Cuc Phuong National Park Transforms Wildlife Conservation into New Tourism Model

Cuc Phuong National Park is transforming its wildlife conservation and rehabilitation efforts into an innovative tourism model. The park is captivating visitors with the spectacle of clouds of butterflies, with this year's butterfly season arriving two to three weeks earlier than usual, offering a rare and memorable experience. Under the Cuc Phuong Rewilding Action Plan 2026–2035, with a vision to 2050, the initiative aims to transform the park into a natural gene bank capable of supplying wildlife populations to other protected areas nationwide. As part of these efforts, a small-clawed otter was handed over to the park and the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Dakrong commune, central Quang Tri province, for further care and rehabilitation. The growing populations of rhesus macaques and assamese macaques in Lung Cu, Sa Phin, and surrounding areas are seen as a positive sign for biodiversity. However, their increasing presence has also created challenges for local communities whose livelihoods depend on agriculture. Vietnam is advancing initiatives in line with international standards, such as the launch of a trading platform for forest carbon sequestration and storage services and compliance with the EU's Deforestation-free Products Regulation (EUDR), aiming to balance environmental protection with economic growth. These efforts represent crucial steps towards achieving Vietnam's sustainable development goals. The initiatives at Cuc Phuong National Park suggest that wildlife conservation can extend beyond environmental protection to become a driver for regional economic revitalization and a new tourism asset. This can be interpreted as part of Vietnam's efforts under its one-party system to coordinate environmental and economic development policies.