Celebrating the Declaration of U Minh Thuong National Park as an ASEAN Heritage Park

As a result of the Asean Peatlands Forest Project (APFP) activities and efforts in biodiversity conservation and rehabilitation of U Minh Thuong National Park in the past years, U Minh Thuong National Park was declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP) by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in September 25^th, 2013.

Under support of APFP Vietnam Component, on 12 August 2013 at Kien Giang Province People's Committee Office, Prof. Dr Bui Cach Tuyen, Vice-Minister of Natural Resources (MONRE), presented the Certificate of Declaration of ASEAN Heritage Park for U Minh Thuong National Park of Kien Giang Province. This is the 5th ASEAN Heritage Park in Vietnam and the first ASEAN Heritage Park in peatlands of the Lower Mekong Delta. 

According to MONRE, U Minh Thuong National Park is highly rated in terms of biodiversity. This is one of Vietnam's national parks participating in the APFP to restore and sustainable use of peatlands in Southeast Asia. 

On this occasion, MONRE, U Minh Thuong NP and scientists also discussed the preparation of documents related to U Minh Thuong National Park for submission to the RAMSAR Convention to be recognized as a Ramsar site in the Mekong Delta in 2013.

U Minh Thuong National Park covers over 21,000 hectares in the two communes of An Minh Bac and Minh Thuan of U Minh Thuong district, Kien Giang province. The core zone includes 8,038 ha. Featuring typical ecosystems of mixed semi-primary forest, seasonally inundated grasslands, and aquatic swamps, U Minh Thuong has the tropical wetlands biodiversity which is very rare in the world.

Representatives of MONRE, Kien Giang Provincial People’s Committee, District People Committee, and scientists from institutes, Universities heard report of management of peatland natural resources in U Minh Thuong National Park.  (11 August 2013).

Participants visited the U Minh Thuong National Park (11 August 2013).

Vice-Minister of MONRE presented the Certificate of Declaration of Asean Heritage Park to Director of U Minh Thuong National Park (12 August 2013).

Discuss the preparation of document of U Minh Thuong National Park to submit to RAMSAR Convention to be recognized as a Ramsar site in the Mekong Delta.

 (Prepared by Dr Le Phat Quoi, APFP National Expert for Vietnam)

 

Stopping the Haze in Riau

 

In line with the Stop the Haze Campaign, we have channeled funds to our counterparts in Riau, Indonesia for fire prevention efforts. 

Today, Mr Hisam Setiawan of Mitra Insani Foundation reported that in our project site in Harapan Jaya, Indragiri Hilir district, 4 FDRS (Fire Danger Rating System) boards have been erected. The boards are designed to inform local communities of the risk of burning in peatland areas. Blue indicates low risk while red is high. Therefore, communities will be more informed and will know when not to do any burning on their lands. The boards are also funded by EU through the SEApeat project. 

A portion of the funds was distributed to the community fire control team in Harapan Jaya to be used specifically for equipment, patrolling, fuel for the pumps etc. 

In another site, Teluk Binjai, they are still preparing to implement a fire prevention system based on village regulations. This system, which penalises those who cause damage by fire, is already practised in Harapan Jaya. The results speak for itself when it recorded very few fires this year.

8th APFP Project Management Meeting

On the 9th of July, the semi-annual Project Management Meeting for the ASEAN Peatland Forests Project (APFP) was successfully held at the H2O Hotel, Manila. The objective of the meetings is to share the progress and find solutions to challenges faced by the project components.

With the aim to protect and enable sustainable management of peatland forests in Southeast Asia, this ASEAN led initiative is joined by 4 countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam. This regional project is supported by grants from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the International Foundation for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Started in 2010, the project is scheduled to end in 2014. However, a second phase to the project has been proposed.

On 10th July, participants proceeded to Butuan City, Mindanao to visit the Caimpugan peatlands which is a peatland area inside the much larger Agusan Marsh. They visited two sites within participating villages or 'barangays'. Among the project activities are a trial plot for 'sorjan' farming and a demonstration plot for commercial species suitable for sustainable cultivation on peatlands.

Sorjan farming is basically planting on 'floating gardens'. A technique learnt from farmers in Indonesia, it is important to enable growing of food crops in areas which often floods for extended periods. The Philippines benefited from the project by the identification of many new peatland areas, enabling better management of the wetlands.

