Kien Luong (12008)
Vietnam, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Kien Luong
Central coordinates: Latitude: 10.2167, Longitude: 104.6333
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 2
Area of KBA (km2): 74.88937
Protected area coverage (%): 0.75
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA is situated in the south of the Ha Tien plain, a flat coastal plain, which is one of the last remaining extensive areas of seasonally inundated grassland in the Mekong Delta. The site is bisected by a network of canals and has some brackish water characteristics. In the south-west part of the site there is a small area of Melaleuca plantation. At the fringes of the site, the natural habitat has been converted into agricultural land, principally wet rice.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) The site has been reviewed and re-confirmed as a KBA in the process of compiling the revised 2011 CEPF Ecosystem Profile for the Indo-Burma Hotspot.
Additional biodiversity: Non-bird biodiversity: Silvered Langur Trachypithecus villosus is reported to occur in a neighbouring limestone area, to the east of the site. Some parts of this species' habitat have been designated for cement production (Tran Triet ed. 2001).
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Kien luong supports mainly seasonally inundated grassland, although there is also a small area of Melaleuca plantation in the south-west of the site. At the fringes of the site, the natural habitat has been converted into agricultural land, principally wet rice.
Land use: agriculture (12%) | forestry (5%) | not utilised (83%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 16 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 5 | |
| Grassland | 79 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The seasonally inundated grassland at the site is under severe and immediate threat of conversion to rice agriculture and forestry. Most of the large remaining grassland areas are currently earmarked for resettlement and agricultural conversion. However, the acid-suphate soils in the area make most of the plain insuitable for rice agriculture, and there is a real risk , therefore, that the last remaining areas of extensive seasonally inundated grassland in the Mekong Delta will be lost to provide marginal agricultural land.The Kien Luong is further threatened by plans for a major flood control canal that will bisect the site, leading to further fragmentation, changes in flooding regimes and subsequent deterioration of soil fertility through acidification. The construction of this canal is also likely to have serious impacts on the globally threatened large waterbirds found at the site by increasing levels of disturbance.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollution | Air-borne pollutants | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Only in the future |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Industrial aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Shifting agriculture | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Birdlife International and the Forest Inventory and Planning Instutute (2001) Sourcebook of existing and proposed protected areas in Vietnam. Hanoi, Vietnam: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute.Buckton, S. T., Ngyuyen Cu, Nguyen Duc Tu and Ha Quy Quynh (1999) The conservation of key wetland sites in the Mekong delta. Hanoi: Birdlife International Vietnam programme.Nguyen Duc Tu, Nguyen Cu and Buckton, S. T. (2001) Wetlands and waterbirds in the Mekong Delta. OBC Bulletin 33: 30-33Tran Triet ed. (2001) Proceedings of the workshop: Conservation and utilization of biodiversity resources of the Ha Tien-Kien Luong wetlands, Kien Giang province. Rach Gia 17-19 June 2001. Ho Chi Minh City: College of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University