Value and important role of Truong Sa Park in scientific research, conservation of genetic resources and traditional education about Vietnam and international seas and islands
Vietnam is a country with ¾ sea area, and a member of the Intergovernmental Oceanography Commitee (IOC). Since the French established the Institute of Oceanography (1922), the Institute of Oceanography has always been interested in developing the Oceanographic Museum. With the goal of archiving, displaying, researching and educating about marine resources, the Institute of Oceanography has established Truong Sa Park, including the sea bay and the terrestrial exhibition located in the Institute's campus.
The bay is a coastal waterbody, with an area of 5000 m², with a diverse and rich ecosystem typical for the sea of Vietnam. It is a component of Truong Sa Park and is home to natural resources. It is an important sea, with a diverse ecosystem. It is an important place to conduct research on the sea and oceans of Vietnam and the world.
The bay is the place to grow and develop an important, long-standing and rare coastal coral reef ecosystem such as the giant coral mass (Porites lutea), 3-m in diameter and with an age of approximately 300 years. It has been of particular interest to French scientists since the 1930s. The coral reef ecosystem in the bay plays an important role in the regeneration and protection of marine species, and is the place of survival and reproduction of many species of organisms in the larval and juvenile stages.
Porites lutea coral with a diameter of 3m is nearly 300 years old
Besides the Coral Reef, the seagrass ecosystem has high biodiversity, there are many seagrass species typical for tropical seas of special importance, such as Halophila sp. - representative of the Pacific Ocean, which is important in terms of biodiversity for the world; and Enhalus acoroides – belongs to the group of endangered species on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This grass is being maintained and protected strictly to serve the conservation of seagrass genetic resources and marine scientific research. The Institute of Oceanography has cooperated with scientists from the Federal Republic of Germany to study the grass in the bay for many years.
In the bay, Truong Sa Park also recorded 9 species belonging to the Nematoda. These species in the bay are important subjects in studying the mechanism of matter and energy metabolism of marine food webs and assessing biological productivity.
With a tropical marine sunny and windy environment and development of the bay's ecosystem and environment, the Institute of Oceanography and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark have chosen this site as an experimental place for the study of evaluating the decay of ocean plastic waste.
Since 1930, the oceanographic and marine environment monitoring station, belonging to the system of national environmental monitoring stations, has continuously measured water levels, providing oceanographic data sources for marine economic development and environmental quality forecasting. The station is also one of more than 1,000 monitoring points worldwide under the IOC's monitoring system.
Location of the experiment to evaluate the decomposition of plastic waste
The water level measurement system of the National Environmental Monitoring Station has been in operation since 1930
With value, meaning and importance, the sea bay of Truong Sa Park is considered a priority topic in public education and communication, a real example of the value of Vietnam's marine ecological resources. The bay is an integral component in marine scientific research and public education on the awareness of protecting Vietnam's marine natural resources.
Prof. Acad. Chau Van Minh, Member of the Party Central Committee, President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, and Dr. Le Duc Vinh, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, opened the ribbon to inaugurate Truong Sa Park on September 14, 2017
Translated by Tuyet Nhung
Link to Vietnamese version
