Bird Life Tieng Anh-01.qxd - Birdlife International in Indochina

8
Conservation recommendations.
•
Raise awareness among all stakeholders of the biodiversity and socio-economic values of
An Hai, and generate a sense of responsibility for the conservation of the site among the local
community.
• Control hunting by means of appropriate provincial, district or commune-level regulations,
combined with training and appropriate incentives for local communities.
• Incorporate environmental considerations into future aquacultural development plans.
Changes since 1996. There has been widespread conversion of habitat since 1996, with significant
loss of mangrove and, on Dinh Vu island, loss of a large reedbed of Phragmites sp. in the north and
construction of an industrial harbour.
The site continues to be important for migrant waterfowl in autumn, despite the levels of hunting
and other disturbance. Numbers of shorebirds appear to have declined (maxima of 1,400 in 1996,
but only 900 in 2006), whilst gulls Larus sp. continue to frequent the mudflats in small numbers
(up to 1,000 reported in 1996) (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
4.2 Tien Lang
Relative importance of site: Ranked 4 (10 points)
Province(s): Hai Phong
Protected Area status: None
Latitude: 20º39’N
Longitude: 106º39’E
Area: 5,000 ha
Altitude Range: 0–2 m asl
Important Bird Area (IBA): VN015
General Description. Tien Lang has 13 km of coastline stretching from the Thai Binh Estuary in
the south to the Van Uc Estuary in the north. Each estuary has approximately 100 ha of old-growth
mangrove, largely enclosed within aquacultural ponds, and extensive intertidal mudflats with two
intertidal sandy islands in the Thai Binh Estuary (one in Hai Phong city, the other in Thai Binh
province). To the south, the site borders Thai Thuy IBA (VN014) (Nguyen Duc Tu and Le Trong
Trai 2005, Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).
Status. Although the area stretching from the Diem Dien River, Thai Binh province, to the Van Uc
River, Hai Phong city, covering the Thai Binh Estuary in Thai Thuy and Tien Lang districts and
the Van Uc Estuary was proposed as a nature reserve in 1996 and a nature reserve investment
plan prepared, the precise boundaries of the proposed 5,000 ha reserve have not been defined. No
investment plan has been prepared, nor is it included on the list of Special-use Forests to be established
by the 2010, prepared by FPD of MARD. The site is currently under the management of Tien Lang
District People’s Committee (Tordoff et al. (eds.) 2004).
Vegetation. Natural vegetation comprises mainly Sonneratia caseolaris, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza,
Aegiceras corniculatum, plus some Acanthus ilicifolius mainly in the Thai Binh Estuary, and a few
Kandelia candel and Avicennia latana. On estuaries, S. caseolaris dominates with 5–6 trees/m 2 ,
many of them up to 7 m tall, and 15–20 cm in diameter. The understorey is mainly B. gymnorrhiza
and Aegiceras corniculatum, whilst Acanthus ilicifolius is mainly at the mangrove margins. In canals
near the estuary, mangrove comprises S. caseolaris, B. gymnorrhiza, Aegiceras corniculatum,