Discover Thanh Phu Nature Reserve in Ben Tre

VietnamSurpriseLocated in Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province, Thanh Phu Nature Reserve comprises the section of the Mekong Delta coastal zone between the Ham Luong and Co Chien estuaries.

As is the case with other sites on the eastern coastline of the Mekong Delta, this Nature Reserve is strongly affected by erosion as well as accretion. The coastal landscape at Thanh Phu is made up of the following elements: tidal mudflats, sand belts, saline tidal swamps, toxic acid-sulfate swamps.

The coastal mangroves at Thanh Phu are dominated by Rhizophora apiculata, A. officinalis, Avicennia marina, Sonneratia spp, Excoecaria agalloccha. The most extensive mangrove type is Rhizophora apiculata mangrove. These mangroves are an important habitat for a number of aquatic organisms, including some with high economic value.

Thanh Phu Nature Reserve in Ben Tre

The intertidal mudflats are an important habitat for shorebirds. However, all the shorebird species occurring in the Thanh Phu Nature Reserve are common coastal migrants, such as Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola, Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia and Sanderling Calidris alba.

The Thanh Phu Nature Reserve is situated between two major estuaries, which are important breeding sites for many economically valuable aquatic species, such as tiger prawns Penaeus spp., various fish species from the Notopteridae, Toxotidae, Nandidae and Anguilidae families, and numerous species of squid including Logilo formosana, Seproteuris lessoniana and Sepria tigris. The estuaries also support a variety of other invertebrates, including crabs, clams and mussels.

During the Second Indochina War, Thanh Phu was a military base of the Vietnam National Liberation Front. In particular, the coastal site was used as a wharf, to which supplies and weapons to the Ben Tre Battlefield and Military Region Number 8 were shipped from North Vietnam. For this reason, Thanh Phu was decreed as a place of historical importance.

Source: activetravelvietnam.com