 1997). To date, this investment plan has not been approved by MARD, and a management board has not been established. Thai Thuy 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).

Topography and hydrology

Thai Thuy proposed nature reserve is bordered by the Tra Ly river to the south and by the Thai Binh river to the north. The proposed nature reserve is bisected by the Diem Ho river, which flows into the sea between the Tra Ly and Thai Binh rivers. To the south of the Thai Binh river mouth are located extensive areas of mudflats, formed as a result of deposition of sediment. To the west lies an area of salt pans and, adjacent to the Tra Ly river, is a region of aquaculture ponds.

Biodiversity values

Thai Thuy proposed nature reserve includes the largest remaining tract of old-growth mangrove forest in the Red River Delta. Approximately 400 ha of natural mangrove forest dominated by Sonneratia caseolaris remain at Thai Thuy. This old-growth forest is estimated to be about 50 years old. Most of the mangrove forest at Thai Thuy, however, consists of plantations of Kandelia candel (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996b).

Anon. (1997) identified four main habitat types at the proposed nature reserve. Natural mangrove forest dominated by Sonneratia caseolaris occupies 300 ha of the proposed nature reserve, and is distributed near the mouths of the Thai Binh and Tra Ly rivers. This habitat type also contains Kandelia candel and Aegiceras corniculata, and is a suitable habitat for waterbirds. Mangrove plantations dominated by Kandelia candel covers 2,588 ha of the proposed nature reserve. Plantations of the exotic Casuarina equisetifolia cover 44 ha of the proposed nature reserve. Aquacultural ponds dominated by Cyperus malaccensis and Phragmites vallatoria mixed with C. tegetiformis, which cover 175 ha in the north of the proposed nature reserve, are an important nesting habitat for several species of waterbird.

Thai Thuy proposed nature reserve supports several globally threatened and near-threatened waterbird species over winter and on passage, including Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi and Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996b). Because of its importance for migratory waterbirds, Thai Thuy qualifies as an Important Bird Area (Tordoff 2002).

Conservation issues

Hunting is, perhaps, the biggest threat to biodiversity at Thai Thuy. Hunters from Thai Binh town and Hai Phong city often come to Thai Thuy in the winter to hunt birds. Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang (1996b) reported the use of mist nets, airguns and shotguns in the old-growth forest. Also, the authors observed buffalo and cattle grazing in the mangrove forest, people extracting wood from the mangrove forest, and women collecting Phragmites from the aquacultural ponds for fuel.

Nguyen Huy Thang et al. (2000) consider that the following factors should be taken into consideration for future management of the site: (i) further expansion of aquacultural ponds within the wetland is likely to have a serious negative impact on the ecosystem and should, therefore, be prohibited or kept to a minimum; (ii) if agricultural runoff in the form of chemical pesticides, fertilizers and growth hormones continues to flow into the rivers unchecked, it will have a devastating effect on both the ecosystem and the fisheries harvest; (iii) waste treatment at two existing industrial processing enterprises is not thorough, and is having a negative impact on the ecosystem of the Diem Ho river; and (iv) future land-use planning needs to consider the dumping of domestic waste to avoid potential negative impacts.

Other documented values

Thai Thuy proposed nature reserve includes a large area of aquacultural ponds, which are managed using a variety of methods. Aquaculture is based on fish and crabs, although algae is also harvested from the ponds. Shellfish are collected on the intertidal mudflats, although afforestation with mangrove has, however, reduced their utility for shellfish collection. The unique area of old-growth mangrove at Thai Thuy has potential educational values (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996b).

Related projects

The coastal zone of Thai Thuy district was the focus of a project entitled the Thai Binh Environmental Preservation Project, implemented by Danish Red Cross and Vietnam Red Cross. The principle objectives of this project were to plant mangrove and to protect existing mangrove. In the first two years of the project, 1,000 ha of mangrove were planted in the five coastal communes of Thai Thuy district (Humphries 1995).

The Mangrove Ecology and Research Division of the Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Studies is currently developing a medium-sized Global Environment Facility project entitled Conservation of Coastal Wetlands in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. It is proposed that this project will be implemented at five sites in Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces. The aim of the project will be the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta.

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

Thai Thuy is not currently eligible for VCF support because it is not under appropriate conservation management.

Criterion	Eligibility
A_I
A_II	VN014 - Thai Thuy
B_I	Proposed Special-use Forest
B_II	Nature Reserve
B_III	Under provincial management
C_I
C_II

Social screening requirements

A social screening report has not been prepared for the site.

Criterion	Eligibility
A
B
C
D

Literature sources

ADB (1999) Draft coastal and marine protected areas plan. Hanoi: Asian Development Bank.

Anon. (1997) [Investment plan for Thai Thuy Wetland Nature Reserve, Thai Binh province]. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.

D'Cruz, R. (2000) Strengthening of the environmental management authority of Vietnam (SEMA): designation of Tram Chim National Park and Thai Thuy wetland to the list of wetlands of international importance (Ramsar list). Unpublished report to the Ramsar Bureau.

Eames, J. C. (1996) Some additions to the list of birds of Vietnam. Forktail 12: 163-166.

Humphries, J. (1995) Review of Thai Binh environmental preservation project: October 1995. Hanoi: Danish Red Cross and Vietnam Red Cross.

Lao Dong (2000) [Spoonbill, a rare bird, is disappearing from Vietnam]. Lao Dong [Labour] 15 June 2000. In Vietnamese.

Le Trong Trai, Eames, J. C., Nguyen Huy Thang and Pederson, A. (1996) [Faunal resources and management issues at Thai Thuy wetlands, Thai Binh province]. Hanoi: BirdLife International and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.

Le Xuan Tuan and Phan Thi Thuy (1998) Evaluation of effects of mangrove rehabilitation on aquaproduct resources in some coastal communes of Thai Binh and Nam Dinh province. Pp 116-121 in: Phan Nguyen Hong ed. Sustainable and economically efficient utilization of natural resources in mangrove ecosystems. Hanoi: Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies and Action for Mangrove Reforestation.

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 (1996a) [Main wetland areas in the Red River Delta]. Tap Chi Hoat Dong Khoa Hoc [Journal of Science] 7: 10. In Vietnamese.

Pedersen, A. and Nguyen Huy Thang (1996b) The conservation of key coastal wetland sites in the Red River Delta. Hanoi: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme.

Quan Doi Nhan Dan (2000) [Need for bird protection in the nature reserve]. Quan Doi Nhan Dan [People's Army] 27 November 2000. In Vietnamese.

Tran Van Ban (1996) [Summary report: mangrove plantation in Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province: management and implementation]. Paper presented at the Workshop on Conservation of Key Wetland Sites in the Coastal Zone of the Red River Delta, Xuan Thuy, 25 to 26 July 1996. In Vietnamese.

Vu Van Dung, Hoang Trong Tri and Nguyen Huy Thang (1997) [Characteristics of vegetation and ecological evaluation of the wetland at Thai Thuy Nature Reserve, Thai Binh province]. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. In Vietnamese.

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