Field study in Thua Thien Hue province

Provincial Overview

Thua Thien Hue Province is located in central Vietnam, has an area of 5,053 km² and is divided into nine administrative districts. Lao PDR borders the province along the Truong Son mountain range to the west and there is 120 km of coastline to the east.

Population
The population of the province is just over 1 million people, with 300,000 thousand residing in or around the capital city Hue. The majority of the population resides on the coastal plain, in a band of populated areas all within roughly 25 km of the coast. Most of the interior of the province has a population density of less than 50 persons per km². There are 24 different ethnic groups including the Ta Oi, Ca Tu and Van Kieu, the majority being Kinh, the main Vietnamese ethnic group.

Population density (persons / km²)

	0 to 50		400 to 600
	50 to 100		600 to 1,000
	100 to 200		1,000 to 30,000
	200 to 400

 

Gross Domestic Product
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province at current prices in 2000 was approximately $240 million yielding a GDP per capita of approximately $230/person at market prices.

Infrastructure
Much of the infrastructure and industry in the province lies in the coastal plain. The main north-south highway and railway line linking Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh pass through Hue city and effectively bisect the province. Additional road access is provided to the district centres, including a road to A Luoi, the relatively isolated westernmost district, that drains to the Mekong River (instead of directly to the sea). The province is also served by the Phu Bai airport, which permits daily flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh as well as other domestic destinations.

Land Use
The coast line is dominated by the presence of coastal lagoons. In the coastal plain the dominant land use is for agriculture, being primarily paddy rice. Forestry and livestock predominate in the remaining lowland areas of the province. The forests and protected areas lie more in the mountainous interior of the province.

Population density (persons / km²)

	Forest land		Water body
	Plantation		Agriculture
	Non-forest (grassland, shrubland)		Settlement
	Rocky area

Protected Areas
The current and proposed protected areas in Thua Thien Hue province include both Special Use Forests and proposed marine protected areas, as follows:

• Bach Ma National Park: 22,300 hectares;
• Phong Dien Nature Reserve: (approved in 2001) 41,548 hectares;
  
• Bac Hai Van National Park: a proposed Cultural and Historical Site of 14,500 hectares;
• Tam Giang and Cau Hai Lagoons: proposed wetland protected areas of almost 25,000 hectares.
  

In addition, there are a number of extensive areas and smaller patches of forest designated as Watershed Protection Forest (including both watershed, coastal and wind protection forest). These total 143,162 hectares which is about 28% of the province. Altogether 44% of the province’s area is in terrestrial protected areas and would cover half of the area if the proposed marine protected areas are included as well.

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Review of protected areas and their role in socio-economic development
in the four countries of the lower Mekong River region

page updated: 18/05/02