More success stories from other components coming soon!

Tree Planting in June

The only tree planting event in this month was held on Saturday, 22 June 2013. The event was held in conjunction with the World Environment and World Ocean Days, which falls on 5th and 8th June respectively every year.

This activity was organized by GEC and Selangor Forestry Department at the rehabilitation site in Raja Musa Forest Reserve. Starting at 8 a.m., 120 participants planted a total of 440 tenggek burung trees (Euodia sp.) by noon.


The volunteer groups included:

1. Selangor Forestry Department 
2. GEC staff and volunteers
3. UNITEN students
4. Sime Darby College  students
5. Staff from Sunway PFM Sdn Bhd 

Planting in progress

Two of the volunteer groups in high spirits.

Tree Planting Activities in May 2013

This tree planting event organized by GEC was held in conjunction with the International Biodiversity Day 2013 which falls on May 22 every year. 3 tree planting events were held this month at the Raja Musa Forest Reserve.

11 May 2013 (Saturday)

This event was organized specially for FedEx staff by GEC with the aim to plant new saplings and care for previously planted trees. 40 volunteers took part, with 27 of them from FedEx. The day's activity started at 9am and ended at 12pm. 40 Euodia sp (tenggek burung) trees were planted; the group also applied fertilizer and cared for previously planted trees.

FedEx staff hard at work.

FedEx staff celebrating after a hard day's work.

18 May 2013 (Saturday)

From 9am to 12pm at Parit 6 rehabilitation site, 102 volunteers planted 400 Euodia sp seedlings. This planting program not only helps to rehabilitate the degraded site, it also creates awareness among volunteers about the importance of protecting forests.

The groups included volunteers from:

1. Sahabat Hutan Gambut 
2. Selangor Forestry Department 
3. Global Environment Centre
4. PSI Incontrol Sdn Bhd
5. Accenture Solutions
6. Universiti Pertanian Malaysia

Volunteers at work. Euodia sp. is a pioneer species which will help natural forests to regenerate.

UPM students.

21 May 2013

This tree planting event was organized specially for the Bridgestone’s dealers by GEC to show our appreciation of their support for this rehabilitation program. It also aims to help them understand the challenges in protecting the forest reserve. The half day activity involved 49 volunteers who planted 175 Euodia sp (tenggek burung) and 20 Euginea sp (Kelat Paya) trees. In addition, treatment was done on 20 lines of previously planted trees.

Working in the hot sun.

Bridgestone volunteers. Well done, guys!

Tree Planting Events in April 2013

Tree planting events in April were held in conjunction with World Earth Day 2013 that falls on April 22 every year, organized by GEC and Selangor Forestry Department. 2 events were held in April. Through this replanting effort, we hope that the forest can regenerate faster, preventing encroachment and reducing the risk of fire. 

18 April 2013

This event with volunteers from Timberland involved planting and maintenance at their rehabilitation site at Parit 7, Raja Musa Forest Reserve. The whole day activity started 9am and ended at 5pm. A million thanks to the Timberland team for their hard  work and dedication!

A total of 225 Euodia sp (Tenggek Burung) seedlings was planted by 114 volunteers. Out of the total, 175 seedlings were planted at a new site while  the other 50 replaced plants that did not survive at a previous location.

Two canal blocks were also made that day. Canal blocking is a tough job, befitting the toughness of the Timberland brand. Well done!!

Preparing the site and planting is not always easy. Thank you to all the volunteers.

Blocking the canal to raise the water level at the project site. This is an important effort to prevent fires in peatlands.

The Timberland team

20 April 2013 (Saturday)

On this day, 133 volunteers from 6 different groups planted 521 tenggek burung trees, covering 1 hectare of the Bridgestone rehabilitation site. The whole planting process only took 2 hours.Well done, everyone!

The groups involved on this day included volunteers from:

1. Sahabat Hutan Gambut
2. Selangor Forestry Department
3. GEC staff and volunteers
4. EITA Sdn Bhd
5. The Canadian Matriculation programme and
6. INTI IU College 

Making sure plants are planted properly.

Volunteers posing with their respective groups. Thank you, all!