[Report 25. Full report 1.6 MB. pdf format]

Executive Summary

As part of the European-Union-funded project entitled Expanding the Protected Areas Network in Vietnam for the 21st Century, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) worked in collaboration with BirdLife International to formulate a feasibility study for Chu Prong proposed nature reserve. This work supported the government of Vietnam's commitment to increase the nation's protected area coverage to 2 million ha by the year 2000. Furthermore, this work promoted the conservation of forest within the Central Indochina Dry Forests Ecoregion, which is under-represented within the current protected areas system.

Between February and April 2000, FIPI and BirdLife International conducted a field survey in Chu Prong district, Gia Lai province. During this field survey, data were collected on the physical, biological and socio-economic features of Chu Prong proposed nature reserve. These data were then used to formulate a feasibility study, the first step in the process to establish a nature reserve at the site.

Chu Prong proposed nature reserve is located in the south-west of Gia Lai province, and borders Dak Lak province to the south and Cambodia to the west. The site ranges in elevation from 70 to 732 m. Within the proposed nature reserve, there is no completely undisturbed forest, as all the forest has been disturbed by human activities, including selective logging, clearance of forest for agriculture, firewood collection and spraying of defoliants during the Second Indochina War.

Chu Prong proposed nature reserve supports four major habitat types: lowland deciduous forest, which is distributed at low elevations throughout the site; lowland semi-deciduous forest, which is distributed on low hills in the north-west of the site; evergreen riverine forest, which is distributed along the Ia Lop and Ia Mo rivers; and seasonally inundated grassland, which has a scattered distribution within the deciduous forest. This last habitat type, although limited in area, is of extremely high importance for populations of large waterbirds at the site.

The field survey recorded 458 vascular plant species, in 332 genera and 98 families. These included eight species listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam as nationally threatened, comprising four species listed as Vulnerable, three listed as Insufficiently Known and one listed as Threatened. One species recorded at Chu Prong, Alyxia divaricata, is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threathened Plants as Rare. Of the 458 plant species recorded at Chu Prong, 86 are timber species, 127 have known medicinal uses, and 35 have potential economic value as ornamentals, food or materials. Many species have high economic value, such as the timber species Dalbergia oliveri, D. cochinchinensis, Afzelia xylocarpa, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Sindora siamensis Xylia xylocarpa, Anisoptera costata, Hopea odorata, Shorea siamensis, S. obtusa and S. roxburghii.

The field survey recorded 270 vertebrate species, comprising 41 mammal species, 171 bird species, 36 reptile species, 11 amphibian species and 11 fish species.

Vertebrate Fauna of Chu Prong Proposed Nature Reserve

During the field survey, several large mammal species of high conservation concern were recorded, including Gaur Bos gaurus, Banteng B. javanicus and Brow-antlered Deer Cervus eldii. The latter species, which was identified on the basis of footprints and hunting trophies, is of particular importance, as the population at Chu Prong may be the last viable population of this species in Vietnam.

A number of globally threatened and near-threatened bird species were recorded during the field survey, including Green Peafowl Pavo muticus, Germain's Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron germaini, Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus, Grey-headed Fish Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, White-rumped Falcon Polihierax insignis and Rufous-winged Buzzard Butastus liventer. Germain's Peacock Pheasant is a restricted-range species, and its occurrence at Chu Prong means that the site qualifies for inclusion within the South Vietnamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area.

Chu Prong proposed nature reserve includes parts of three communes: Ia Mo, Ia Lau and Ia Puch. The total population of the three communes is 9,156 people in 1,774 households. These people belong to nine ethnic groups, of which members of the Gia Rai, Muong and Kinh comprise 96% of the total. Most households in the three communes are permanently settled, apart from some households of spontaneous in-migrants. Since 1980, more than 7,000 people have settled in Ia Lau commune, and settlement of migrants into Ia Mo and Ia Lau communes is planned for forthcoming years.

The level of development of the rural economy is currently low. Agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry are the major economic activities in the area. At present, living standards among the local population are low, and 881 households in the three buffer zone communes are considered to be hungry or poor, equivalent to 46% of the total. All three communes are included in the national 135 Programme, which invests VND 400 million per commune for infrastructure development each year.

Chu Prong I and Chu Prong II Forest Enterprises manage a total of 51,328 ha in the buffer zone communes. Most of this area has been under forest enterprise management since 1977, although both forest enterprises ceased logging in 1992. Currently, the main responsibilities of the forest enterprises are forest protection and management.

Chu Prong proposed nature reserve is situated 40 km to the north of Yok Don National Park, to which it is linked by a large intervening area of deciduous and semi-deciduous forest. The opportunity exists, therefore, to include the intervening area within the national protected areas system, thereby forming an area of conservation coverage large enough to support viable populations of large mammals, such as Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Gaur, Banteng, Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus and Clouded Leopard Pardofelis nebulosa. This would require expanding Yok Don National Park northwards, to the border with Gia Lai province.

Based upon the results of the field survey, this feasibility study strongly recommends that a nature reserve be established at Chu Prong with a total area of 50,104 ha. Establishing such a nature reserve would:

• (i) increase the representation of deciduous and semi-deciduous forest within the national protected areas system;
  
• (ii) promote the conservation of populations of globally threatened large mammals, such as Tiger, Gaur, Banteng and Brow-antlered Deer;
  
• (iii) increase the conservation coverage of Green Peafowl and other endemic and globally threatened bird species;
  
• (iv) protect a representative example of the Central Indochina Dry Forests Ecoregion;
  
• (v) promote the socio-economic development of buffer zone communities; and
  
• (vi) enhance protection of the watershed of the Mekong River.

[Report 25. Full report 1.6 MB. pdf format]