That was just part of greater peat reserves that existed here in thepast, said Nguyen Tan Truyen - deputy head of the science-internationalcooperation section at the U Minh Ha National Park.
He added forest fires have ruined a considerable volume and area of peatland.
Peat is a rare non-renewable natural resource with high economicvalue. The peatland area in Vietnam is only 36,000ha with about 24,000hain the Mekong Delta and U Minh forests in Ca Mau and neighbouring KienGiang province.
In U Minh Ha forest, peat can only be found in 8,527ha out of the total area of 40,000ha.
Peat acts as a filter helping refine water while peatlands arecritical to easing the seriousness of floods and sustaining river flowsin the dry season. This type of land also harbours a rich diversity ofendemic species.-VNA