Endless Tam Giang mangrove forest

1. At night, on Tam Giang lagoon, the first quarter moon is mysterious, the water surface sparkles like gold, the wind whistles through the tops of the sour mangrove and water coconut trees. Sitting and drinking with the old fishermen of Ha Cong village, Quang Loi commune (Quang Dien), I feel like I am back in the fairy tale of Tam Giang.

Old fisherman Ha Cong Phuoc said that his life has been attached to the Tam Giang river since he was a child. Therefore, he knew by heart the song: "I love you, I also want to go there/I'm afraid of Truong Nha Ho, I'm afraid of Tam Giang". Then he recounted: In the past, there were a lot of shrimp, crab, and fish in this area. So many that when we used to empty the traps and set up the nets, we often chose the big ones to bring back, and the small ones were released back. The profession of fishing with traps and set up the nets was viable at that time, earning millions in one night was normal.

Recalling the glorious times, Mr. Ha Cong Phuoc could not help but exclaim: “But the blessings of heaven do not last forever, shrimp, crab, and fish are gradually depleted. Partly because fishermen compete to build traps and cast nets to catch fish thoroughly. Partly because many people appear to be destructive fishermen, even using electric shocks, causing shrimp and fish to become increasingly scarce.”

Vice Chairman of Quang Loi Commune People's Committee Phan Dang Bao continued, by 2016, with the support of international organizations, mangrove planting projects were implemented with Sonneratia and Nipa palm. After 7 years of planting and care, up to now, Quang Loi has nearly 46 hectares of mangrove forest that has become a forest along Tam Giang lagoon including Sonneratia and Nipa palm. The project also supports people to plant trees at the foot of the dam, and aquaculture ponds in 40 lakes. The mangrove forest area has been effective in protecting the living environment from the impact of climate change and bringing rich aquatic resources to local people.

2. Early in the morning, Van Huu Sang, Director of Tam Giang - Quang Loi Tourism Service Cooperative, used a motorboat to take us to visit Ngu My Thanh floating seafood market and watch the sunrise in the mangrove forests. We felt like we were immersed in nature, breathing in the fresh air among the rows of vibrant mangrove trees rising above the waves of Tam Giang.

Looking into the future, Van Huu Sang shared that in March 2020, the provincial Department of Aquatic Resources Protection coordinated with the district's agricultural sector to build the Vung Me Aquatic Resources Protection Area (Quang Loi commune) with an area of 40 hectares, along with many solutions to preserve fish and shrimp resources that are at risk of depletion. These include planting mangrove forests and releasing "cha rao" as a shelter for aquatic species. Along with that, regularly releasing fish, shrimp, and crab breeds into the lagoon to regenerate aquatic resources.

“Since the establishment of Vung Me aquatic conservation area, many aquatic species have developed here, contributing to the restoration and protection of biodiversity, helping aquaculture farmers develop towards sustainable ecological farming. Recently, this lagoon has been preserved and restored, many types of shrimp and fish have reproduced. Types of freshwater shrimp, goby, hat goby, and giant catfish... that were once almost extinct are now appearing more and more. There are countless shrimp and shrimp in the mangrove forest, some years alone, many fishermen have earned tens of millions of dong from harvesting shrimp” - Van Huu Sang shared.

Thanks to the mangrove forests with typical lagoon ecosystems right in the lagoon rice fields and the mangrove forest, a bird sanctuary is gradually forming. Because of the "good land attracts birds", countless birds and storks come here to live. The local government also has solutions to protect this bird sanctuary, preventing hunting and extermination of wild birds. During the rainy and stormy season, the mangrove forest also has the effect of preventing storms and preventing trash from encroaching on the fields when the tide rises.

Seeing the potential and strengths of mangrove forests, people have turned to community tourism. Quang Loi commune has coordinated with tourism units to promote and train local communities to raise awareness of tourism activities to create jobs and increase income for people. At the same time, it focuses on developing local agricultural and aquatic products to attract tourists. With the unique characteristics of Tam Giang lagoon and mangrove forests, foreign tourists are very happy to come here to travel and experience tours here under the green mangrove forests.

3. Planting mangrove forests in Tam Giang lagoon brings double benefits. In fact, mangrove forests have proven to be effective. Now people are happy and excited when mangrove forests become a "shield" against each natural disaster and flood. The forests become storm shelters, places for fishermen to anchor their boats, limit damage during storms, and protect aquaculture ponds. Therefore, people have greatly reduced the investment costs for repairing dykes and aquaculture ponds of their families.

“To develop lagoon tourism here, tourism infrastructure needs to be invested synchronously. It is recommended that the province and district pay attention to allocating resources to connect the entire dike corridor west of Tam Giang lagoon from Quang Thai to Quang Thanh, about 10km. There should be specific regulations on fishing nets so that people can comply and not violate the protection of aquatic resources. The commune government is converting jobs in the direction of “reducing exploitation and increasing aquaculture” associated with social security for the people,” shared the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Loi commune.

Faced with the negative impacts of increasingly unusual natural disasters, causing serious landslides and erosion in localities, threatening people's lives and property, restoring and planting new mangrove areas is proving to be the most effective solution.

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