Hau Giang plans $16 mln tourism makeover for wetland reserve

The provincial People's Committee had approved a project in June to create an ecotourism site at the Lung Ngoc Hoang natural reserve in Phung Hiep District using money from multiple sources, including the national budget.

The project would help to preserve natural resources and biodiversity, as well as utilize its ecotourism potential appropriately, according to the Hau Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It would help turn the national reserve into the province's largest tourism center and become a national tourism site by 2030.

The project will be implemented in two phases, with the first completed until 2025, focusing on building operation centers, entertainment centers and hospitality sites, among others.

The reserve would be split into three different sections: the Strict Protection section; the Ecological Recovery section; and the Service and Administrative section.

The Lung Ngoc Hoang wetland, spanning Phung Hiep District's Hiep Hung, Phuong Binh and Phuong Phu communes, has around 1,000 ha worth of old-growth forest with over 500 species of plants and animals. Several of them are considered endangered, including certain bat, bird and snake species.

In 2002, the late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai decided to form the Lung Ngoc Hoang natural reserve, turning it into a haven for native species belonging to the wetland ecosystem of the Hau River.

A representative of the reserve said local authorities have installed cameras to monitor wildfires. A forest ranger force of over 100 people and more than 200 locals have been mobilized to protect the reserve, the representative said.