Coral reefs in Vietnam

The coral reefs in Ha Long Bay have suffered from several sources of damage such as coral bleaching and destructive fishing practices. To address some of these problems, PTES has partly funded a project covering an area measuring 400m2. The project focuses on trial coral transplantation using various artificial substrates on different degraded reef sites. In addition, the project also increases public awareness by teaching the local communities the importance of protecting their coral reefs for future generations.

VIETNAM 2009 Coral reefs in Vietnam The coral reefs in Ha Long Bay have suffered from several sources of damage such as coral bleaching and destructive fishing practices To address some of these problems, PTES has partly funded a project covering an area measuring 400m2 The project focuses on trial coral transplantation using various artificial substrates on different degraded reef sites In addition, the project also increases public awareness by teaching the local communities the importance of protecting their coral reefs for future generations Day Institute of Marine Environment and Resources Nguyen Van Quan has had a huge role in this project and will therefore be your guide during your stay in Vietnam You will also be accompanied by a representative from PTES After lunch, you will travel onto Ha Long Bay, which is located in Northeast Vietnam Here the coral reefs maintain the highest biodiversity in north Vietnam In the morning you will visit the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources to learn about the work currently being carried out on coral reefs in Vietnam You will be given an insight into what is involved in preserving coral reefs You will then travel to Do Son town to see the mangrove forests and to view the beatiful landscape of this coastal town Here you will have lunch You will spend this evening in Ha Long Bay Hotel Day Ha Long Bay Today you will have a short visit to the Ha Long Bay Management board as well as exploring the coral restoration site at Cong Do Day-by-Day Itinerary In the afternoon, you will have some time to go swimming off Titof Island, which is close to Ha Long Bay The afternoon will be spent relaxing and taking in your amazing surroundings Day Day Limestone cave systems with thick jungle vegetation, which rise spectacularly from the ocean Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves Day Cat Ba Island In the morning you will visit the floating village at Cua Van in Ha Long Bay The floating villages of fishermen ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks You will then move onto the Cat Ba Islands The islands lie on a main migration route for many species of waterfowl The beaches and mangrove forests provide feeding and roosting sites for a large number of birds during the migration season, including several species of ducks, geese and shorebirds Resident and migrant species include the little grebe, spotbill duck and the whitebreasted water-hen After checking into the Princess Hotel, you can take part in some snorkeling around the local coral reef sites Day Cat Ba National Park Today, you will explore the tropical rainforest at the Cat Ba National Park, as well as visiting a centre for the conservation of the white headed Langur - a unique and endangered species The Adventure Begins Meet your PTES representative at Heathrow airport for your flight to Noi Bai International Airport in Vietnam On arrival, you will be greeted by Nguyen Van Quan You will then check into the Bach Dang Hotel in Hai Phong City After breakfast, you will spend the whole day exploring the breathtaking limestone cave system in Ha Long Bay, also known as “the amazing paradise on earth” The bay consists of a dense cluster of 1,969 limestone monolithic islands, each topped The fauna in Cat Ba National Park has not been studied in detail but the island does not appear to support the large mammals or carnivores found on the mainland However, preliminary surveys have revealed that the fauna is distinctive with unique elements adapted to VIETNAM 2009 island conditions One such endemic is a subspecies of Francois’ monkey Other mammals known to occur include leopards, bears and the European otter Day Viet Hai eco-village For your last full day in Vietnam, you will visit the Viet Hai eco-village A pilot project has been carried out to raise awareness of eco-tourism opportunities and to demonstrate that sustainable tourism practices can provide higher-yield, lower-impact benefits Activities have included training hotels in eco-certification standards for energy and water use, building the capacity of a local hotel association, promoting traditional architecture and performances to attract eco-tourists, and developing a community-based cooperative in Viet Hai, a village in Cat Ba National Park Residents involved in tourism development have visited other areas of Vietnam and Thailand to learn best practices in developing tourism that helps the poor Day Please note, this itinerary is a GUIDE ONLY Due to circumstances beyond our control, as well as to maximise opportunities for seeing animals, the following itinerary may be subject to change Goodbye Having spent your last night in the Princess Hotel, today you will transfer back to Ha Long Bay before returning to Noi Bai International Airport No sightings of species are guaranteed as they are wild animals and we cannot restrict their natural movements, nor indeed would we wish to The region Geography Ha Long Bay is located in Northeast Vietnam and belongs to the Quang Ninh Province Ha Long Bay stretches from the Yen Hung District, and includes large urban areas of Halong City and Cam Pha Town, as well as the Van Don Island District The area has been recognised as a home of ancient Viet people Ha Long Bay maintains an extremely rich biodiversity The Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, which is in northern Vietnam, is internationally important for its limestone karst geomorphology It also has one of the best examples in the world of a fengcong and fenglin karst landscape The 366 limestone islands have numberous cave deposits that provide evidence of a long history of erosion and landscape evolution Many of the small islands rise steeply or vertically from the shallow marine waters and are the distinguishing feature of the region Most of the bigger islands are covered by evergreen tropical monsoon forest The largest island of the archipelago has a surface of 285 km2 and includes the Cat Ba National Park Cat Ba encompasses a mosaic of land types derived from human uses such as bushes and woodland, limestone karst, limestone forest, agricultural areas, bamboo forest, mangrove and sea grass beds The archipelago is of global importance due to the high number of endemic species The golden-headed langur (Trachypithecus poliocephalus) is a species endemic to the Cat Ba Island and is listed as one of the rarest primates in the world due to its restricted range and small population size History The history of Vietnam begins around 2,700 years ago Successive dynasties based in China ruled Vietnam directly