Phu Quoc National Park (Vườn quốc gia Phú Quốc)

 

Location: 28 mi (45 km) West of Ha Tien, Kien Giang Province Map

Area: 314.22 km²

 

Description of Phu Quoc National Park

Phu Quoc National Park situated 28 mi (45 km) West of Ha Tien in Kien Giang Province of Vietnam. Phu Quoc National Park covers an area of 314.22 km² of Phu Quoc island that is located in a Gulf of Thailand. This nature reserve is a great place for hiking and camping through the jungles. Islands are covered with lush forests that contains over 470 plant species, numerous small rivers (largest being Rach Cua Can river) and many small caves and caverns. The area if fairly hilly, but its topography is not very high. The tallest mountain in the park is Mount Chua that reaches an elevation of 603 m. Additionally you can explore coral reefs that encircle islands. It numbers 62 species of various marine algae or weeds, 125 species of fishes and 132 species of molluscs. National park was established in 2001 to preserve many endangered species that can be found here.

 

Location

Phu Quoc National Park includes the Northern Island Nature Reserve, Ham Rong, Ganh Dau and Cua Can mountain areas. Phu Quoc National Park has administrative boundaries belonging to the communes: Ganh Dau, Bai Thom, Cua Can and parts of Cua Duong, Ham Ninh, Duong To communes and Duong Dong ward of Phu Quoc city, Kien Giang province.

Phu Quoc National Park stretches from 10°12' to 10°27' north latitude and from 103°50' to 104°04' east longitude.

 

Area size

Total area of 31,422 hectares, including: 8,603 hectares of strict protection area, 22,603 hectares of ecological restoration area, 33 hectares of administrative and service areas.

 

Function

Preserving the island's tropical forest ecosystem, genetic resources of rare and valuable forest animals and plants, and unique natural forest habitats of the island's forests.
Maintain and develop forest vegetation coverage to ensure the function of protecting watershed forests, providing fresh water sources for people's daily life, and sustainable economic and social development of the island city. Phu Quoc.
Contribute to strengthening national defense and security, strengthening the southwest defense line of Vietnam.
Management agency
The People's Committee of Kien Giang province issued Decision 01/2002/QD-UB dated January 17, 2002 to establish a Management Board under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, including the Board of Directors and functional departments. In 2002, the Management Board's payroll was 32 people.

 

Tourism activities

Phu Quoc National Park has attracted many tourists thanks to its natural beauty and pristine beaches. Moreover, Phu Quoc has great potential for ecotourism, which is considered by the government to be a long-term strategy for development. sustainably economically, minimizing the impact of tourism on the natural environment.

 

Biodiversity values

There is currently little information on the fauna of Phu Quoc Island. The vegetation here is evergreen forest on low mountainous terrain. Phu Quoc National Park has up to 12,794 ha of forest, on the high forest belts is still rich, but in the lower belts the forest is heavily degraded, with the advantage here is the legumes (Fabaceae). To date, 929 plant species have been recorded. There are also a few records that Phu Quoc used to live in the past.

The waters of Phu Quoc are plentiful and varied, and coral reefs are found around islands in the south. These reefs account for 41% of the area. The fauna of the coral reefs is very rich, the grouper species (Serranidae) and the butterflyfish family (Chaetodontidae) and many other economically valuable species. There are 89 species of hard corals, 19 species of soft corals, 125 species of coral reef fish, 132 species of mollusks, 32 species of echinoderms and 62 species of seaweed, many of which are important species such as giant clams. Tridacna squamosa) and female snail (Trochus nilotichus). Phu Quoc has recorded the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) to this sea lay eggs, but so far the frequency of encountering them is very small, in addition to information from local people about the appearance of dugong sea cows but there is no official research yet.

 

Population in the area

The population on Phu Quoc island are immigrants from many different regions. On the island, fishing is the main economic activity, although shifting cultivation and migration are a major threat to biodiversity. The construction of too many theme parks, villas, and resorts in the future may cause the green area in Phu Quoc to shrink.