VietNamNet Bridge - The Bach Ma National Park and Phong Dien Natural Sanctuary are at high risk as a highway is expected to go through them and damage local biodiversity.

 


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The Bach Ma National Park 

Huynh Van Keo, director of the Bach Ma National Park, said that the Ho Chi Minh Road section which connects Cam Lo and Tuy Loan will go through the core area of the national park in 9 kilometers in length. It would affect 49 hectares of the forests and it is feared that it would cause serious consequences to the local ecosystem.

Rare animals may disappear 

The report on possible impact on the environment showed that the section of road would appropriate 26 hectares of the national park’s core area. In the northern part, the road would go through the ecological restoration zone of the Phong Dien Natural Reserve. The forest land area to be taken is estimated at 7.6 hectares. 

The opening of the road would clearly split the habitat of living organisms into the northern and southern parts of the Bach Ma National Park, and the eastern and western parts of the Phong Dien Natural Reserve.
The report also showed that in the Bach Ma National Park’s area between the Forest Rangers’ Unit No 8 and De Bay Tunnel Forest Rangers’ Unit, the vegetation is evergreen rain forest on low land (100-150 meters). The area which the road would go through is believed to have 100 flora species, including precious ones which can be used to make medicine, and about 50 species of timber.

The specialists who conducted the survey for the report found more than 90 species of birds, 18 species of mammals, 12 species of frogs and 16 species of reptiles. This is a forested area under recovery on the riverside of Ta Trach. 

It is foreseeable that during the construction process, the building of tents for workers, the presence of vehicles and tree felling would lead to the disappearance of some rare and precious species. 

The opening of the road would clearly split the habitat of living organisms into the northern and southern parts of the Bach Ma National Park, and the eastern and western parts of the Phong Dien Natural Reserve.

The sounds from engines during the construction process would lead to changes in the living environment, which would drive animals away. Meanwhile, as trees would be felled in an area of 25 hectares, this would lead to an ecological imbalance.

No other choice

Though anticipating the negative effects on the national park, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE) said there was no other better choice.

If the road was relocated towards the east, it would meet low terrain, My Chanh River valley and be near the Highway No 1. Meanwhile, if it was relocated a little bit towards the west, it would go through the central area of the natural reserve.


NLD