VN045 Vietnam Bird Watching Dak Dam Criteria: A1 & A2

Province(s):          Dak Lak
PA Status:            None

Latitude:               12º30’N
Longitude:            107º35’E
Area:                     10,000 ha
Altitude Range:    300-930 m asl                                                      

EBA / SA: None
Priority Landscape: DF 4 – Eastern Plains Dry Forest

General Description

The IBA is situated in the Mekong basin, and comprises the Dak Dam Stream, a tributary of the Srepok river, and associated forest areas on the eastern bank. Dak Dam IBA supports a significant stretch of relatively undisturbed riverine forest, one of the most threatened habitat types in Vietnam. The major vegetation types at the IBA are deciduous forest and semi-evergreen forest, although the riverine forest has a greater evergreen component. The Dak Dam stream forms the international border between Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as the western boundary of Yok Don National Park^1,2; the stretch within the national park is included within Yok Don IBA. To the west, Dak Dam IBA is contiguous with Upper Srepok Catchment IBA in Cambodia.

Bird Fauna: Key Features

While Dak Dam IBA has been the focus of relatively little ornithological survey to date, three globally threatened and one globally near-threatened species have been confirmed to occur. Most significantly, Dak Dam IBA is one of only three sites in Vietnam from where there are recent confirmed records of the globally endangered White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata, and the only one that is likely to regularly support a significant population. Further survey work at the IBA may reveal the presence of other bird species of conservation concern.

Biome Restricted Species: The site does not qualify under criterion A3. See Appendix 4 for details.

Secondary Criteria

Species                                                 Status       

Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis¹                 NT
Gaur Bos gaurus¹                                                               VU
[Asian Elephant Elephas maximus]¹                            EN
Banteng Bos javanicus¹                                                      EN

Notes: [ ] = unconfirmed record.

Threats to Biodiversity

The major threats to biodiversity at the IBA are timber extraction and clearance of forest for agriculture³. Other threats are hunting, unsustainable exploitation of NTFPs and fishing, which is a potential source of disturbance to species dependent on riverine habitats. At the current time, however, most of these threats are potential rather than actual, as the border army strictly control human access into the IBA³.

Conservation Actions

• None to date.

Recommendations

• Yok Don National Park should be extended to the south to include the Dak Dam stream and adjacent areas of habitat. Areas of habitat on the western bank of the Dak Dam stream, in Cambodia, should also be placed under appropriate conservation management.
• Existing controls on human access into the border zone should be maintained. In particular, there should be no human settlement along the border road.
• Further surveys should be conducted to assess the status and distribution of globally threatened bird and mammal species and to evaluate threats to the sites biodiversity, and the findings should be used as a basis for formulating appropriate management recommendations and identifying protected area boundaries

The post VN045 Vietnam Bird Watching Dak Dam appeared first on Indochina Explore Tours, Vietnam Adventure Travel, Holiday Tour, Trekking Hiking, Biking, Kayaking Trip, Vacation Resort Hotel, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar.