page_title: Cu Lao Cham Marine Park
section_title: Biodiversity
hierarchical_section_title: Cu Lao Cham Marine Park / Biodiversity
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Chamba Island, Vietnam
context_page_description: Cu Lao Cham Marine Park also known as Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve is part of the eight islets of the Chàm Islands, located in the South China Sea under the administration of Tân Hiệp Commune and Hội An town, in Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The terrestrial and coastal ecosystems of the islands have been recognized as a global Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO on 26 May 2009 under its 'Man and the Biosphere Programme' for its rich biodiversity value.
  The eco system also includes the ancient Hội An, which is 20 kilometres away from the islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  The Biosphere reserve area covers 5,000 hectares including 165 hectares of coral reefs and 500 hectares of underwater plant life. 947 aquatic species have also been identified in the biosphere.
context_section_description: The rich biodiversity of the islands comprise both terrestrial and aquatic marine ecosystem.
  Terrestrial
  The major terrestrial ecosystem components are: "the seagrass beds, seaweeds, coral reefs, mangroves, tropical rainforests and others" and the major habitats are "Forest, sea beaches, rocky hills and mountains, rice and other cultivation, grass fields and others".
  The terrestrial resources consist of the traditional resources extracted from the islands by the Cham people of the islands. These comprise rice farming, trading in pepper, cinnamon bark, ivory and wood for trading with neighbouring countries, accessed through the port of Hoi An.
  The most important terrestrial fauna of the islands are the salanganes, also called swallows, whose nests have been a source of revenue to the local people. These are a delicacy, favoured by the rich and the famous for the popular Chinese dish known as birds nest soup. On a clear day, on the hills of the islands, the nests and nest harvesters can be seen interacting. The swallow nest harvesting is an industry in the islands, which provides important revenue to the state. The annual Swallow harvest is reported to be about 1.4 tonnes, valued at US$4,000 per kilogram.
  Aquatic
  The aquatic system is composed of 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of seaweed algae, marine algae and sea grass. With its165 hectares (410 acres) of coral and sea creatures, the island is known as a "kingdom of aquatic animals". The coral species identified are 135. The algae and sea grass species number. The fish fauna has been recorded as 202 species, in addition to 4 species of lobster and 84 species of molluscs. Coral and shoals of colourful fish are seen in the clear fresh water zones. Some of these species are listed in the Vietnam's and the World's Red Book of Endangered Species. Medicinal plants have also been inventoried on the islands.
caption: Rich biodiversity of the aquatic ecosystem
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A700", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2006:08:03 08:49:59", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5108", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2569", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:08:03 08:49:59", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:08:03 08:49:59", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "319/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "107/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "88", "EXIF FocalLength": "1042/125", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2816", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2112", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "2816", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "2112", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2824", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "112640/9", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2112000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}