Heritage Trees and the issue of their conservation in Vietnam

HERITAGE TREES

26 January 2011 | 03:41:00 PM

In Vietnam, some "famous secular trees" like the Tan Trao banian tree (Ficus bengalensis), the thousand years old camphor tree (Cinamomum camphora) in Bac Giang province, the ancient longan tree (Dimocarpus longan)in Hung Yen province, etc. have been under the protection of the state and communities.

In numerous countries, many trees of special values are categorized as ‘heritage trees’ and are well protected by laws and communities. Some countries like Singapore, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, etc. regard heritage trees as ‘famous secular trees’ that must be protected. Besides cultural, educational, social, and ecological values, heritage trees are also of big interest for many tourists. Heritage trees have become tourist site that generate large amounts of income for the local tourism sector.

In Vietnam, some "famous secular trees" like the Tan Trao banian tree (Ficus bengalensis), the thousand years old camphor tree (Cinamomum camphora) in Bac Giang province, the ancient longan tree (Dimocarpus longan)in Hung Yen province, etc. have been under the protection of the state and communities. However, there are only a few lucky secular trees. In many areas of the country, there are a large number of famous ancient trees that are a testiment to Vietnam’s ecological history. All these ancient trees are worth protecting but unfortunately, a large number of them are still unprotected. Therefore, setting up relevant protection regulations and protection of selected famous secular trees under the name of "heritage trees" is a must..