Cham Islands launch project to restore seagrass as ecological 'diamond mine'

CHAM ISLANDS, Vietnam – For two hours at a time, ecologist Trần Thị Phương Thảo and her six-member scuba team descend into the waters off the Cham Islands, quietly checking the seagrass beds that shelter marine life and help protect one of Vietnam's most valuable coastal ecosystems. Their work is part of a pilot programme on seagrass restoration and livelihood improvements in the Cham Islands Nature Reserve, funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam, marking a significant step in nature management nearly two decades after the area was recognised as a UNESCO world biosphere reserve site.

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The scuba-based monitoring, established by the management board of the Cham Islands Marine Protected Area in 2016 to assess the ecosystem annually, has gradually become one of the most important factors in boosting biodiversity in the reserve. Thảo explains that seagrass beds shelter various aquatic species, including endangered sea turtles and fish, while stabilising the seabed and reducing erosion, also serving as an effective carbon store at sea that helps address global climate change. Seven sites have been marked for annual checks, with the waters off Bắc and Nần beaches representing the two largest seagrass areas, while Hương and Ông beaches have been badly impacted by intensive use of speedboats, booming tourism, and infrastructure construction projects.

Four seagrass species – Halophila major, Halophila decipiens, Halodule pinifolia and Cymodocea rotundata – were recorded living in the waters following a research report by Vietnamese scientists in 2004, though a fifth species, Halodule uninervis, has yet to be found in the area. Vietnamese researchers have reported that between 14 and 16 seagrass species are recorded in Vietnam, making the country the third largest seagrass ecosystem in the world after Australia and the Philippines. Scientific research from 2004 reported that the Cham Islands had 50 hectares of seagrass, but that figure dropped to 17 hectares in 2017, and Thảo notes that seagrass coverage has deteriorated significantly since 2021, with an average coverage rate of between 9.2 and 14.5 percent.

The degradation at some key sites could result from an unstable seabed environment, fluctuations in water flow, sediment deposition, pollution, boat docking, and coastal fishing. Thảo acknowledges that awareness of the important role of seagrass in the marine ecological system on the Cham Islands remains limited, but notes that seagrass has yet to be exploited as a tourism product, so it naturally remains growing and simply needs strict protection and a designated zone for long-term conservation. Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thúy, director of the Ocean Plastic Reduction Programme at WWF-Vietnam, says the Cham Islands Nature Reserve is seen as a pioneer in boosting biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvements in Vietnam, implementing a multi-sector approach in nature management from land to sea through waste management, annual seagrass monitoring and restoration, building a resilient environment against climate change, connecting coastal corridors, and developing the seagrass ecosystem.

Lê Vĩnh Thuận, deputy director of the nature reserve, says the seagrass restoration programme will potentially benefit from the carbon credit trade, as seagrass fields provide a safe home for millions of aquatic species while offering an effective protective solution in responding to global climate change, with seagrass and coral reefs linked with wetlands creating an important ecological corridor for the estuarine and ocean environments in the Hội An-Cham Islands world biosphere reserve. Tradable carbon credits from seagrass conservation offer future development potential for the reserve, as the ecosystem plays a role in supporting sustainable livelihoods for local communities on the islands and in the lower basin region. The WWF-Vietnam-funded programme is deemed the initial step towards building a major carbon store via seagrass restoration and conservation for the Cham Islands, benefiting the local community.

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The Cham Islands aim to become the first zero-waste and plastic-free tourism destination in Vietnam by launching various programmes addressing littering, fishing, plastic bag use, marine waste, and biodegradable packaging, according to Huỳnh Thị Thùy Hương from the reserve's communications department. Ecologist Thảo expresses hope that the reserve can fully restore 50 hectares of seagrass meadows as an ecological diamond mine at sea for better island livelihoods and as the foundation for long-term nature protection, reinforcing the commitment to preserving this underwater treasure for generations to come.