Amid the transformation of the prosperous Pearl Island, Phu Quoc National Park still quietly preserves the soul of the forests and seas of the Southwestern region, where pristine nature becomes the foundation for sustainable development.
A damp dirt road, still holding the night’s dew, leads into the core zone of Phu Quoc National Park. The fresh morning light filters through spaces between leaves, mingling with the whispers of centuries-old forest canopies. The deeper I go into the core zone, the wider the green vault opens above me. This place has no engine noise or human voices, but only the sound of footsteps blending with the calls of forest birds gathering their flocks.
In the distance, the stream murmurs softly. The breeze carries the scent of tree resin mixed with the faint salty taste of the sea, forming a distinctive aroma found only in the forests of an island. The Hopea pierrei trunks rise like centuries-old watchtowers; their roots attach deeply to the red basalt soil; and each grain of wood feels like a trace carved by time. Standing before Phu Quoc forests feels like standing in a vast natural library, where every leaf, rock, and stream is a page of history narrating thousands of years of survival between sea and sky.
Established under Decision No. 91/2001/QD-TTg, Phu Quoc National Park spans more than 31,400 hectares, accounting for over 50% of the island’s total area. Seen from above, the forest resembles a green silk ribbon embracing the Northeastern part of Phu Quoc Island, from mountains and waterfalls to acid-sulfate melaleuca forests, evergreen primeval forests, pristine beaches, and twinkling coral reefs beneath the sea.
Here, forest and sea converge, forming a rare landscape in Viet Nam, where primeval forests face the sea and headwater streams flow through the canopy of giant trees before cascading over the rocky shoreline. Phu Quoc boasts beautiful seas, but according to researchers, the “soul of the island” lies in the ancient forests that have safeguarded the Pearl Island through centuries of windstorms.
Amid the vast open sea, Phu Quoc National Park preserves an astonishingly rich ecosystem. With more than 1,150 species of higher plants, 200 bird species, 50 reptile species, 30 mammal species, and hundreds of aquatic species, coral reefs, and seaweeds, this place is considered a living “gene bank” of the Southwestern region. Mr. Nguyen Van Tiep, Director of Phu Quoc National Park, emphasized, “The Park’s ecosystem remains almost intact. This natural and sustainable preservation of biodiversity provides a crucial foundation for the island’s long-term sustainable development.”
Phu Quoc forests largely retain the structure of pristine tropical moist forests. Lowland evergreen forests stretch across nearly 13,000 hectares, interwoven with melaleuca forests, mangroves, and rocky-mountain forests, creating a rare richness within the island’s rolling hills and mountains. Through research, scientists have discovered numerous endemic plant species found only in Phu Quoc, such as Croton phuquoccencis and Phyllanthus phuquocianus, along with many valuable medicinal plants and forest orchids. These endemic species are likened to “unique genetic duplicates,” containing biological information found nowhere else in the world.
Phu Quoc National Park is also home to long-standing forest inhabitants, including wildlife species such as the silvered langur, long-tailed macaque, Canis alpinus (a rare predatory mammal), and large bat species. Additionally, at the Park, there are around 200 bird species, including sea eagles, various herons and storks, and many forest birds characteristic of the tropical moist region.
The Park is home to 50 reptile species, including various snakes, monitor lizards, Chinese water dragons, freshwater turtles, and sea turtles, which come ashore on Phu Quoc’s beaches to lay eggs. At least nine reptile species are listed in the Red Data Book, classified as endangered or rare due to hunting pressures and habitat loss. Amphibians include around 14–23 species of frogs, toads, and tree frogs recorded in island surveys.
The surrounding sea areas and coral reefs form an important extension of Phu Quoc National Park’s ecosystem. These include 20 species of soft corals, about 100 species of hard corals, and 62 species of seaweeds and marine algae. Marine creatures include hundreds of reef fish species, mollusks (clams, scallops, snails), and crustaceans (shrimp, crabs), many of which have high economic value and support local fishing communities.
In recent years, the Phu Quoc National Park Management Board has effectively carried out forest protection and development as well as biodiversity conservation. These efforts have contributed to improving forest quality and coverage, safeguarding the ecological environment, enhancing watershed protection, and protecting water resources essential to local communities. At the same time, they have helped preserve rare indigenous plant species and the Park’s characteristic ecosystems and habitats.
With joint efforts from local government and the public, Phu Quoc National Park will continue to be a green pearl of Viet Nam’s islands, making a significant contribution to global environmental protection.
Phu Quoc National Park is not only a provincial natural heritage but also an international natural heritage. The Park is part of the Kien Giang World Biosphere Reserve, which was recognized by UNESCO in 2006, thereby enhancing its global value in nature conservation.
Since UNESCO’s recognition, Phu Quoc National Park has become one of the three key core zones of the Kien Giang World Biosphere Reserve, alongside U Minh Thuong National Park and the West Sea Protection Forest. As a core zone, the Park holds three strategic tasks, including protecting characteristic ecosystems from tropical evergreen forests, melaleuca forests, and mangroves to coral reef and seagrass ecosystems. All form a complete ecosystem where numerous endemic and endangered species find safe habitats.
Phu Quoc National Park is organized according to a characteristic model, including the Strictly Protected Zone, preserving the forest in its original state; the Ecological Restoration Zone, aimed at forest and ecosystem rehabilitation; and the Administrative–Service–Research Zone, where ecotourism, education, and scientific research activities take place. This zoning approach harmonizes conservation and development, ensuring a principle of “use without destruction.”
By maintaining connectivity among the core, buffer, and transition zones, Phu Quoc National Park is considered an important “connective hub,” operating ecosystem services such as water source protection, island climate stabilization, coastal erosion prevention, seafood productivity, and the creation of landscapes for ecotourism development.
