Frontier Vietnam Environmental Research Law in Bai Tu Long Bay ...

Frontier-Vietnam Environmental Research Report 27
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bai Tu Long National Park, in Quang Ninh Province, Northern Vietnam was gazetted
in 2001 by ratification of the Deputy President of Vietnam.
As part of the Bai Tu Long Bay Biodiversity Awareness Project, Frontier-Vietnam
organised a management training workshop on park law enforcement from August 19
– 21 st 2002. The aim of the workshop was to assist the newly formed park authority in
their efforts to effectively implement park legislation. Through a series of technical
presentations given by park law experts and facilitated discussions, participants
identified constraints and opportunities to implement law enforcement activities.
The need for improved enforcement in Bai Tu Long (BTL) is a matter of immediate
priority. The park is under threat from a number damaging practices, including
logging, silviculture, hunting and over-fishing. Unsustainable exploitation of the
park’s resources has caused significant reductions in much of the park’s flora and
fauna. Many of these activities continue unchecked and may result in local
extinction’s of a number of species within the next few years. The imminent threats to
park’s biodiversity was explained in detail by Mr. Nick Hardiman, Frontier-Vietnam
Research Co-ordinator, and Mr. Van Chiem, who covered threats to BTL’s terrestrial
and marine ecosystems respectively.
After a series of discussions lead by a facilitator and assisted by the experts, the park
began to pinpoint the serious limitations to initiating an effective enforcement
programme. The participants explained the financial and capacity constraints that
prevent them from adequately enforcing park legislation. These constraints prevented
any co-ordinated enforcement efforts for the park and required urgent attention. Mr.
Tuy, the Director of the National Park and Head of the Provincial FPD, addressed the
concerns the participants raised and explained the reasons behind the financial
limitations. He also ensured that the situation would improve once the park had to
become more established.
Law enforcement workshop: Bai Tu Long Bay: 162/10/022
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