The diversity of the Viet Nam?s topography and climate makes its flora and fauna, including birds, abundant and diverse . In the last decade of the 20th century, thanks to efforts in conserving nature and raising people?s environmental knowledge and awareness, many bird sanctuaries have been established and sustained in the whole country. Findings from surveys indicate that 14 percent of [bird] species threateningly extinct or critically endangered to various degrees at the national and international levels is in the Viet Nam?s bird sanctuaries. At present, there are about 50 bird sanctuaries with different area sizes, many of them are of 2-5 ha. The bird sanctuaries have been established and managed spontaneously with different modalities, goals and development ways. Most of them are of smal scale and spontaneously established and managed by several households or by commune government . In general, the management is ineffective, easily leading to ??? disappearance of the bird santuaries. To protect bird sanctuaries, it is necesssary to develop demonstration models of management, conservation and wise use with focus on the community participation, using the bird sanctuaries for environmental education and eco-tourism.

The Chi Lang Nam bird sanctuary is located in Chi Lang Nam commune, Thanh Mien district, Hai Duong province. The richness of species and individuals in the sanctuary prove that it is one of the ideal places for migration birds of the region in winter. The Chi Lang Nam bird sanctuary has become a tourist place of Hai Duong province which is attractive for many interational tourists as well as tourists from other provinces of the country, especially pupils and students,due to limited financial and human resources, despite of their awareness of the importance of the bird island conservation, the local government and relevant authorities have not adequately invested to manage, conserve and reasonably utilize the bird sanctuary?s environment and resources.

The project entitled ?Developing the Chi Lang Nam bird sanctuary to become an environmental education centre?, which was implemented during the years 2002 and 2003. The project key objective was the development of a biodiversity education programme, using Chi Lang Nam bird sanctuary as a real example for schools. Although the project has achieved its given objectives, its impact is still limited due to the project budget and time constraints.

In order to promote the achieved results and to develop a better demonstration model of management, conservation and wise use of the bird sanctuary?s environment and resources, the project needs to continue the following activities:
? Steping up environmental education in the schools of Hai Duong province; intensifying the use of mass media such as television and the Environmental Education Centre in environmental education activities and ecotourism promotion; and educating communities and tourists on the environmental protection in the bird sanctuary, developing the bird sanctuary to become an environmental education place for Hai Duong province.
? Implementing environmental education for community of the Chi Lang Nam commune through building and strengthening management, protection and education capacities of the bird sanctuary?s management board, schools and people?s organisations in the commune; developing environmental sanitation models in the community to contribute to minimizing bird sanctuary?s environmental pollution; strengthening education task on bird sanctuary?s environmental protection in the community.
? Experimenting and summarizing lessons learnt from the demonstration model of management, conservation and wise use of the bird sanctuary?s environment at the commune government level. The suggested activities are:
o Developing procedures and action plans on management, conservation and utilization of the bird sanctuary;
o Strenthening capacity in the bird sanctuary?s management, conservation and utilization of local regions participating in the project;
o Strengthening and expanding [the bird sanctuary?], solving environmental problems to protect the bird sanctuary; using the bird sanctuary for environmental education puposes for communities and tourists;
o Developing ecotourism, contributing to job creation, local economic development and investment in the bird sanctuary?s environment protection and management.