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INTRODUCING THE GREATER TRUONG SON

CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN

The mountain slopes and foothills along the LaoPDR-Vietnam border are home to some of themost endangered species on earth. For many ofthese species, their loss from this region wouldmean their loss forever. It is for this reason that theGreater Annamites was recognised as one of the“Global 200” Ecoregions of highest internationalconservation priority. The Greater AnnamiteMountains comprise the Truong Son in Vietnamand the contiguous Saiphou Louang in Lao PDR.

The region’s international importance forbiodiversity conservation is directly linked to itsvalue to the economies of Vietnam and Lao PDR.The ecosystem services the area provides in itsnatural state in the form of climate moderation,erosion control and generation of clean water are acritical, irreplaceable component of the resource-based economies of two nations. The area is alsoimportant to the welfare of the wider regionbecause some of the most important tributaries ofthe Mekong River arise in and flow through theGreater Annamites. The condition of theAnnamites watershed affects the livelihoods ofmillions who depend on fishing and farmingdownstream.

The Vietnamese section of the ecoregion, Truong Son, is both the most extensive andalso the most diverse. The mountain influence on the monsoons

gives the Vietnamese section both the wettest andthe driest climate in the Greater Annamites. The

majority of the wettest evergreen forest occurswithin Vietnam as do most of the highest peaks. The

highest degree of endemism is found on the eastern flanks ofthe mountains, however its forest and river ecosystems are the mostseriously degraded and fragmented in the ecoregion and are nowrepresented in relatively small patches.

Why conserve Truong Son?

• Over 30 million people in Vietnam (just overone-third of the total population) live directlyin the Truong Son region

• The natural resources and biodiversity of theTruong Son are essential to the well being anddevelopment of the poorest communities

• The Truong Son shields the catchments thatprovide clean water and, if well protected, willregulate river flows and reduce flooding

• The Truong Son has been a place of inspiration,protection and cultural significance forcenturies, particularly as a refuge in times ofwar

• The most extensive areas of forest in Vietnamremain in the Truong Son as well as many ofthe most important, intact river systems

• The region supports one of the most importantrepresentations of global biodiversity and isrecognized as being of the highest globalpriority for biodiversity conservation.

• The Truong Son covers 173,800 square km orapproximately 52% of the whole country.

These priority activities urgently need everyone’s help. Truong Sonneeds you! Now as we prepare to carry out the first activities we arecalling for your help, your generosity, your determination and yourcooperation. You are vital to give the people, plants and animals ofthe Truong Son hope for the future…

Our vision is that 'the biodiversity, values and function of theecosystems in the Greater Annamites Ecoregion will be restoredand maintained to contribute to sustainable economic, social andenvironmental development in Vietnam and Lao PDR’.

This publication was made possible through support provided by the Office ofEnvironment, Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, U.S. Agency forInternational Development, under the terms of Award No.LAG-A-00-99-00048-00.

Compiled by Steph CoxPhoto research by Nguyen Thi Dao

WWF Indochina Programme

WWF Vietnam Country ProgrammeInternational P.O. Box 151HanoiVIETNAM

Telephone 84 (0) 4 736 6375Fascimile 84 (0) 4 736 6376

WWF Lao Country ProgrammeP.O BOX 7871, VientianeLAO PDR

Website www.wwfindochina.orgwww.panda.org/asiapacific/annamites

Photo credit, from left to right, top to bottom:

Front cover:Edward Parker/TFT; WWF/Barney Long;

WWF/Barney Long; Andrey Kuznetsov; Andrei Kuznetsov; Howard Buffet;

WWF/Toon Fey; WWF/James Hardcastle;WWF/James Hardcastle; Tilo Nadler.

Designed & Printed in Vietnam by GraphicLink® 84 (0) 4 6624780

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The Greater Annamites as a whole divides geologically and biologicallyinto three distinct montane blocks: the northern, central and southernAnnamites. The Annamites mountain chain provides a natural border withLao PDR, and connects north with south, culturally, biogeographicallyand economically. The Vietnam side of the landscape, the Truong Son,covers twenty-six provinces, from Ninh Binh to Dong Nai, and spansthree biogeographic zones.

