Endemic birds and protected area development on the Da Lat Plateau, Vietnam

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A study of Thuong Da Nhim and Chu Yang Sin Nature Reserves - identified as priority sites because located within the Da Lat Plateau Endemic Bird Area (EBA) in Vietnam -was conducted between 10 November 1993 and 1 February 1994. A total of 212 bird species, of which 11 are considered globally threatened (including the rediscovered Grey-crowned Crocias Crocias langbianis), were recorded in the reserves. Eight restricted-range species were recorded, including the four species confined to the EBA. These two reserves are of international importance because they jointly support bird communities representative of the EBA. They are also of great economic importance, being within watersheds. Their extent is believed adequate but it is not known if they encompass all representative habitats over the full altitudinal range. Local tribal communities traditionally practise shifting cultivation, which has greatly modified the extent, composition and quality of evergreen forest and is causing its increasing fragmentation. Deliberate fires are preventing the regeneration of evergreen forest and promoting the growth of a climax dominated by Pinus kesiya. This reduces bird diversity and compromises the future of the endemic bird taxa. Other threats include recent logging activities, human immigration, the urban expansion of Da Lat and consequent increasing demand for charcoal and fuelwood. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should urgently proceed with the production of management plans for these areas, aiming to create a single, enlarged protected area. The primary land-use management strategy should be to conserve remaining areas of evergreen forest and to increase their extent by boundary realignment, elimination of shifting cultivation and fire, and the introduction of sympathetic forestry practices. © 1995, Birdlife International. All rights reserved. View source
Author(s)

Eames J. C.

Year

1995

Secondary Title

Bird Conservation International

Volume

5

Number

4

Pages

491-523

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0959270900001209

Language

Keyword(s)

endemic bird, protected area, Vietnam, Da Lat Plateau, Chu Yang Sin Nature Reserve, Vietnam, Da Lat Plateau, Thuong Da Nhim Nature Reserve

Classification
Form: Journal Article
Geographical Area: Vietnam

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