UNESCO has evaluated Phu Quoc National Park as one of the most intact core zones within the Southeast Asian coastal biosphere reserve system. The connectivity between forests, streams, coastlines, and underwater coral reefs creates a continuous landscape structure, a feature rarely found elsewhere in Viet Nam.
In recent years, as Phu Quoc faces pressure from urbanization and tourism development, Phu Quoc National Park increasingly plays a vital role in safeguarding the island’s foundational ecosystems. Forest management and protection are carried out decisively, scientifically, and continuously. Wildfire prevention and control are maintained proactively, 24/7, throughout the peak period.
In early 2025, amid prolonged drought, Phu Quoc National Park signed fire-prevention and anti-deforestation commitments with more than 1,000 households living near the forest. Dozens of kilometers of firebreaks were constructed to isolate over 410 hectares of grassland from the large timber forest area. As a result, forest fires decreased sharply, with incidents limited to vegetation fires and no damage to natural forests.
Thousands of patrols have also been conducted to prevent forest encroachment and destruction. Many illegal structures have been dismantled, numerous wildlife traps confiscated, and multiple violations handled. These figures reflect the immense efforts of Phu Quoc’s forest protection forces, who protect the island’s forests day and night.
Forest scientific activities implemented in recent years have laid the foundation for sustainable management. The Park has carried out numerous important research projects, such as assessing carbon stock to serve carbon credit markets; surveying invertebrates and mapping endemic plant distribution; building a forest-resource monitoring database; and evaluating the ecological condition of melaleuca forests. These efforts create a critical scientific basis for sustainable forest management in the future and help the Park proactively respond to climate change.
Amid the accelerating pace of tourism development and urbanization, Phu Quoc National Park stands as the ecological shield that protects the natural balance of the Pearl Island. The forest helps regulate the climate, retain water, protect the coastline, store carbon, and serve as the “green lung” sustaining the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents.
Phu Quoc, Viet Nam’s largest island, is likened to a “resort paradise” in the middle of the ocean. Amid the dynamic growth of this modern special maritime economic zone, an untouched Phu Quoc persists, quietly and resiliently preserved in its forest canopies, streams, and centuries-old giant trees.
In early 2025, six ancient trees located deeply within Phu Quoc National Park were officially recognized as Vietnam Heritage Trees by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment. This event is of great significance for the Pearl Island’s sustainable tourism strategy. These giant trees tell thousand-year stories carved by time into their trunks, narratives that extend far beyond history books. Among the six newly recognized trees are two nearly 700-year-old Cyrtophyllum fragrans trees, two Irvingia malayana trees estimated to be around 800 years old, and two about 250-year-old Hopea pierrei trees. All of them stand as witnesses to centuries of historical upheavals, to the lives of early islanders, and to the times when sacred forests were reclaimed to protect the maritime frontiers.
These trees are not found in city centers or along asphalt roads. They stand deep within old-growth forests, where human footprints are still sparse. That is what makes them so uniquely valuable, both embodying biological symbolism and offering potential for nature-based tourism, with their centuries-old giant trunks whispering the stories of the forest.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tiep, Director of Phu Quoc National Park, shared that the recognition of these six heritage trees is the result of years of persistent documentation, surveys, verification, and approval processes. But this is only the initial step. “We are planning to develop specialized heritage-tree trekking routes, combined with environmental education and scientific research. At the same time, we aim to create in-depth ecotourism products that do not chase tourist numbers but focus on experiences and awareness of conservation,” Mr. Tiep said.
For a tree to become a heritage tree, it must survive through centuries, through forest fires, coastal storms, and even the threat of illegal logging for economic gain. Keeping a tree alive for hundreds of years requires the care of many generations. But for a tree to become a living heritage of an entire land, it requires a society with vision. It is essential to patiently preserve each forest, each stream, and each precious species, as these are treasures that cannot be created within short terms.
A heritage tree is not merely a title. It is a promise to the past and a commitment to the future. It reminds us that amid the race for development, we can still choose a path that is both modern and humane, where humans and nature do not exclude one another but coexist and develop together.
Phu Quoc National Park is an ideal destination for nature lovers. Free from noise and excessive commercialization, the Park offers experiences such as forest hiking, stream bathing—“forest bathing,” birdwatching, coral snorkeling, and exploring coastal ecosystems. Ecotourism development here not only provides sustainable livelihoods for local communities but also ties conservation values to the green economy, aligning with the island’s modern development trend.
As the core zone of the Kien Giang World Biosphere Reserve, Phu Quoc National Park serves as the “green heart” and the foundational ecosystem of the entire reserve. Maintaining and promoting this role is not only vital for nature conservation but also forms the basis for the sustainable tourism and socio-economic development of Phu Quoc Island and Kien Giang province, aiming at a model in which nature and people thrive together.
In the context of Phu Quoc’s rapid growth in tourism and the marine economy, protecting the forest is not merely about conserving nature; it is about safeguarding the future. For if the island loses its forests, water sources, coral reefs, endemic species, then Phu Quoc also loses the core value that makes it unique. Development must go hand in hand with conservation. Growth must be accompanied by preservation. The Pearl Island’s green future begins with the forests we protect today.
Phu Quoc National Park stands as a symbol of harmony between people and nature. To protect the forest is to protect life on the island and to preserve its windbreak shield, water resources, and endemic habitats found nowhere else in the world. Every step taken into the forest is a reminder of the responsibility for respecting, protecting, and accompanying nature to ensure a sustainable future for Phu Quoc and the Southwestern sea area.
