Thai Binh converts wetland nature reserve to implement urban area projects

Adjust the forest area of Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve

On behalf of the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee, Vice Chairman Lai Van Hoan just signed Decision No. 731 dated April 17, 2023, on determining the location, area, and boundary of the coastal special-use forest area in three coastal communes, namely Nam Phu, Nam Hung, and Nam Thinh (Tien Hai district, Thai Binh province). This area is also known as Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve.

According to Decision 731, the above-mentioned special-use forest has an area of 1,320 ha, including 632 ha of mangrove land and 688 ha of area without forest that belongs to the area outside the dike of three communes: Nam Phu, Nam Hung, and Nam Thinh.

Previously, in 2014, this locality approved the project and established a special-use forest in the above-mentioned three communes with an area of 12,500 ha, including mangrove forest, alluvial ground, and wetland. Thus, the area of mangrove forest (also called Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve) that has just been adjusted only accounts for nearly 1/10 of the initial size.

Thai Binh also signed Decision No. 600, dated March 28, 2023, approving the adjustment of forest protection and development planning in Thai Binh province for the 2012–2020 period.

Thai Binh cited the foundation of Decisions No. 34 and 38 (2019) of the Provincial People's Committee on promulgating the management planning according to the project "Master Plan on Construction of Thai Binh Economic Zone to 2040, Vision to 2050". However, Decision 731 just announced does not state the purpose of adjusting the scale of Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve.

Thus, with the above-mentioned guidelines for adjusting the area of mangrove forest, Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve was almost wiped out. This is considered a biodiversity conservation area located in the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve, including the Northern coastal provinces of Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh.

According to Decision No. 2159, the conservation area's objective is to preserve the typical wetland ecosystem of the Red River estuary; be an area Vietnam registered in the list of protected areas under the Ramsar Convention and a biosphere reserve; and protect the landscape, aquatic resources, and migratory areas of waterfowls, especially rare and precious migratory waterfowls of national and international importance.

This is one of the important core areas of the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve, a world biosphere reserve in Vietnam.

Consult Ministries and Central branches on construction planning

In addition to adjusting the area of Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve, Thai Binh is also consulting ministries and branches on the project "Nam Phu New Urban Master Plan, Tien Hai district".

Specifically, on March 28, the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 918 to the Ministry of Construction (MOC) for consultancy on the project “Nam Phu Urban Master Plan, Tien Hai district, Thai Binh province to 2040”.

Recently, MOC issued Official Dispatch No. 1957/BXD-QHKT responding to the Official Dispatch of Thai Binh province. MOC proposed that the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee review its responsibility in organizing the formulation of the Nam Phu Urban Master Plan according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 19 of the Law on Urban Planning in 2009; review the planning time limit as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 28 of the Law on Urban Planning in 2009 (the planning time limit for the new urban master plan is 20–25 years).

Regarding the conformity with the Master Plan on Construction of Thai Binh Economic Zone and the Thai Binh province planning, MOC said that currently, the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee is submitting the "Thai Binh province planning in the 2021–2030 period" for appraisal, which has not yet been approved by the authority. The plan to organize the urban and rural systems in the draft provincial planning identifies the Nam Phu urban area as having a population size of about 30,000 people by 2040, an urban type 5.

Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to ensuring that the urban development orientation in the project is consistent with the urban system development orientation in the content of provincial planning and ensuring the consistency of planning levels.

In addition, at the Con Vanh tourist area, the arrangement of mixed functions of housing and service groups (land plots with symbols B-HH29 and B-HH30) is not consistent with the land use planning in the Master Plan on Construction of Thai Binh Economic Zone that has been approved.

Besides consulting MOC, Thai Binh province has also sent a written request to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, etc. to get the comments of these Ministries and branches on the above-mentioned planning.

Tien Hai Wetland Nature Reserve has about 9,000 ha of strictly protected area, 3,500 ha of ecological restoration, and about 1,700 ha of buffer zone. It preserves rich biodiversity values with rare, precious, and internationally important species. The conservation area is alluvial ground of the Red River, which has been accreted and formed mangrove forest.

It is also home to millions of birds. The conservation area now has about 200 bird species, including nearly 160 species of migratory birds and more than 50 species of waterfowl. Many rare and precious species have genetic conservation value and are recorded in the Vietnam Red Book: spoonbill, spoon-billed sandpiper, Tringa guttifer, Chinese egret, grey-headed lapwing, etc.

Plants have more than 100 species, are food for bird species, and have 43 plant types that can make medicine. Fish species in the conservation area are abundant, with over 100 species. A number of species have export value, such as sea bass, cobia, flounders, etc., and 20 species have high economic value: meretrix meretrix, mud clams, sea crabs, sentinel crabs, shrimps, etc., which are great aquatic resources for local people. In addition, there are about 113 species of insects and 37 species of amphibians and reptiles, of which 4 species are rare and precious and need to be preserved and recorded in the Vietnam Red Book.