The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) earlier this week recognized a natural reserve in the Central Highlands of Vietnam as a new World Biosphere Reserve.

The recognition of Lang Biang natural reserve, located near Da Lat, was announced at the 27th Session of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program International Coordinating Council on Tuesday, bringing the total number of recognized biosphere reserve sites in Vietnam to nine.

The reserve is named after the mountain which is located inside it. The name of the mountain, situated around 12 kilometers from Da Lat, takes root from a romantic story between Lang and Biang, two people of the K 'Ho minority group which has resided there for centuries.

Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve, covering a total area of about 275,440 hectares, hosts rich biodiversity including many threatened species, UNESCO said in a press release after the recognition.

The area retains the typical value of biodiversity, diverse natural landscapes blended with the unique culture of the region, including the gong culture, recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005.

The newly recognized biosphere reserve includes one large primeval forest area with a core zone in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, which is rated as one of four centers of biodiversity in Vietnam.

Local and international scientists noted this area is home to 153 species in the Vietnam Red Book and 154 species listed on the Red List of the Switzerland-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The core area will create a biodiversity corridor, maintaining the integrity of 14 tropical ecosystems and the habitat of many species of wildlife, UNESCO said.

Switzerland-headquartered World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has also identified this as a prioritized conservation area under its Annamites Ecoregion conservation program.

Secretary General of Vietnam's National Commission for UNESCO Pham Sanh Chau told government website chinhphu.vn that the recognition is the result of the positive contributions by Vietnam in the implementation of its commitments to join the global effort in biodiversity conservation for sustainable development.

Other world biospheres recognized by UNESCO in Vietnam include the Can Gio Mangroves, some 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City; Cat Ba Island off the northern city of Hai Phong; and the Cu Lao Cham Marine Park off the coast of Hoi An, according to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper. On Tuesday, 20 new sites were added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during the same session of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program International Coordinating Council, taking the total number to 651 sites, including 15 trans-boundary sites, in 120 countries. The Man and the Biosphere Program is an intergovernmental scientific program set up by UNESCO in the early 1970s with the aim of improving the interaction between people and their natural environment on a global scale.

Biosphere reserves are places for learning about sustainable development, intended to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with the sustainable use of natural resources, said UNESCO.

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