for most of the period from 111 BC until 938 when Vietnam regained its independence Vietnam remained a tributary state to its larger neighbour China for much of its history but repelled invasions by the Chinese as well as three invasions by the Mongols between 1255 and 1285 King Trần Nhân Tông later diplomatically submitted Vietnam to a tributary of the Yuan to avoid further conflicts The VIETNAM 2009 Coral reef transplantation project independent period temporarily ended in the middle to late 19th century, when the country was colonized by France During World War II, Imperial Japan expelled the French to occupy Vietnam, though they retained French administrators during their occupation After the war, France attempted to reestablish its colonial rule but ultimately failed The Geneva Accords partitioned the country in two with a promise of democratic election to reunite the country However, rather than peaceful reunification, partition led to the Vietnam War, a civil war and a major part of the Cold War During this time, the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union supported the North while the United States supported the South After millions of Vietnamese deaths and the American withdrawal from Vietnam in March 1973, the war ended with the fall of Saigon to the North in April 1975 The reunified Vietnam suffered further internal repression and was isolated internationally due to the continuing Cold War and the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam changed its economic policy and began reforms of the private sector similar to those in China Since the mid-1980s, Vietnam has enjoyed substantial economic growth and some reduction in political repression Food Vietnamese cuisine is known for its common use of fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables Vietnamese recipes use many vegetables, herbs and spices, including lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves Throughout all regions of Vietnam, the emphasis is always on serving fresh vegetables and/or fresh herbs as side dishes along with dipping sauce The Vietnamese also have a number of Buddhist vegetarian dishes The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, cockles and various kinds of seafood Duck and goat are used less widely A typical meal for the average Vietnamese family would include: - Individual bowls of rice - A grilled, boiled,steamed, stir fried (with vegetable) or stewed, meat or fish or other seafood dish -A stir-fried steamed vegetable dish - Canh (a clear broth with vegetables and often meat or seafood) or other Vietnamese-style soup - Prepared fish sauce and/or soy sauce for dipping All dishes are communal and to be shared apart from the individual bowls of rice The transplantation of the coral colonies in order to boost the recovery of the coral reef at the degraded reef sites can be carried out feasibly by using artificial substrate with coral fragments After months (April to July 2005), the coral survival rate was relatively high (85-90%) Many coral colonies have attached to the surface of the substrate, with only a few of them falling out of the substrate The coral colonies have kept developing which will contribute to the coral larval sources in the future The lessons learned through the project include: The selection of site: it is necessary to the transplant work on the high embankment to avoid direct strong wave movements The tropical storms that normally occur during August and September in Ha Long Bay have a huge influence on the site The selection of the substrate model: this contributes to the success of any coral rehabilitation project The suitable substrate has to be the right balance between effective conservation value (high coral survival rate) and economic value (low cost technique) In this project, the low cost technique has been applied and has received positive feedback Public education awareness program: ideally this program would involve the fishermen Continued overleaf VIETNAM 2009 to participate in the coral restoration work From experience, a lot of support has come from the local fishermen The technical transferring process has been carried out by involvement of the staff at the Ha Long Bay Management Department through an agreement with the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources The enforcement team of Ha Long Bay Management Department have played a vital role in the project Essential traveller’s information DATES Wednesday 13th - Wednesday 20th May GROUP SIZE 10 ACCOMMODATION Your accommodation will be in comfortable staying in hotels throughout your trip, with ensuite rooms whenever possible FOOD Breakfast and dinner will be served in your hotel or a local restaurant Lunches will either be picnics or in a local restaurant FITNESS You will get the most enjoyment out of the trip if you are able to walk for reasonably long distances at an unhurried pace You are more likely to see wildlife if you leave the main roads and take to trails and paths but there is no reason why you can not take a day to rest if you prefer CLIMATE In May the tempretaure ranges from 25-30 degree Celsius It may occasionally rain so please bring an umbrella TOUR COST £700 per person based on two sharing Price includes accommodation, all meals, ground transportation and excursions, services of local guides Not included are flights, travel insurance, drinks and spirits, souvenirs etc SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENT £100 Please note, we will try to find single travellers who would prefer to share a room FLIGHT COST £600 including taxes Prices are not guaranteed until all deposits have been paid and are correct at time of printing (September 2008) TRAVEL INSURANCE Travel insurance is compulsory You must have adequate travel and medical/rescue insurance to cover the whole of your journey Please see our optional travel insurance offer for details PASSPORT & VISAS Please ensure that you have a full 10 year passport, which is valid for at least six months after your return date A short term tourist visa is necessary for your visit RESERVATION & INFORMATION To reserve your place please fill in the enclosed booking form and return with the necessary deposits to PTES If you have any questions, please call 020 7498 4533 or e-mail zoe@ptes.org The initial success of the coral transplantation at the degraded reef sites has been illustrated by the coral survival rate of 85-90% after a year These planted coral colonies will contribute to the future coral larvae source at the reef sites The project has shown that low cost techniques and following simple procedures by the local people in Ha Long Bay makes a huge impact on increaseing the conservation activity in the area The initial results of coral transplantation at these vulerable sites brings hope that coral recovery through physical transplantation is possible and should be something which continues into the future, to ensure these amazing habitats are still around for future generations The Ha Long Bay Management Department has decided to continue with the coral rehabilitation work in following years