Tram Chim National Park is located 19 km to the east of the Mekong River,at an elevation of about 1m. The topography of the national park isflat, slopes slightly to the East. In the past, several natural streamsand rivers flowed from west to east, distributing water from the MekongRiver to the plain of reeds. Now, these streams and rivers have beenreplaced by a system of canals flowing through the national park.

Priorto canalization, the plain of reeds was seasonally flooded withstanding water for continuous periods of up to seven months per year.Since canalization, flood waters drain more rapidly and the nationalpark is flooded for less than six months per year. Water levels in thecanals begin to rise in June, at the beginning of the rainy season.Between September and December, the national park is inundated to adepth of 2 to 4 m, with a peak in October.

Sincethe mid-1980s, 53 km of dykes fitted with sluices have been constructedaround the national park, with the aim of impounding floodwater forlonger as well as reducing the lowering of the water table during thedry season. The national park is fragmented by canals into fivemanagement zones; the water level of each can be managed separately.

Biodiversity values

The vegetation of Tram Chim National Parkcomprises a mixture of seasonally inundated grassland, regeneratingMelaleuca forest and open swamp. Melaleuca is distributed throughoutthe national park, both in plantations and in scattered patches inareas of grassland or open swamp. There are five widespread grasslandcommunities at Tram Chim,of which the community dominated by Eleocharis dulcis and wild riceOryza rufipogon is of the highest conservation significance. Tram Chimis one of the few places in the Plain of Reeds where community islikely to survive to any extent, and, therefore, one of the mostimportant sites for the conservation of wild rice in Vietnam.The other grassland communities are dominated by Eleocharisochrostachys, Panicum repens, Ischaemum rugosum and Vossia cuspidata.

ThePark is in the lowest area of the Mekong River water logged plainsubmerged and in the centre of Dong Thap Muoi. With a system of swamps,grass-plots and crossing canals, the 7,612 ha Tram Chim National Parkhas become an ideal habitat of more than 100 vertebrates, 40 species offish, and 147 rare and precious species of birds, especially thered-head cranes. Hence, it is also an ideal place for scientists toresearch into the life of migratory birds. To date, at least 88 birdspecies have been recorded at Tram Chim National Park. The site isfamous for the population of Sarus Cranes that inhabits the site in thedry season. In 1990s, hundreds of Cranes spent the dry season here.However, due to some inappropriate development in late 1990s and early2000s, maximum counts of cranes fell dramatically to some 82 birds inthe 2005 dry season. In addition to Sarus Crane, the globallyendangered Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis has also beenrecorded at Tram Chim National Park. The status of this secretive grassland specialist at Tram Chimis not fully known but it is likely that birds vacate the area duringperiods of substantial inundation in the late wet season. Local peoplebelieve that the species breeds at the site, and claim to have foundboth eggs and young of the species but this has yet to be confirmed. Anumber of other globally threatened and near-threatened bird speciesregularly occur at Tram Chim,including Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Lesser AdjutantLeptoptilos javanicus, Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala and AsianGolden Weaver Ploceus hypoxanthus.

Other wetland bird species of note recorded at Tram Chiminclude Cotton Pygmy Goose Nettapus coromandelianus, GreaterPainted-snipe Rostratula benghalensis and Pheasant-tailed JacanaHydrophasianus chirurgus. Because of its importance for globallythreatened and bird species, Tram Chim qualifies as an Important Bird Area.

Efforts to conserve.

In1985 when red-head cranes appeared in Tram Chim National Park,scientists held a workshop in China to find out measures to preservethem and develop Tram Chim National Park in Tam Nong Natural Site intoa typical cultural and ecological tourist area in Southeast Asia.

Sincethen, many international organizations have participated in researchinginto red-head cranes in Tram Chim, including the World Wildlife Fund(WWF), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature andNatural Resource (IUCN) and others.

In February 1994, TramChim officially became the national nature conserve zone under thePrime Minister’s decision, where the State invested more than VND 4bil,the Bhrem Fund of Germany granted US$15,000 and the UK and DanishEmbassy donated US$ 60,000 to the protection of the “Red-head cranes’house” and the improvement of Tram Chim’s buffer zone.

In1995, ICF wanted to conduct surveys on the breeding sites of red-headcranes and in March 1998, scientists began putting electronic trackingrings worth US$10,000 on cranes to observe their migration andreproduction. The activity was funded by the Japanese Government withthe participation of American, Japanese and Vietnamese scientists. Thesignals received from red-head cranes provide good information forscientists to research into the red-head cranes’ migration andreproduction.

Leaving out this park is an actual pity!

TramChim is 40 km by road from Cao Lanh town in Dong Thap province. Withinthe national park, you can hire boats to reach good birding sites. FromJanuary to May each year, when sky is clear, visitors will see from thehorizon many black spot coming. It is crane flock returning aftermonths of emigrating to evade flood. This is also the season forphotographing cranes in the dawn and sunset

Tram Chim National Park is one of the best developed and most well-known sites for ecotourism in the Mekong Delta.The national park already has basic tourist facilities, and previouslyreceived many visitors. There are some small guesthouses in Tam Nongtown with basic facilities.

Tram Chim National Park,with natural history of collective ecology of geomorphology,hydrography and underwater creatures, is an ideal rendezvous place oftourists from all over the world.