[Report 10. Full report 1.5 MB. pdf format]

Executive Summary

Between March and June 1999, BirdLife International and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR), Hanoi, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Quang Nam Provincial Forest Protection Department (FPD), conducted a field survey in southern Tra My district, Quang Nam province, Vietnam. The aim of this field survey was to assess the feasibility of establishing Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) Nature Reserve. This report, which contains the results of the field survey, forms part of the process to establish this nature reserve. The contents of this report were approved by Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee, following a workshop held on 30 December 1999, and the report was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). If the contents of this report are approved by MARD, BirdLife International and FIPI will prepare an investment plan, which will be submitted to government for approval to establish the nature reserve.

Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) proposed nature reserve is situated on the Kon Tum Plateau, a mountainous region supporting montane habitats that are isolated from similar areas by intervening areas of lower elevation. The proposed nature reserve supports high levels of endemism in plants and animals, and contains 4,273 ha of natural forest above 1,500 m. The known global range of one bird species, Golden-winged Laughingthrush Garrulax ngoclinhensis, is confined to Mount Ngoc Linh. As a result of the presence of Golden-winged Laughingthrush and three other restricted-range bird species, Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) proposed nature reserve qualifies for inclusion in the Kon Tum Plateau Endemic Bird Area (EBA), the most recently discovered of Vietnam's four EBAs.

As a result of a less-than-comprehensive field survey, recorded levels of biodiversity at Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) proposed nature reserve are generally lower than at other montane protected areas in Vietnam: a total of 385 plant, 51 mammal, 171 bird, 15 reptile and 25 amphibian species are known from the proposed nature reserve. It is likely, however, that underlying levels of biodiversity are at least as high as those in better studied areas.

The key conservation features of Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) proposed nature reserve are the undisturbed, montane habitat types, and the large number of endemic and globally threatened species: 16 globally threatened plant species, seven globally threatened mammal species and three globally threatened bird species are known from the proposed nature reserve. In addition, Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) protects the recently discovered endemic mammal, Truong Son Muntjac Muntiacus truongsonensis, which is currently known from only two other protected areas in Vietnam. Furthermore, the proposed nature reserve supports a continuum of natural habitat types from 150 to 2,598 m, which is the longest altitudinal gradient of natural habitat types remaining in Vietnam.

The principal economic value of the proposed nature reserve is watershed protection. Loss of forest cover could result in increased periods of drought, with negative repercussions for downstream communities, which depend upon rivers originating within the proposed nature reserve for irrigation and potable water. Forest at high elevations in the proposed nature reserve has a particularly important hydrological function as it can "capture" moisture by condensation and contribute this to the total yield of the watershed. Conversely, the forests of Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) are also likely to play an important role in alleviating the severity of flooding, by slowing surface water run-off. The importance of this function is highlighted by the two bouts of severe flooding that devastated parts of Quang Nam province in November and December 1999.

A total of 11,591 people live in the buffer zone of the proposed nature reserve, although only two small villages are located within the proposed nature reserve boundary. The majority of these people are subsistence farmers, practising a mixture of rotational swidden agriculture and wet-rice cultivation. Over 97% of the inhabitants of the buffer zone belong to the Xe Dang, Ca Dong or Mnong ethnic minorities. Relative to other areas of Vietnam, overall levels of socio-economic development, as measured by either food production or mean per capita income, are low.

The overall level of impact of local people on the proposed nature reserve is moderately low. The average population density in the buffer zone communes is only 18 people per square kilometre, compared with 232 people per square kilometre for Vietnam as a whole. Agricultural practises appear to be largely sustainable: rates of conversion of forest to agriculture over the last 10 years are very low compared with other areas in the Western Highlands. However, clearance of forest for agriculture is likely to pose a formidable challenge to conservation in the future. This is likely to be driven by both natural population growth (based on the available data, the population growth rate in the buffer zone is 2.9% per annum) and settlement of migrants from other areas. If conservation is to be effective, strategies will need to be developed to address both of these factors. Therefore, conservation measures must focus on limiting natural population growth, and controlling the settlement of migrants into the south of Tra My district, particularly in the area of a new economic zone at Tac Po village, just outside of the buffer zone.

Other threats to biodiversity are hunting and over-exploitation of non-timber forest products. Rapid rural appraisal (RRA) data indicate that abundances of forest products, such as muntjacs, wild pigs and rattans, have declined over the past 10 years, suggesting that these products are being exploited at unsustainable levels. These threats could be mitigated by such measures as cultivating NTFPs, controlling the wildlife trade, promoting alternative sources of income and conducting conservation awareness activities.

Based on the area's high biodiversity value but limited potential for tourism, this report recommends that Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) be established as a protected area with the status of nature reserve. The nature reserve should cover 18,430 ha, comprising a strict protection area of 17,343 ha and a forest rehabilitation area of 1,087 ha. The buffer zone should cover 44,678 ha and include six communes: Tra Linh, Tra Cang, Tra Tap, Tra Do'n and Tra Leng communes in Tra My district, and Phuoc Thanh commune in Phuoc Son district. This report makes management recommendations for the strict protection area, forest rehabilitation area, and buffer zone. It also proposes management objectives and a staffing structure for the nature reserve.

Ngoc Linh (Quang Nam) proposed nature reserve is contiguous with Ngoc Linh (Kon Tum) Nature Reserve (41,420 ha) and Song Thanh-Dakpring proposed nature reserve (98,300 ha). When established, these three protected area will cover nearly 160,000 ha, and will form one of the largest areas of continuous conservation coverage in Vietnam. This report recommends that, after these areas are established, they be upgraded to national park status. This would afford the highest management category and ensure central governmentsupport for an extensive, representative area of the Kon Tum Plateau EBA.

[Report 10. Full report 1.5 MB. pdf format]