The administration of Dong Thap Province in southern Vietnam announced on Wednesday that it had passed a plan to raise and conserve red-crowned cranes at Tram Chim National Park, at a cost of nearly VND185 billion (US$7.577 million).

This Mekong Delta province will hold a seminar and announce the plan on December 14, the provincial People’s Committee’s chief of office Nguyen Phi Da told a press briefing on Wednesday.

The number of cranes set to be transported to Vietnam from Thailand this year remains unknown, as the province is waiting for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct procedures for importing wild animals into Vietnam, Da said.

Crane captive breeding programs always draw public attention as the birds are considered wild animals, Da elaborated and added that the plan will draw on the success of a similar project in Thailand.

According to the approved plan, 100 red-crowned cranes will be bred in captivity during the 2022-32 period, with at least 50 of them able to survive in their natural habitat at the national park, located in Tam Nong District.

From now until 2028, the province will renovate the natural habitat at the national park to house and take care of 30 six-month-old cranes from Thailand. 

The province will receive an additional 30 six-month-old cranes from Thailand between 2029 and 2032, during which some 40 cranes will be bred.

The whole scheme will require close to VND185 billion in investment.

Of the total, nearly VND56 billion ($2.293 million) will be used for receiving, providing care, and handling captive breeding issues linked to the cranes; some VND25 billion ($1 million) will serve the restoration of their natural habitat; VND36 billion ($1.4 million) for developing a sustainable agricultural production project; VND17 billion ($696,000) for marketing activities; and some VND52 billion ($2.1 million) for developing infrastructure facilities.

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