Cape Ca Mau National Park

Covering an area of 41,862ha, Cape Ca Mau National Park is located in Dat Mui commune, Ngoc Hien district, Ca Mau province, nearly 400km away from Ho Chi Minh City.

 Cape Ca Mau National Park is originally covered by natural mangrove forest; however, the vast majority was destroyed during the Second Indochina War. Most of the aqua cultural ponds have been abandoned and now support extensive areas of re-colonizing mangrove forest. There are extensive mudflats which are also being colonized naturally by mangrove. These areas are continually growing due to accretion rates along the coastline of up to 50m per year in places.

Biodiversity values. The Park is a submerged area with a floral complex, mainly including mangrove and Mam (avicenia, black mangrove) trees. This is an ecological system of natural salt-marsh forests with high values in terms of bio-diversity, landscapes, environment, culture and history.

Some small areas of old Rhizophora apiculata mangrove remain at Mui Ca Mau. This vegetation type probably covered much of the area in the past. Evidence of over-exploitation is abundant with many old logged bases of large Rhizophora apiculata trees. There are still some big trees over 10 years old, though the habitat is degraded. There are also extensive Rhizophora apiculata plantations at the national park; the density of them varies from one to six trees per square metre. Each year, the submerged flora on the western beach of the park extends nearly 100m into the sea, creating an ideal environment for the reproduction and development of shrimp, fish and mollusk.

The park has a rich fauna with 13 species of animals belonging to 9 families, including 2 species listed in the Red Book of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). They are the long-tailed monkey and ca khu (Trachypithecus cristatus). The park is also considered to be an important site for a number of migratory water birds with 74 species of birds belonging to 23 families, including 5 species listed in IUCN Red Book, namely the Chinese stork, grey-legged pelican, ibis leucocephalus, curved beak snipe and black-headed ibis

The mangroves at Mui Ca Mau perform an important coastal protection function, which was strongly emphasized on coastal protection in the management of the site to date. The national park also has high potential for recreation, ecotourism, conservation education and scientific research. Although present visitor use of the national park is low, visitor numbers are likely to increase in the future.