Vietnam: Lo Go Sa Mat becomes National Park

On 12 July 2002, Vice Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan approved the upgrade of Lo Go Sa Mat Nature Reserve, Tay Ninh province, to national park status.

Decision No. 91/2002/QD-TTg states that the national park will have a total area of 18,765 hectares, including 8,594 hectares under strict protection and 10,084 hectares for ecological rehabilitation. The new national park supports a mosaic of forest and freshwater habitats that are not found in any other Special-use Forest in Vietnam.

In recent years, research by Tay Ninh Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, BirdLife International, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, and the International Crane Foundation, has revealed that Lo Go Sa Mat is of extremely high importance for biodiversity conservation. The national park supports a number of forested wetland habitats that have been virtually eradicated from elsewhere in Vietnam. Lo Go Sa Mat is a vital stop-over point for the globally threatened Sarus Crane Grus antigone, as it migrates between its breeding grounds in northern Cambodia and its wintering grounds in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Lo Go Sa Mat supports a number of other species of large waterbird, including Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans and Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia epsicopus, both of which are in the Red Data Book of Vietnam. Furthermore, the national park supports two species endemic to southern Vietnam and south-eastern Cambodia: Black-shanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nigripes and Germain's Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron germaini.

As a result of the growing appreciation of the values of Lo Go Sa Mat and its potential for ecotourism development, the Tay Ninh provincial authorities have made a strong commitment to the conservation of the site. These efforts have now been recognised by the government, with the approval of the national park, which will be managed by the province.

Further details about Lo Go Sa Mat National Park can be found on the BirdLife International website at the publication page.