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

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Threatened species Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis elanocephalus Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi Japanese Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone atrocaudata Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus Threat status 1995/1996 max count VU 3*** 0 VU 4** 0 NT 1** 0 EN 16* 0 EN 5 0 NT 8** 0 EN 7** 0 VU 260** 0 NT 1 0 Recorded but not counted 2005/2006 max count Notes Site no longer holds a significant population. Site no longer holds a significant population. Site never held a significant population. Site no longer holds a significant population. Site no longer holds a significant population. Site no longer holds a significant population. Site no longer holds a significant population. Site no longer holds a significant population. Site probably never held a significant population. * maximum of 41 in 1994 (Tordoff (ed.) 2002). ** 1994 count (Tordoff (ed.) 2002). *** 1993 count (Tordoff (ed.) 2002). Threats. The main threats at Nghia Hung are hunting, over-exploitation of marine products and disturbance. Hunting is a particular threat to waterbird populations. During February 1996, 20 km of mistnets were observed in the intertidal area of Nghia Hung District. Hunters also used airguns and shotguns. The main quarry species were reportedly ducks and geese, which were sold for export to China (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996). In 2004, a system of bird traps using glue and decoys was observed at a shrimp pond (Nguyen Duc Tu and Le Trong Trai 2005. Despite the introduction of a hunting ban, levels of hunting have remained high at Nghia Hung because of a lack of enforcement and because local people depend heavily on exploitation of natural resources and do not understand why the ban was introduced. Nghia Hung District FPD has only four staff, which is insufficient to control hunting in the area, particularly during migration seasons. Disturbance to birds arising from shellfish collection is also a threat: during a survey in 1996, around 1,000 people were observed collecting shellfish in the intertidal zone (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996). There is no coastal zone management plan for the district, a lack of technical capacity among the district FPD staff, a basic lack of awareness of the biological value of mangrove and intertidal mudflats, and aquacultural development is unregulated. Conservation recommendations. • Raise awareness among all stakeholders of the biodiversity and socio-economic values of Nghia Hung, and generate a sense of responsibility for the conservation of the site among the local community. 1,310 More than 1% of the Asian biogeographic population. 21
22 • 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. A survey of 18 coastal wetland sites in the Red River Delta by BirdLife International and FIPI in 1996 identified Nghia Hung as the second most important site for wetland conservation, and proposed the area be established as a nature reserve. 3 The effects of hunting, overexploitation and habitat loss to aquaculture, however, have massively devalued the biodiversity importance of this site. Today, not one of the seven globally threatened bird species once found at Nghia Hung now occurs, and just one species (Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus) occurs at a level of more than 1% of the Asian biogeographic population. An estimated 30,000 shorebirds were present in April 1994, but fewer than 1,000 shorebirds were recorded in late March 2005 (Nguyen Duc Tu and Le Trong Trai 2005). This has been a sad loss of what only a decade ago was one of the foremost sites for migrant waterbirds in Asia. 5. Site ranking An attempt has been made to quantify and rank the six Red River Delta sites according to their conservation importance (see Tables 1 and 2). It is important to appreciate, however, that although waterbirds may concentrate at a few sites, they utilise the entire coastal zone during migration where they are at risk from a variety of threats. Therefore, it is vital to implement appropriate conservation measures along the entire Red River Delta coastline and not just at a handful of key sites in order to protect the unique and globally important avifauna of the region. Criteria used are explained in the notes to the scoring system (see Table 2). This ranking gives an order of relative importance for the six IBAs as follows: Xuan Thuy (first, 44 points), Thai Thuy (25 points), Tien Hai (19 points), Tien Lang (10 points), Nghia Hung (8 points) and An Hai (6 points). 6. General conclusions and recommendations The Red River Delta is a vital location for biodiversity conservation in Indochina. It is of paramount importance for migratory waterbirds visiting and passing through the region from north-east Asia and Siberia to Australasia, and there is an international obligation to maintain its integrity and habitat quality. However, a major threat to bird populations throughout the coastal zone of the Red River Delta is hunting, frequently in the form of mistnetting, often using taped calls. This technique is indiscriminate and particularly serious during migration periods. Hunting was identified as a potential problem at all sites, although hunting is nowadays stirctly controlled within Xuan Thuy National Park and at Thai Thuy IBA. Also significant is the threat of habitat loss, particularly conversion of mangrove and mudflats into aquacultural ponds. Better planning is required at all levels to develop aquaculture in a more sustainable manner. Control of hunting and better land-use planning, particularly with respect to aquaculture development, are therefore the two key conservation issues that need to be addressed in the Red River Delta region. Specific conservation recommendations for each site are given in the relevant sections of this report.
Page 1 and 2: BirdLife International Vietnam Prog
Page 3 and 4: Project Co-ordinator: Nguyen Duc Tu
Page 5 and 6: 5. Site ranking . . . . . . . . . .
Page 7 and 8: ii Conventions used Bird names (com
Page 9 and 10: iv Toám tùæt (Executive Summary
Page 11 and 12: 2 coastal erosion and plays an impo
Page 13 and 14: 4 In 2001 and 2002, with financial
Page 15 and 16: 6 4 Site accounts This section prov
Page 17 and 18: 8 Conservation recommendations. •
Page 19 and 20: 10 night in this fashion (Nguyen Du
Page 21 and 22: Terns Gelochelidon nilotica (1% of
Page 23 and 24: 14 towards Con Vanh are good stands
Page 25 and 26: 16 islands; Con Ngan, Con Lu and Co
Page 27 and 28: 18 Threatened species Japanese Para
Page 29: 20 Vegetation. The dominant mangrov
Page 33 and 34: 24 References Anon. (1972-1976) Ico
Page 35 and 36: 26 Map 2: Habitat of An Hai, Hai Ph
Page 37 and 38: 28 Map 4: Habitat of Thai Thuy, Tha
Page 39 and 40: 30 Map 6: Habitat of Xuan Thuy Nati
Page 41 and 42: 32 Plate 1: Key natural and man-mad
Page 43 and 44: 34 Plate 3: Key bird species record
Page 45 and 46: 36 Threatened species AH NH TT TH T
Page 47 and 48: 38 Threatened species Nov-05 Dec-05
Page 49 and 50: 40 Species recorded Nov-05 Dec-05 J
Page 55 and 56: 46 Family, Genus and Species AH TL
Page 57 and 58: 48 Family, Genus and Species AH TL

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

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