British Embassy in Vietnam visits and works with Pu Mat National Park

On the side of the delegation were Mr. Ian Frew - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Vietnam, and members of the delegation.

Receiving and working with the delegation were representatives of the leadership: Department of Foreign Affairs; Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; People's Committee of Con Cuong district and the collective leadership and staff of Pu Mat National Park.

Located in the southwest of Nghe An province, with more than 68km adjacent to the Nam Chuon - Nam Xang Biodiversity Compensation Area, Bolikhamxay (Laos), Pu Mat National Park is one of the three core areas of the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve.

With a core area of ​​94,804 hectares and a buffer zone of 86,000 hectares, Pu Mat National Park spreads over three districts of Tuong Duong, Con Cuong and Anh Son in Nghe An province, and is one of the largest biological reserves in Vietnam with more than 2,400 plant species, of which 37 are listed in the Vietnam Red Book and 20 are listed in the World Red Book.

In order to protect biodiversity and prevent forest encroachment, over the years, the Park Management Board has actively carried out nature conservation work, focusing on effectively implementing coordination regulations with border guards and localities with adjacent borders; stepping up patrols, consolidating forces, and rotating staff, especially in places considered hot spots for illegal exploitation of forest resources; coordinating with organizations and researchers to deploy a camera trap system to investigate animals, thereby also monitoring and detecting abnormalities or illegal hunting and trapping activities.

In addition, Pu Mat National Park cooperates with many international organizations to promote biodiversity conservation and develop rare genetic resources. It takes advantage of investment resources and support from organizations to create livelihoods and economic development for people living around the Park area. From there, people raise awareness and responsibility for wildlife conservation, reducing the situation of entering forests to exploit timber and wildlife.

Currently, Pu Mat National Park is cooperating with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in wildlife conservation. Since 2018, Pu Mat National Park has cooperated with the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Center (Save Vietnam's Wildlife - SVW) to implement many practical programs to promote ecotourism in the Park, educational activities, and raise awareness of the Park's buffer zone community. In particular, these educational activities have the participation of students at primary and secondary schools in Con Cuong district and the Park's buffer zone.

In 2024, through FFI, the UK Government funded the project "Biodiversity Conservation in Pu Mat National Park" with a total budget of 12.3 billion VND. The project implementation period is from January 2024 to April 2025. The project provides funding for rapid response teams to conduct elephant protection patrols; and maintains the activities of 2 community forest protection teams with 13 members. This is a very meaningful project in conserving biodiversity values ​​and supporting livelihoods for vulnerable communities in the core and buffer zones of Pu Mat National Park.

Visiting and working with Pu Mat National Park, Mr. Ian Frew - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Vietnam and his delegation visited the Museum of Nature and Culture, the Wildlife Rescue Area, and Khe Kem Waterfall Tourist Area...

At the meeting, the Ambassador also learned about biodiversity management and conservation, as well as the results of the project funded by the British Government through FFI. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Vietnam also listened to the opinions of beneficiaries of the project funded by the British Government. Thereby, he had ideas to implement funding for projects in the coming time.