ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the application of the ecosystem approach for restoring the diversity of wetland habitats within Tram Chim National Park (TCNP), a remnant wetland of the Plain of Reeds in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The fire and water strategy was designed around a combination of appropriate water level management and fire risk management measures which would allow the recovery of some of the original habitats in the Plain of Reeds. The original Plain of Reeds was a floodplain of the Mekong river having no artificial canals and was covered with a thick mat of vegetation and scattered Melaleuca forest. Tram Chim National Park has a high incidence of unplanned fires. Other impacts included deterioration of water quality as decomposition and the water-borne removal of organic matters were significantly reduced by the high dykes. Wetland hydroloperiods generally exert a major control on vegetation species and their distribution.
