Why the Green Corridor is important?

The Green Corridor has been identified as one of the highest priority areas for immediate conservation action in the region, because it:·

• - Is one of the last remaining lowland wet evergreen forests in Vietnam.
• - Supports significant populations of threatened species including saola, Truong Son muntjac, Edwards pheasant, red-shanked Douc’s Langur, white-cheeked gibbon and other species.
• - Due to its known biodiversity the Green Corridor is likely to support many undiscovered endemic species.
• - Is listed as an Important Bird Area by Bird Life International.
• - Is believed to be the best opportunity for conserving the unique saola in Vietnam.

What is biodiversity?

"Biodiversity is the diversity of life on Earth. Biodiversity can be divided into three categories -- genes, species, and ecosystems -- that describe quite different aspects of living systems and that scientists measure in different ways.Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genes within species. This covers distinct populations of the same species or genetic variation within a populations.

Species diversity refers to the variety of species within a region. Such diversity can be measured in many ways. The number of species in a region -- its species "richness" -- is one often-used measure.

Ecosystem diversity is harder to measure than species or genetic diversity because the "boundaries" of communities -- associations of species -- and ecosystems are elusive. Nevertheless, as long as a consistent set of criteria is used to define communities and ecosystems, their numbers and distribution can be measured..."

 

 

The forests of Thua Thien Hue Green are home to a number of key flagship species that are internationally rare and threatened.

 

 

The saola was brought to the attention of international biologists in 1992. It is a species unique to only a few areas in Vietnam and Lao PDR, and reflects the biological importance of the Central Truong Son mountains. Thua Thien Hue is believed to be the best location in Vietnam to implement saola conservation plans. The Green Corridor project aims to protect the saola, and other important species, by designing an effective conservation strategy with local partners.

 

 

The forests of Hue support seven species of primate, including a notable number of gibbon and Douc langur populations, both highly threatened due to hunting. The loris, a shy and secretive primate, is also recorded in the area.

 

Two rare and threatened bird species are the Edwards pheasant, which was until the 1990’s though extinct and rediscovered in Hue province, and the crested Argus. This majestic species is threatened through hunting and trapping but still significant populations of this species occur in the forests.