Vietnam pushes site for UNESCO listing

LAM DONG : Lam Dong’s provincial authorities will soon submit a report on the Lang Biang biosphere reserve to UNESCO to support efforts to win recognition as a natural world heritage site this September.
The Lang Biang biosphere reserve covers 260,000 ha, with its core area of 56,000 ha covering Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park.
Surrounding the core area is an 86,000-hectare buffer zone filled with communes.
The remaining 118,000 ha is a wide transitional area covering parts of Da Lat and Lac Duong, Lam Ha, Duc Trong and Don Duong districts.
The Lang Biang biosphere reserve’s core area, a national centre for biodiversity protection, is home to more than 2,000 plant species and nearly 400 animal species, of which 127 are rare species identified on Vietnam’s red list.
National Man and the Biosphere Programme general secretary, Professor Nguyen Hoang Tri, said the value of Lang Biang lies in its connection to the culture of the Central Highlands region.
It is expected that the English-language report will be completed and submitted to the UN scientific and cultural body in September.
Vietnam currently has eight UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserves: Can Gio Mangrove; Cat Ba; Cat Tien; and Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An, as well as Kien Giang, Mui Ca Mau, Red River Delta, and Western Nghe An.

Sourced: ttrweekly