The establishment of Con Co Island Marine Reserve is a basis for centralQuang Tri province to manage its marine resources and environment in acollective, unified and effective way.
A marine reserve does not only help guarantee the ecologicalbalance of the sea, protect biodiversity, make the environment equableand ensure aquatic breed resources, but it plays an important role inlong-term economic development, scientific research, education andmarine tourism.
Apart from thosebenefits, the Con Co reserve provides administrative and legal tools inthe struggle for national sea and island sovereignty and security inVietnam ’s exclusive economic zone.
Con Co Island Marine Reserve was established under Quang Triprovincial People’s Committee Decision No. 2090 dated October 14, 2009 ,and became operational on April 21, 2010 .
It aims to improve local residents’ awareness of biodiversity,marine resources, as well as the management, protection and sustainabledevelopment of those resources.
The reserve covers 4,532 hectares, including three subregions - namely a534 ha protected subregion, a 1,392 ha subregion for ecologicalrecovery and a 2,376 ha subregion for development.
In terms of biodiversity, the reserve now boasts 113 coralspecies, 57 species of seaweed and seagrass, 67 zoobenthos species, 19crustacean species, 224 species of saltwater fish, 87 species of coralreef fish, 164 phytoplankton species and 68 species and groups ofzooplankton. Of which, numerous species are rare and have high economicvalue such as lobster, sea cucumbers, Asian green mussels, mackerel,squid and sea whips.
Totalreserves of aquatic resources in Con Co’s waters are estimated at 40,000tonnes with a sustainable exploitation output of 12,000 tonnes peryear.
Coral reef is of crucialimportance to the site’s biodiversity. Thus, protecting the reef isvital for sustainable development. Con Co’s coral reef is assessed asbeing in good condition, but overfishing and pollution have had theirtoll.
Therefore, the reservemanagement board has installed a float system to delimit regions andcoordinated with the Aquatic Resources Exploitation and ProtectionSub-department and the border guard post on the island to conductpatrols within and around the area.
A group of volunteers that includes local residents was also set up tohelp popularisation and supervision work, timely discovering activitiesthat have negative impacts on the reserve.
In addition, the board has worked with schools in coastal communesto launch beach clean-up activities and an environment and marinebiodiversity protection contest which involved more than 2,000 students.
These activities aim to improvethe community’s awareness, particularly students, of protecting theenvironment and marine biodiversity as well as the reserve’s goals andbenefits it will create.
They arealso set to influence households and the local community, improvingbehaviours towards the environment and marine resources.-VNA
A marine reserve does not only help guarantee the ecologicalbalance of the sea, protect biodiversity, make the environment equableand ensure aquatic breed resources, but it plays an important role inlong-term economic development, scientific research, education andmarine tourism.
Apart from thosebenefits, the Con Co reserve provides administrative and legal tools inthe struggle for national sea and island sovereignty and security inVietnam ’s exclusive economic zone.
Con Co Island Marine Reserve was established under Quang Triprovincial People’s Committee Decision No. 2090 dated October 14, 2009 ,and became operational on April 21, 2010 .
It aims to improve local residents’ awareness of biodiversity,marine resources, as well as the management, protection and sustainabledevelopment of those resources.
The reserve covers 4,532 hectares, including three subregions - namely a534 ha protected subregion, a 1,392 ha subregion for ecologicalrecovery and a 2,376 ha subregion for development.
In terms of biodiversity, the reserve now boasts 113 coralspecies, 57 species of seaweed and seagrass, 67 zoobenthos species, 19crustacean species, 224 species of saltwater fish, 87 species of coralreef fish, 164 phytoplankton species and 68 species and groups ofzooplankton. Of which, numerous species are rare and have high economicvalue such as lobster, sea cucumbers, Asian green mussels, mackerel,squid and sea whips.
Totalreserves of aquatic resources in Con Co’s waters are estimated at 40,000tonnes with a sustainable exploitation output of 12,000 tonnes peryear.
Coral reef is of crucialimportance to the site’s biodiversity. Thus, protecting the reef isvital for sustainable development. Con Co’s coral reef is assessed asbeing in good condition, but overfishing and pollution have had theirtoll.
Therefore, the reservemanagement board has installed a float system to delimit regions andcoordinated with the Aquatic Resources Exploitation and ProtectionSub-department and the border guard post on the island to conductpatrols within and around the area.
A group of volunteers that includes local residents was also set up tohelp popularisation and supervision work, timely discovering activitiesthat have negative impacts on the reserve.
In addition, the board has worked with schools in coastal communesto launch beach clean-up activities and an environment and marinebiodiversity protection contest which involved more than 2,000 students.
These activities aim to improvethe community’s awareness, particularly students, of protecting theenvironment and marine biodiversity as well as the reserve’s goals andbenefits it will create.
They arealso set to influence households and the local community, improvingbehaviours towards the environment and marine resources.-VNA
