Xuan Thuy National Park
Xuan Thuy National Park is a coastal wetlands area located about 150km south-east of Hanoi in Nam Dinh province.
The national park area is 7100ha, including the inner parts of Con Ngan islet and the overall area of Con Lu and Con Xanh islets. Its buffer zone is 8000ha and covers the outer parts of Con Ngan, the overall area of Bai Trong and natural areas of five communes including Giao Thien, Giao An, Giao Lac, Giao Xuan and Giao Hai.
Declared Vietnam's first Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance, in January 1989 the Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve was established in 1995. It was upgraded to a national park in 2003.
The park is a rich, biodiverse coastal wetland that houses 220 species of birds (including nine endangered species), 110 aquatic plants and 500 other aquatic organisms. Many highly valuable types of seafood like shellfish, shrimps, fish, crabs and oysters are also found in the area.
Giao Xuan commune
With a population of about 10,000 people (more than 2000 households), Giao Xuan is one of five communes in the national park's buffer area. The local community depends heavily on coastal resources and its main income is derived from the aquaculture of bivalve shellfish.
More than 70 per cent of the commune's women depend on shrimp aquaculture and capture fisheries (collecting shellfish, shrimps and other species) during the agriculture off-season. Some of these practices increase pressure on the environment.
MCD aims to provide opportunities for the Giao Xuan commune, especially the women, to find alternative work, improve their lives and contribute to their socio-economic development and natural resource conservation.