Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee, Pham Thien Nghia, poses for a photo with a forein expert at a meeting on December 12.
According to the project, 60 red-crowned cranes will be brought from Thailand to the park during the next 10 years, and 40 birds are expected to be born here.
"The project has been receiving lots of support from organisations and enterprises who have sent funding of VND36 billion," chairman of the committee, Pham Thien Nghia, told the meeting. "Today's event also saw the attendance of representatives from the World Wide Fund for Nature, the International Crane Foundation, the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand, the Vietnam Zoo Association, and Korat Zoo, among others."
Speaking at the event, Tran Triet, an expert who has spent over 30 years studying red-crowned cranes, said that the birds face extinction due to environmental changes.
"Tram Chim is the only place in Vietnam that has a suitable living condition for red-crowned cranes," he said. "It will be meaningful for both Vietnam and the world if we can protect the environment here so that migratory birds can come during winter."
Nguyen Van Vu Minh, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that as part of the project, which costs nearly VND185 billion (USD7.35 million), a sustainable ecological rice production model will be developed in the buffer zone of the national park.
The province targets to have 200 ha of ecological and organic rice production by 2025 and 1,000 ha in the buffer zone by 2032 to create good space for red-crowned cranes to develop and a safe environment for migratory birds to live in the park.
Covering 7,313 hectares in Dong Thap's Tam Nong District, Tram Chim National Park has been a feeding ground for red-crowned cranes for over 30 years, but the numbers have sharply fallen in recent years.
Three red-crowned cranes were seen at the park in 2021, but birds were absent in 2022 and 2023.
Four red-crowned cranes were again spotted at the park in March this year, which signals a positive development.