The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has set up a Management Board of Lang Biang World Biosphere Reserve (Lang Biang BR) to boost the sustainable development of the site.

The Lang Biang biosphere reserve's core area is a national centre for biodiversity protection.

The province also established a consulting council with 11 members, including seven professors and Ph.Ds from Australia, Germany, Japan and the US.

Enhancing awareness of the reserve among local people, relevant authorities and organisations, as well as tourists will be the management board’s top priority, said PhD Pham S, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and head of the management board.

It will also carry out scientific research and measures to protect biodiversity while strengthening international cooperation activities, he added.

Next year, the board will implement a number of activities under the technical support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), such as upgrading the natural resources management model, improving local livelihoods through reducing agricultural costs, developing eco-tourism and monitoring biodiversity at the site.

Hailing the natural and cultural preservation of Lang Biang BR, leading consultant of JICA-backed Sustainable Natural Resources Management project Hiroshi Miyazono said that Vietnam has paid due attention to increasing the rate of forest coverage as well as maintaining the ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Oda Kensei, an expert from the JICA project, noted that in the second phase of the project, JICA will help the Lang Biang BR management board build an institutional framework for the reserve’s management and operation.

The Lang Biang Reserve covers an area of 275,439 hectares to the north of Lam Dong province, with its core area of 56,000 hectares encompassing Bi Doup-Nui Ba National Park. An 86,000 hectares buffer zone, in which human settlements are permitted, surrounds the reserve.

The remaining 118,000 hectares includes a wide transitional area covering parts of Da Lat city, Lac Duong, Lam Ha, Duc Trong and Don Duong districts.

The Lang Biang biosphere reserve's core area, which is a national centre for biodiversity protection, is home to more than 2,000 flora species and nearly 400 fauna species, of which 153 species are named in Vietnam's Red Book and 154 are included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

VNA