A Feasibility Study for the Establishment of Xuan Lien Nature ...

3. Evaluation
3.1 Criteria for Evaluating the Proposed Nature Reserve
In order to evaluate the overall importance of a site, it is useful to compare the site against a set of criteria for
assessing a protected area’s conservation value. The study area satisfies some but not all of the criteria identified
Table 13: Conservation Criteria and Evaluation of Xuan Lien Proposed Nature Reserve
Conservation Criteria Site Evaluation
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Size:
The area must be of a size and form sufficient to
support ecological units or viable populations of flora
and fauna. As a rule, conservation importance increases
with protected-area size.
Richness and Diversity:
Usually linked with the diversity of habitat types;
ecological gradients or ecotones should be represented
because they support transitional communities.
Naturalness:
Assessment of the extent of primary habitats.
Rarity:
The primary purpose of many protected areas is to
protect rare and endangered species and habitats.
Rarity may be a result of special habitat requirements,
direct human pressure or indirect human influences.
Uniqueness:
Areas which exhibit particular natural processes or
which are poorly represented in the national protection
system.
Typicalness:
It is important to represent typical areas of common
habitats and typical communities of a biome.
Fragility:
A measure of an area’s susceptibility to change through
either natural or man-made processes.
Position as an Ecological Unit:
To establish the area’s position in an ecological unit, it
is important to determine how or whether an area is
linked to other areas of natural or semi-natural
habitats.
Economic Value:
An area may protect a valuable water catchment or a
higher level of biogeographic subdivision.
Conservation Opportunity:
Socio-political climate is highly determinate in the
success of any conservation area’s future objectives and
priorities.
The study area covers 23,610 ha and may not be large
enough to support viable populations of certain large
mammal species unless forest corridors to adjacent
protected areas supporting suitable habitat are
maintained.
The study area has moderate levels of biodiversity
relative to other protected areas in northern and central
Vietnam. An altitudinal gradient exists between 50
and 1,600 m.
The natural vegetation of the study area has been
heavily disturbed by human activities and only 10%
of the original primary forest remains.
The study area protects 19 globally threatened species.
Four plant and five vertebrate species are endemic to
Vietnam or to Vietnam and Laos. The study area
supports only two bird species listed as globally
threatened.
Roosevelt’s Muntjac is known globally only from the
study area and one other site in Laos.
The study area contains representative examples of
sub-montane dry evergreen forest and lowland semievergreen
rainforest, the two most widespread natural
habitat types in Vietnam.
22% of the study area is covered by regenerating forest.
To the south, the study area is contiguous with Pu
Hoat proposed nature reserve, forming a combined
conservation area of 90,841 ha.
The study area protects the water catchment of the
Chu River and the planned Cua Dat dam.
The proposed nature reserve has good political support
at the provincial level. Following the construction of
Cua Dat dam, there will be no human settlements in
the study area.