Nghe An Province in Vietnam Becomes Elephant Conservation Centre

Nghe An is home to Pù Mát National Park, which is one of the most important sites for mammal conservation in Vietnam. Globally threatened Indian elephants are also among the inhabitants of the park, though their population in Vietnam is the lowest among other 13 countries of the region where these giants live. 

According to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, last year the population of elephants in the country totalled 100-130 animals, calling for urgent protection. Out of the whole population, only 13 animals are registered in Nghe An province, in Pu Mat national park and and the buffer zone of Pu Huong Nature Reserve.

During the last years thanks to protective measures, no elephant hunting was registered in the province while the national park saw the birth of two baby elephants. The major concern of the locals is elephants destroying fields and sometimes damaging houses in search of food what leads to killing elephants by the locals protecting their crops. To help locals and animals to live peacefully side by side, stone fences, forest patrol roads and rest stations have been built in the province lately.

To ensure the great biodiversity of Pu Mat is preserved, a conservation plan for the 2020-25 period will be worked out. Under supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nghe An is named one of the three centres of elephant conservation in Vietnam, the other two being Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands and Dong Nai province in the southeast.

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