The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and has continued to provide a national framework for wetland preservation ever since.

The national park, located in Tam Nong district, in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, is the fourth Ramsar site in Vietnam and the 2,000th in the world.

The other Ramsar sites in the country are the Xuan Thuy Natural Wetland Reserve in the northern province of Nam Dinh, which was recognized in 1988; the Bau Sau (Crocodile Lake) Wetlands and Seasonal Floodplains in Cat Tien National Park, selected in 2005; and Ba Be National Park in Bac Kan northern province, recognized in 2011.

Covering a total area of 7,313 hectares, With a system of swamps, grass plots and natural canals, the park is an ideal habitat for 191 species of plants, 150 species of freshwater fish, and nearly 231 species of water birds. Some of these are listed in Vietnam’s Red Book of rare and threatened species.

The most distinguished resident bird is the Sarus crane (Grus antigone), which has been recognized as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Book.

Phuong Lan

(VietNamNet Bridge)