The Vietnam National Museum of Nature, in cooperation with the Management Board of the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve in north-central Nghe An province, has launched the Open Museum of Nature and Culture at the reserve’s Pu Mat National Park.

Photo: The Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve

The museum displays photos, objects and miniatures of the biodiversity system and the culture of local ethnic minority people.

Visits to the museum are connected with tours to see landscapes and local people’s houses and lives.

Located in central Vietnam in a mountainous and remote area, the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve is the largest in Southeast Asia, with a total area of more than 1.3 million ha, including the center of Pu Mat National Park and the nine mountainous districts of Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Anh Son, Tan Ky, Thanh Chuong, Quy Hop, Quy Chau and Que Phong. It was recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2011.

The reserve has three core areas: a national park and two nature reserves, with tropical rainforests, mountains, wetlands, rivers and other geographical features. There are around 2,500 species of vegetation and some 130 species of large and small mammals, 295 species of birds, 14 species of tortoises, 305 species of butterflies, and thousands of species of insects, including 68 valuable and rare species recorded in the Vietnam’s Red Book of Endangered Species.

It is also home to many ethnic minority groups, such as the Thai, Mong, Kho Mu, Kinh, Tho and O Du, whose main economic activities are agriculture, grazing, fisheries, weaving and woodwork.

The museum aims to send the public a message about protecting forests and biodiversity as well as the traditional cultural values of local ethnic minorities. It also opens up opportunities for researchers to study the area’s nature and culture, and is expected to attract more tourists to promote local tourism.

VN Economic Times