The northern Truong Son

The northern Truong Son includes two remarkable karst landscapes: Vietnam’s firstprotected area, Cuc Phuong National Park, and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park,designated as a Natural World Heritage Site in 2003. Sandwiched between these sites issome of the last remaining lowland forest in Vietnam, made famous in recent years withthe discoveries of new species of large mammals, including the remarkable saola. Thenorthern section includes the highest peak in the Truong Son, Pu Xai - Lai Leng at 2711 m.

The central Truong Son

The central Truong Son consists of two geographical units: a shallow, narrow mountainrange running from Lao Bao to the Hai Van Pass and the vast basalt-based Kon TumPlateau; and the satellite Ngoc Linh Mountain (2,598m). The basin formed in thenorthern flanks of the Hai Van includes Bach Ma National Park, which receives some ofthe highest rainfall rates in the world - up to 8,000mm near mountain summits.

The southern Truong Son

The most important characteristic of southern Truong Son is that the mountains in theupland are of similar altitude, many around 2000m. The terrain of the region is mostlyundulating and includes areas of lowland forest. In contrast to the north and centralTruong Son, the predominant rain bearing weather systems come from thewest in this region. As the montane areas fall close to the sea, the fringeof coastal forest along the eastern side of the mountains isextremely dry and more akin to semi-arid conditions ratherthan the majority of the evergreen forest that characterizes theTruong Son.

Truong Son Initiative brochure 14/12/2004 11:49 AM Page 1

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Highest priority actionsThe plan lists an initial selection of 69 priority activities, which were measuredagainst strict criteria to identify the most urgent priority activities. The sevenidentified priority activities are quite diverse, and thus need the involvement ofa number of ministries, contributions from different donors, and will proceed atdifferent paces. Many will also prove complex. This suggests that they mightbest be developed as separate activities, although under one program andmonitoring framework.

1. Ensure effective management of the five most important protected areas andassociated protected area complexes in the Truong Son in Vietnam

2. Prepare and implement conservation plans for five flagship species of theTruong Son beginning with the saola

3. Prepare and implement a wet forest conservation plan with a special focus onforest below 400 metres

4. Support implementation of the Prime Minister’s Circular 12 concerningconservation of forests and environment protection associated with the Ho ChiMinh Highway including review of the EIA process and definition of site specificmitigation actions

5. Within the framework of the Central Truong Son Biodiversity ConservationStrategy, adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, inMarch 2004, pilot integration of local socio-economic planning with biodiversityconservation priorities as identified through provincial biodiversity action plans

6. Conduct a vigorous programme under theNational Action Plan that impacts thewildlife trade across the Truong Son, suchthat no species is in danger of being lostfrom the ecoregion due to commercialextraction

7. Prepare and implement a monitoringand reporting framework to keep track ofthe biodiversity status of the Truong Son,including the effectiveness of theAction Plan implementation.

People and development in the Truong SonThe Truong Son provides shelter, resources and environmental services to 30million Vietnamese. The remoter, often mountainous areas encompassing themajority of the areas of greatest biodiversity wealth are amongst theeconomically poorest in the country. The populations in these areas are made upof diverse ethnic groups, such as the H’mong, Ka Tu, Bru, Pa Co, M’Nong, GieTrieng, E’De and Gia Rai, whereas the lower-lying areas are predominantlyhome to the Kinh people, Vietnam’s majority ethnic group. Although ethnicgroups make up only 30% of the total national population they are close to 100%of the population in some important areas for biodiversity conservation.

A quarter of the Truong Son population live in urban areas, many of whom stillrely on cultivation, raising livestock or other agro-forestry activities for theirlivelihood. A stable upland environment is vital and provides essentialecological services such as water regulation, flood and fire reduction, soil andriverbank stabilisation, as well as potential for tourism, and having spiritual andcultural significance.

A plan led by the Government ofVietnam...The Truong Son Conservation Action Plan is a plan adopted by the Governmentof Vietnam to bring greater focus, coordination and domestic investment toprotect Truong Son’s natural systems for optimum long-term development andpoverty reduction. It is intended as a framework for action by all internationaland non-government partners concerned with maintaining the contribution ofthe region’s biodiversity wealth to national economic, social and environmentalwell being.

Overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through itsForest Protection Department, with technical support from WWF, the plan hasundergone wide-ranging and comprehensive input, review and consultationinvolving stakeholders and expertise from community to international levels.

The Truong Son Conservation Action Plan will help guide the government, localpeople and international partners, to ensure that the natural values of theTruong Son are maintained. Natural resources can be harnessed to achievesustainable development and growth for the 30 million people who inhabit thearea, and for the nation and the region as a whole. Truong Son’s natural capital

is an asset for future generations. The Truong Son Conservation Action Plan aims torestore, secure and strengthen the natural systems of the Truong Son and thereforesecure its future as a vital reservoir of natural and cultural diversity as a foundation fornational and local development.

As a signatory to the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity, thegovernment of Vietnam is committed to integrating biodiversity conservation andsustainable use into national policymaking and action plans. The Truong SonConservation Action Plan provides detailed direction for implementing importantcomponents of the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy, addressesmuch of the National Biodiversity Action Plan, and is an essential guide to the nextphase of the Biodiversity Action Plan to 2010 and beyond. The plan should be viewedas a regional implementation framework for the Forest Sector Strategy 2001-2010 andthe linked Forest Sector Support Program. It also responds to many of the priorityactions within the National Environment Protection Strategy for the same period.

The plan should now be progressively integrated into national and provincial socio-economic development plans. Biodiversity conservation is an essential developmentstrategy for the Truong Son region and therefore it must be reflected in the socio-economic plans and annual budgets of all major sectors using and shaping the region.

Action planning processOver 100 Vietnamese government, academic, NGO and independent institutions weredirectly involved in information gathering and priority setting for a conservation andsustainable development agenda for the Truong Son. An early part of this process wasto develop a biological vision for the Greater Annamites ecoregion as a whole. Theshared vision is that “The biodiversity, values and functions of the ecosystems in the GreaterAnnamites ecoregion will be restored and maintained to contribute to sustainable economic,social and environmental development in Vietnam and Lao PDR.”

A series of field studies were undertaken along with a desktop collation of the wealthof information available on the social, economic, environmental and cultural characterof the Truong Son and its people. In June 2003, an international ecoregion workshopbegan the process of honing this information into a ‘situation analysis’ to identifyecoregion-wide pressures and their root causes, associated opportunities, and to directthe development of the action plan. Based on the priorities and recommendations of thisworkshop, a series of rapid studies followed to verify the nature and impact of the rootcauses of environmental degradation in the Truong Son, and weigh the opportunitiesfor conservation action against the constraints.

Experts from ministries, provincial departments, universities, and local andinternational NGOs developed a plan which would meet the underlying biologicaltargets, whilst still focusing on addressing all the key pressures identified in thesituation analysis and capitalizing on identified opportunities.

Challenges and opportunities for biodiversityconservationThe situation analysis identified the following challenges toconservation in the Truong Son and in Vietnam in general:

• High population growth - the population growth rate in the ecoregion is 1.65%,slightly higher than Vietnam's average rate of 1.53%• Poverty and natural resource degradation • Decline of resources • Weak enforcement of rules and regulations• Over-exploitation of natural resources • Illegal trade of wild animal and plant species • Rapid socio-economic development• Poor institutional arrangements.

Fortunately, a number of opportunities exist for successfulconservation of the Truong Son in Vietnam. Broadly, they are:

• Current extent of forest cover • Protected area network • Enabling polices and initiatives • Biodiversity Action Plan and commitments to international conventions • High level of education and literacy in Vietnam • Communications networks and new technologies• Strong international NGO presence and bilateral and donor support • Economic factors.

Goals and objectives of the action planThe Truong Son Conservation Action Plan adopts the overall goal ofthe Greater Annamites biovision, which was subdivided into 6objectives specific to the Truong Son:

• Protect, restore and sustainably manage biodiversity elements of high scientific andeconomic value in the ecoregion. • Mitigate the most urgent, broad scale pressures on biodiversity in the ecoregion• Harness local, national and international support for long-term conservation of theecoregion• Strengthen the human resource capacity for long-term conservation and sustainabledevelopment in the ecoregion• Foster the implementation of existing policies and effectiveness of institutions, andcomprehensively develop the necessary policy, legal and institutional framework forconservation of the biodiversity of the ecoregion• Yield significant, tangible benefits for regional, national and local stakeholdersthrough conservation approaches in the ecoregion.

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