National Park to build 1.2 million USD irrigation work

The project will include a 10.2 sq.km reservoir and a dyke system to prevent landslides into the Serepok river which runs through the park.

The work, expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2008, will supply water for local people and their rice fields as well as help improve the environment for the area.

The Yok Don National Park, located 45 km north-west of Buon Ma Thuot city of Dak Lak province, is the largest national park of Viet Nam with 58,000 ha of forest. It is home to various animals and birds, and many of them are endangered, such as Asian elephants, gaurs, tigers, white-winged wood ducks, black-necked storks and others.

There are 17 ethnic groups living in the surrounding areas, and the largest is the M'nong community.