More than 1,300ha of U Minh Ha National Park in the southernmost province of Ca Mau will be zoned for an eco-tourism site from now to 2025.

Boats carrying tourists in the U Minh Ha National Park of Ca Mau province

The move aims to develop eco-tourism in the park sustainably while conserving and developing the local cajuput forest ecosystem.

In this site, fauna and flora collection and herbal gardens will be formed while hospitality services will be provided.

Tours will also be created to connect the site with other destinations in Ca Mau and nearby provinces.

Authorities estimate that the project’s implementation will need more than 1.45 trillion VND (62.46 million USD), including some 1.35 trillion VND to be mobilised from private resources.

They expect the U Minh Ha National Park will welcome 203,000 visitors and earn 295 billion VND in 2025.

The park covers more than 8,500ha in Tran Van Thoi and U Minh districts of Ca Mau province. It is also surrounded by another 25,000ha of forest and land in the buffer zone.

Known for rich biodiversity, it habours 79 plant families with cajuput the most common trees, 32 mammal species and 74 bird species. Many of them are named in the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The U Minh Ha National Park is among the three wetland reserves in the Mekong Delta. It is also recognised as one of the three core zones of the Mui Ca Mau World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.-VNA