SUMARRY

Application of Karst Disturbance Index in the Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng National Park: Implications for management and conservation natural resources

Vũ Thị Minh Nguyệt, Tống Phúc Tuấn,

Nguyễn Thị Thảo, Trần Thị Nhung, Nguyễn Minh Quảng

Karst is a special type of landscape and plays as an importal resources of economic, scientific, religious, aestheric and educational values. This landscape is especially disturbedand vulnerable due to human activities. Karst disturbance index (KDI) has been applied in karst areas to evaluate disturbance of human activities and to provide information for management and protection karst landscape. KDI was first applied in a modified version in the Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng National Park. To evaluate the levels of human disturbance in the Park, a set of 27 environment indicators was created and divided into five categories for geomorphology, hydrology, atmosphere, biota and cultural. GIS calculated KDI values range from 0.12 to 0.4, classifying the area as pristine and little disturbance. Indicators scoring high values for disturbance were indicated which provide a basic for decision-maker to enable the implementation of effective and apropritate actions to conserve karst landscape in the Park. This work is a good starting point for application KDI method to other karst areas in Vietnam to better management practices and also to provide information for comparision the level of landscape conservation of the karst areas in Vietnam and around the world.

Keywords: Karst Disturbance Index, environment indicators, karst landscape conservation, human activities, Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng.