UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

In my role as the Natural Sciences Officer at UNESCO, I am responsible for managing projects relating to what are called Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserves, in Vietnam. I had never heard of these places before starting at UNESCO but there are over 500 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in 105 countries around the world, including 6 in Vietnam (click here for more information on these) and 14 in Australia.

Biosphere Reserves are areas which are designated by UNESCO as having significant natural heritage and requiring international conservation effort. They are similar to World Heritage sites but maybe without the unique appeal to warrant World Heritage status. But the key difference between the two types of UNESCO heritage sites is that MAB Reserves, as the name suggests, deal with the interaction of the local indigineous people with their environment. These sites aim to protect and restore the natural environment while also preserving and enhancing the livelihood of local inhabitants. Balancing these two aims is particularly important in Vietnam where:
- Over-population, agriculture and war have led to widespread deforestation and environmental degradation;
- The indigineous culture is so rich and diverse and warrants considerable preservation efforts (eg: Vietnam has over 50 ethnic minority populations, each with their own distinct cultures);
- Many rural people live in poverty and restricting their access to natural resources within protected ares can further impoverish them. They may therefore need assistance to sustain their livelihood through alternative means.

A site that I am currently working on is the Pu Mat National Park which is within the Western Nghe An Province, some 400km south-west of Hanoi (a 9 hour drive!). The park is large and has diverse flora and fauna (and many endangered species) as well as a number of villages of ethnic minority people. (Click here for more info)

I visited Pu Mat in mid December to attend a series of interesting workshops with representatives of the Pu Mat Management Board and chiefs of two villages located in the reserve. The aim of the workshops was to raise the local people's awareness and participation in forest and natural resource conservation. We were also training the Management Board in community participation with a focus on culturally appropriate livelihood development, e.g. suiting the individual needs of each ethnic minority group.

Recommendations so far include allocating new land for particular communities, establishing new intensive farming practices, developing handicraft jobs and expanding tourism activities in the area. The study is planned to be completed in May 2009. More details then, I hope...

Ha Long Bay

On the weekend of 14/15 November, I visited the UNESCO World Heritage listed Ha Long Bay with a few of my friends. I had heard so much about this place over many years and it was great to finally see it for myself. The visit was particularly relevant for me in my current role as a UNESCO project officer working on an environmental and visitor management strategy for the bay.

Ha Long Bay is the most famous of Vietnam's 5 World Heritage Sites and has been inscribed due it's "outstanding natural heritage value". The other 4 sites are all in the centre of the country and hopefully i'll get to visit these very soon! (click here for more info on all 5 sites)

Ha Long Bay is famous for its Karst formations, 2000 or so limestone islands which rise steeply out of the sea. These features have led the area to be listed under not one but two World Heritage criteria (oustanding universal asthetic and geological value), which is actually quite rare. Ha Long is also currently being considered as one of the 7 wonders of the natural world, which requires a fair bit of campaigning to secure votes, and it's currently distracting the managers of the bay from my project!

The local legend of Ha Long Bay says that long ago when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade which turned into the islands dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, the dragons decided to stay on earth and the place where Mother Dragon flew down was named Ha Long, or "descending dragon".

The tour we were on included bus transfers between Hanoi and Ha Long City (3 hours each way) and a 2 day/1 night boat tour on the bay. Click here for tour details.

At Ha Long City, we were herded around the other tourist groups and onto one of the hundreds of boats anchored at the wharf - a chaotic scene if ever i saw one! But once we actually set sail, it all become much more serene and we were able to start appreciating the beauty of the bay. It really is impressive and unfortunately the photos probably don't do it justice.

We stopped in on an island with a large cave, Hang Dau Go (Wooden stakes Cave). There were many interesting natural rock formations inside and bright lighting of different colours is projected onto the cave walls. A bit tacky maybe, but charming nevertheless.

We also visited a couple of small floating fishing villages which was probably the highlight of my trip. It's amazing to think that many of these people have lived their entire lives on a little floating platform with underwater fish nets. They live off their fishstocks and trade with neighbouring villages and passing boats.

Other activities included kayaking, jumping into the water from the top of the boat, and dining out on fresh seafood. And when that all became too tiring, we took a nap on the top deck of the boat on our trip back to Ha Long City.

Overall, my impressions of my Ha Long Bay experience are mixed. The natural beauty of the bay is stunning but i was left with the feeling that there are a lot more sites to explore and and I never really knew where we were, where we were going, and what else was out there. Many tourists comment that they are not provided with enough information on the visiting options available to them in Ha Long Bay. There are also environmental issues associated with pollution from tourist activites. Hopefully these issues can be improved following completion of the current UNESCO studies.