Cuc Phuong honored as Asia's Leading National Park for the 5th time

On the evening of September 6, in Ho Chi Minh City, the 30th World Travel Awards (WTA) for Asia and Oceania occurred. The solemn ceremony had the participation of hundreds of travel brands, continental travel, and domestic and international press agencies. Vietnam Tourism is honored to be named in 45 top award categories in Asia 2023. Cuc Phuong National Park has received this noble award for the 5th consecutive time.

With an area of more than 22,400 hectares located in 14 communes and 4 districts in 3 provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Thanh Hoa, Cuc Phuong National Park has a terrain mainly of limestone mountains with an average elevation difference compared to the sea surface from 400 - 450m.

Cuc Phuong National Park has a precious biodiversity value system, one of the places with high biodiversity in Vietnam, with many rare animal and plant species listed in Vietnam's Red Book.

Up to now, 2,427 species have been recorded, belonging to 931 genera and 231 plant families. Of which 430 species of medicinal plants, 229 species of edible plants, 240 species of plants that can be used as dyes, 137 species of tannins... 57 species are recorded in the "2007 Vietnam Red Book" and "2020 IUCN Red Book".

Along with the diversity and abundance of flora and fauna, Cuc Phuong is also a beautiful natural museum, preserving many traces of life from prehistoric times to the present day. These are fossils, remains, tools ... in the caves. These are essential documents recording the lives of all species, recording the ups and downs of the history of geological development over the years. periods.

Thanks to the focus on forest protection and conservation of rare and precious plant and animal species, patrolling and control is determined as a regular and top task of the Cuc Phuong National Park rangers.

In the direction of work, special attention is paid to preventing hunting, cutting, illegal trading of forest animals and plants, slash-and-burn farming, and illegal encroachment of forest land; promptly prevent and strictly handle violations. Cuc Phuong National Park ranger stations are trained in skills to use management software (SMART) to monitor developments and current status of forest flora and fauna resources on patrol routes.

This crucial scientific document contributes to monitoring and evaluating forest resource developments for the short and long term. Cuc Phuong National Park is the first unit among the National Parks to implement the Biodiversity Monitoring Program using SMART software in forest management and protection.

Besides forest protection, scientific research is always one of the important tasks of Cuc Phuong National Park. Over the past years, the Park has collected, investigated, and compiled 16 additional species, increasing the total number of recognized species from 2,411 species (in 2015) to 2,427 species (in 2020).

Cuc Phuong National Park is the first methodically built botanical garden in Vietnam's national parks and nature reserves system.

Until now, Cuc Phuong National Park has investigated and recorded 8 additional vertebrate species, increasing the number of recognized species from 661 (2015) to 669 (2020). In addition to investigation, statistics, and collection of samples and data in the field, Cuc Phuong National Park has built the Cuc Phuong Museum and collected samples stored in the museum. Currently, Cuc Phuong Museum is the only museum in the national park system included in the science museum network of the Forestry sector.

Currently, Cuc Phuong National Park is implementing 3 conservation programs, which are preserving Vietnam's rare and endangered primate species, conserving small carnivores and pangolins, conserving freshwater turtles and some other wild animals (deer, species in the pheasant family, monkeys...). Currently, Cuc Phuong National Park is saving and conserving 64 species, with 2,700 individuals of wild animals.

"In 2022, the number of visitors to Cuc Phuong National Park is nearly 100,000, of which more than 95,000 are domestic tourists, the rest are foreign visitors. In the first six months of 2023, there have been 69,000 visitors to Cuc Phuong National Park, of which nearly 64,000 are Vietnamese visitors, the rest are foreign visitors", said Mr. Do Hong Hai, Deputy Director of Cuc Phuong National Park.

"Continuing to receive the World Travel Awards, we are delighted. Achieving these proud achievements is the effort of the entire garden staff and workers. This is a great encouragement for us to continue our efforts and maintain and comprehensively develop Cuc Phuong, worthy of the title of the continent's leading national park, becoming a leading destination for scientists, domestic and international tourists," shared Mr. Nguyen Van Chinh, Director of Cuc Phuong National Park.