VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 200 scientists, biologists and conservationists, unanimously have agreed that the construction of all buildings on the Son Tra Nature Reserve should be stopped immediately.

A corner of the Son Tra Nature Reserve. — Photo: Le Phuoc Chin/VNS

The consensus was reached at a scientific conference on the conservation and sustainable development of ecological systems on the Son Tra Peninsula, held in Da Nang on Saturday.

The conference saw 11 reports and research papers submitted on biodiversity in the reserve as well as ideas and proposals for its sustainable development.

The scientists also agreed to petition the PM for stopping construction of new buildings on and reviewing tourism plans for the reserve.

The conference followed up on concerns voiced by the public as well as scientists when the Viet Nam National Tourism Administration announced a plan to “develop” the reserve.

The reserve, which shrank from 4,400ha to 2,500ha to accommodate resorts and hotels between 1977 and 2014, would have to give up another 1,056ha more for the new plan, that plans 1,600 luxury hotel rooms by 2030.

Of 25 hotels and resorts on the Son Tra Mountain that have been approved by the city, 18 are operating or under construction.

“The development of resorts and hotels as well as traffic routes, has interrupted the movement of wild species including the endangered Red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nemaeus) living in the reserve,” said Dr Ha Thang Long, head of the representative office of the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) in Viet Nam.

Director of the Southern Institute of Ecology, Luu Hong Truong, said the Son Tra Nature Reserve, 10km away from Da Nang, was really unique in Viet Nam and the world, with its biodiversity ranging from primary forests to ocean with more than 1,000 plants and 370 animal species.

Dr Nguyen Xuan Hoa of the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute said 42 per cent of coral reefs in the reserve had disappeared in the past decade (from 80.9ha in 2006 to 46.9ha in 2016) in sea area off Da Nang due to construction projects, pollution and over-fishing.

Hoa said coral reefs in the north of Son Tra peninsula had been almost entirely destroyed and 9ha of seabed badly damaged.

According to the latest report from the centre for biodiversity research and conservation (GreenViet), more than 237 herds of red-shanked douc langurs, comprising over 1,300 individuals, are living in the Son Tra Nature Reserve.

It said the development of buildings and poor control of tourism in the reserve would damage the ecological system which is an oxygen supplier for 4.3 million people each day.

Special regime

Chairman of the Da Nang City Tourism Association, Huynh Tan Vinh, who has sent a petition to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asking for changes to the Son Tra Master Plan, said the Son Tra Nature Reserve was precious not only for Da Nang, but the whole of Viet Nam.

He said it must be strictly protected with a special regime involving responsible agencies and managers.

“We should protect the reserve before targeting tourism. The city can maintain the reserve as a site for tourists interested in exploring primary nature,” Vinh said.

“The city can build hotels and resorts in the downtown and coastal areas, but not in the reserve, please,” he pleaded.

Vinh said Da Nang could allow the operation of already hotels and resorts already built, but a moratorium was needed on new projects in the reserve.

Dr Nguyen Manh Ha with Viet Nam National Committee for Man and Biosphere (MAB), said part of the Son Tra Nature (2,591ha) can combine with 2,269ha of the Nam Hai Van protective forest to form a biosphere reserve.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Chi Thanh, vice chairman of Viet Nam Wetlands Association, said the current management overlap regarding control of Son Tra Nature Reserve must be removed.

Nguyen Duc Tu of IUCN Viet Nam said the organisation had sent a letter to Prime Minister regarding its concerns about the tourism plans for the Son Tra Reserve.

A National Assembly Deputy, Truong Trong Nghia, also said that all illegal constructions in the reserve should be demolished.

Last week, soil erosion caused by an illegally constructed villa polluted the Tien Sa beach, and observers said a larger of the Da Nang beach is likely to suffer similar pollution.

Son Tra Mountain seen from My Khe beach. — Photo: Cong Thanh/VNS The Son Tra Nature Reserve is home to the endangered Red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nemaeus). Photo courtesy GreenViet

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