Biodiversity study was carried in three major ecosystems, aquatic, terrestrial and agricultyral ecosystems to evaluate current status and challenges of biodiversity conservation in Hai Duong province in 2013. In this study, 1,033 species of plants and 881 species of animals in the terrestrial ecosystem
314 species of animals and plants in the aquatic ecosystem have been identified. Rare and precious species have been identified including 39 species in the Vietnam Red Book, 28 species in Government Decree No 32/2006, and 88 species in the Red list of threatened animals of IUCN 2011. The results revealed that biodiversity resource in Hai Duong is unevel')!y distributed, the mountainous area being richer in biodiversity than the delta areas. The study also identified 8 hotspots for biodiversity conservation. Finally, major challenges to biodiversity loss were identified such as habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, over-exploitation and climate change, weaknesses in state management and lack of public awareness.