Phu Quoc - a preserve of Vietnam's flora

[vuca@envi.env.civil.saitama-u.ac.jp (Vu Thanh Ca)]

Saigon Times Daily - May 27, 1997

Phu Quoc - a preserve of Vietnam's flora

By Nguyen Dang Hoi

Kien Giang -- The largest island in Vietnam with an area of 565 sq.km
(making up 98.8% of the total area of Phu Quoc District, Kien Giang
Province), is located in an area with high humidity and suffers few natural
disasters. Phu Quoc has great potential for biological resources,
especially the flora.

So far, the area of land used for silviculture is 37,625 hectares,
accounting for 64.6% of the total area of the district, in which the area
of natural forests is 33,563 hectares; the island is one of the areas which
has the largest percentage of natural forests in the country. The flora in
Phu Quoc is diverse in terms of species, including evergreen tropical
forests (32,070 hectares), cajuput forests (about 4,581 hectares),
salinity-intruded forests, and planted forests. It also has a wide range of
typical plants and trees belonging to the following families: coffee (49
varieties), mulberry (28 varieties), orchid (25 varieties) and eucalyptus
(19 varieties).

Latest statistics show that Phu Quoc has 1,079 species of plants belonging
to 157 families, while Cat Ba and Ba Mun only have 600 and 259 species
respectively.

In addition, salinity-intruded forests also play an important role in the
natural riches of the island. These forests cover an area of 121 hectares.
It is worth noting that despite being an island, Phu Quoc has quite a high
terrain (300m-500m). The area of protected forests and those on the upper
parts of rivers is tremendous (more than 30,000 hectares), is currently in
need of being properly protected and utilized.

Aside from natural flora, the island also has a large area of planted
forests with 121 species, including some which are of commercial value such
as pepper, cashew, coffee, rubber, coconut, teak, mangrove, and fruit and
"medicinal" trees.

With these natural assets, Phu Quoc constitutes an ideal preserve of
Vietnamese flora.