HCM City (VNA) - Nearly 60 kilometres away from the centre of Ho Chi MinhCity, Can Gio Mangrove has been recognised by UNESCO as a World BiosphereReserve with primeval forests and abundant floral cover. It was also the sightof a number of glorious battles in the past.

Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve covers over 70,000 hectares, occupying one-thirdof Ho Chi Minh City’s total area. It is located in Can Gio district, previouslyDuyen Hai district. The area is situated in arecently formed estuary complex of tidal flats, where the Vam Co, Sai Gon andDong Nai rivers discharge into the sea.

Historically, this land, also known as Sac Forest Guerrilla Base, wasa key battleground in the two resistance wars against the Frenchand US aggressors.

It had beendevastated by US toxic chemicals that turned the zone into an uninhabited land.

After thewar ended, the uninhabited mangrove forests have gradually been invigorated andits beauty and magnificence have returned thanks to the hard work of localpeople.

Tourists tothe site are offered an insight into Sac Forest soldiers’ military feats in thepast.

Senior LieutenantColonel Tran Ngoc Soan, Sac Forest Commando, joined in the war in 1965. “Atthat time, the forest was full of mangroves and avicennia marinas, not just themangroves as it is now,” he said.

One yearlater, the US sprayed toxic chemicals that made thetrees die and digging tunnel as base difficult. So, Soan and his comrades had to row a boat tothe forest. Since 1967, toxic chemicals have ruined theforest, making it nude. They,as a result, had to travel on foot instead.

Tents andinfirmaries have been depicted to make the scene as realistic as possible,moving many of the visiting former soldiers.

Every timereturning the base, Lieutenant Vo Duy Tan of Regiment 10 remembered sharingjoys and sorrows with his comrades in the hardest time.

Besides facingenemies, Sac Forest commandoes faced unanticipateddangers from crocodiles and shortages of rice and fresh water.

The Sac ForestMilitary Zone, also known as Regiment 10, was founded in April 1966. During thenext nine years, 860 of more than 1,000 soldiers laid down their lives on thefield.

From 1962to 1971, Sac Foresthad been nearly destroyed by USweed clearing substances in conjunction with vast deforestation. Since 1985,great joint efforts by Ho Chi MinhCity’s authorities and people have been made toreinvigorate thousands of hectares of the forest.

Theforest is rich in biodiversity values. There are 52 true and associate mangrovespecies, 200 animal species, hundred fish and over 40 bird species.

The major habitat types found at Can Gio are plantation mangrove, ofwhich there is about 20,000 ha, and naturally regenerating mangrove, of whichthere is about 7,000 ha.  

A total of 18 mollusc, 27 crustacean, 45 fish and three amphibian specieshave been recorded at the site. There are anecdotal reports of local farmersshooting an Estuarine Crocodile Crocodylus porosus at the site in around 1990,although there have been no records since then. Also, Dugong has been reportedto occur seasonally in sea-grass beds at the site, although these reports havenot been confirmed.

The mangroveforest at Can Gio performs many valuable ecological functions,including coastal stabilisation, and protection against coastal erosion, oilspills and storm surges. The mangrove forest is a source of fuelwood andconstruction materials.

Being close to Ho Chi Minh City, Can Gio Biosphere Reserve has greatpotential as a site for tourism, public education, scientific research andtraining. Already, the site receives a large number of visitors from Ho ChiMinh City. It could also serve as a demonstration site for mangrove afforestation projectselsewhere in Vietnam.

Added to this, it has been seen as the city’s “green lung”,contributing to minimising the impacts of climate change.-VNA