Located in the southernmost part of the country, Ca Mau Cape Biosphere Reserve covers an area of roughly 371,000 ha which is divided into 03 zones, namely: core zone, buffer zone and transient zone. This special area has diverse a landscape and ecosystem, including mangrove ecosystems, mudflats, wetland, marine ecosystems, etc., storing rich biological and geological resources of high conservation value. At the same time, this area is of particular importance in mitigating climate change and sea level rise. It has many potentials and advantages to develop tourism and marine economy. Besides, it has an important position in terms of national defence and security in the common defence posture of Ca Mau province and Military Region 9.

Topographically, the Biosphere Reserve was formed by the two North - South and West – South ocean currents carrying alluvium from the Mekong River system, creating alluvial deposition areas, forming large alluvial flats which are still expanding every year, making it an invaluable and rare natural reserve in the world. The flora of the reserve consists of about 22 species of mangroves. These are typical trees, with special root systems, capable of preventing erosion and forming large coastal protective forests. According to studies, the mangrove system here ranks second in the world in terms of biodiversity, only after the Amazon mangroves in South America. As far as the fauna concerns, the reserve is home to 13 species of mammals, some of which are listed in the World Red Book (IUCN and the Vietnam Red Book; about 74 species of bird; 17 species of reptiles; 05 species of amphibians; 14 species of shrimp; and about 175 species of fish, etc.  Thanks to its diverse and rich natural ecosystem with biological resources, geological resources of high conservation value and results in environmental management and protection, in 2009, Ca Mau Cape was recognised as a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). In 2013, Ca Mau Cape National Park, which is in the core zone of the Biosphere Reserve, was recognised as the world's Ramsar site, making an important contribution to the conservation of biodiversity of the wetland ecosystem and human values for sustainable development.

Leveraging these particular advantages, the province of Ca Mau has been making a lot of investments in all aspects in a bid to develop tourism and marine economy of the Biosphere Reserve into a "bright spot" of the Mekong Delta and the whole country. To that end, the province focuses on developing tourism economy, especially eco-tourism; expanding the scale of aquaculture, exploitation and processing of aquatic products and seafood, in order to bring about a stable source of income for people in the region; protecting the environment, preserving and promoting the biodiversity values of the natural ecosystem in association with preserving the cultural identity of the wetland; maintaining the coverage of the forests, ensuring the integrity and natural bonds between inland and marine ecosystems; fostering green and sustainable economic growth, contributing to consolidating and strengthening the all-people defence posture in association with the people's security posture in the distinctive region of the South.

CAO VUONG