Cát Tiên miền xanh sự sống

Cat Tien National Park is one of Vietnam's most important nature reserves, located in Dong Nai City and Lam Dong Province, with a natural area of ​​approximately 71,188 hectares. It is the last remaining relatively intact large lowland tropical rainforest in Southern Vietnam, playing a crucial role in conserving biodiversity, protecting the water resources of the Dong Nai River basin, and maintaining the ecological balance of the Southeast region. The predecessor of Cat Tien National Park was the Nam Cat Tien Forest Reserve, established in 1978. In 1992, Cat Tien National Park was officially established and expanded in 1998 to include the Nam Cat Tien, Tay Cat Tien, and Cat Loc areas. Currently, the park spans across several administrative units, making it one of the largest special-use forests in the country. Cat Tien is renowned for its diverse tropical forest ecosystem, including evergreen forests, semi-deciduous forests, bamboo forests, grasslands, and characteristic wetland systems such as Bau Sau. This area is home to thousands of plant and animal species, including many endangered, rare, and endemic species such as the Asian elephant, gaur, Siamese crocodile, yellow-cheeked gibbon, black-footed langur, Truong Son silver langur, and many other birds, reptiles, and plants of high conservation value. With its outstanding global value, Cat Tien National Park has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve, the Bau Sau wetland area as a Ramsar site of international importance, and the entire park area as a Special National Monument. In 2024, Cat Tien became the first national park in Vietnam to achieve the IUCN Green List for effective conservation management. Besides its function in nature conservation, Cat Tien National Park is also an important center for scientific research, environmental education, wildlife rescue, and ecotourism development in Vietnam. With its unique natural landscapes, rich flora and fauna, and outstanding historical and cultural values, Cat Tien is not only the "green lung" of the southern region but also a typical symbol of biodiversity conservation efforts in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.