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| Herd of rare bulls in the Cat Tien National Park |
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The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is seeking approval from the Government for a plan that would destroy 136.98 hectares of forest inside Cat Tien National Park, which is home to hundreds of rare and endangered animals, for the construction of Dong Nai 6 and Dong Nai 6A hydropower plants.
Meanwhile, several environmentalists have been mounting opposition to the proposal for fear that it will have serious negative impacts on the biodiversity within the conservation area.
According to MARD’s report, local authorities and agencies in the Central Highlands provinces of Lam Dong and Dak Nong, and the southern province of Binh Phuoc have consented to the projects. They have made their own environmental impact assessments.
Plans for the construction of 135-MW Dong Nai 6 hydropower plant will clear 197.6 hectares of forests in Lam Dong and Dak Nong Provinces, including 86.43 hectares of forest in Cat Tien National Park, the rest would be protected forests land in Dak Nong.
In the meantime, the 106-MW Dong Nai 6A, in Lam Dong and Binh Phuoc Provinces will clear 50.55 hectares of forests of Cat Tien National Park and 124.05 hectares of protected forests in Dak Nong.
This means that the projects will appropriate a combined 136.98 hectares of forests in Cat Tien National Park, which is one of only two remaining natural habitats for rare one-horned rhinos in the world.
The ministry said the hydropower development would not directly impact the park’s rhino conservation area because the closest construction site would be 7 kilometres away from the rhino preserve.
Dang Van Khoa, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Nature and Environmental Protection Association, said, “This is a cursory assessment. Destroying this forest land will affect biodiversity. Their assessment must not have been made using hard science."
According to Khoa, neither the investor nor the park’s management board should be responsible for any new environmental or ecological impact assessments of hydropower projects in the national park.
He noted that if the projects go through they will not only wipe out large areas of forest land, but also cause serious harm to the environment of the surrounding areas due to deforestation, material transportation and construction.
“As an environmentalist, I reject these projects out of hand. More careful studies should be made to fully understand the environmental and ecological impacts before coming to a final decision. Projects which are already underway should also be reassessed.”
Tran Van Thanh, the park’s Director, has also raised questions about the the hydropower projects at several seminars on the issue. He’s sent several proposals to state agencies, requesting more careful environmental impact assessments.
Thanh said that the projects will compromise biodiversity at Cat Tien National Park. If the plans are carried out, the park will be surrounded by eight hydropower plants.
The Cat Tien National Park covers 71,350 hectares in Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc Provinces. The park is home to 38 species that were named in Vietnam’s list of endangered species in 2007, along with dozens of species of birds, reptiles and fish recognised as rare by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The park was acknowledged as World Biosphere Reserve in August 2005 by UNESCO for its biodiversity. Currently the park is seeking UNESCO recognition as a World Natural Reserve.
Tung Nguyen
(MONRE)