Earlier, in October 2019, at the 15th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment held in Thailand, three national parks and a nature reserve in Vietnam were added to the list of ASEAN heritage parks, including Bidoup - Nui Ba National Park in Lam Dong province, Vu Quang National Park in Ha Tinh province, Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park in Tay Ninh province, and Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve in Kon Tum province.
To achieve such recognition, they had to meet the following criteria: maintenance of ecological processes and life support systems; preservation of genetic diversity; guarantee of sustainable utilisation of species and ecosystems; and a wilderness area with scenic, cultural, educational, research, recreational and tourism values.
The recognition of four more ASEAN Heritage Parks has took Vietnam’s number of ASEAN heritage parks to 10, bringing Vietnam to become the country with the most ASEAN Heritage Parks in the region.
The ASEAN Heritage Park Programme aims to preserve biodiversity and of the importance of regionally and internationally, contributing to raising environmental awareness and education, expressing the aspiration of the peoples of ASEAN member countries on the conservation of natural resources, towards sustainable development.
At the workshop, delegates in Vietnam and ASEAN have exchanged and shared knowledge and experience in biodiversity conservation in ASEAN Heritage Parks and promoted local cooperation with international organisations in the region; unifying solutions to enhance the coordination between Vietnam Environment Administration with concerned agencies and localities in order to establish and maintain the network of ASEAN Heritage Parks of Vietnam.
