Since 1993, Spekul and the BVKCA, together with our Vietnamese colleagues from VIGMR (Vietnam Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources), explore the underground in Northwest Vietnam. Nine expeditions have taken place, each about one month in length. From 1998 to 2010, the expeditions were embedded in the VIBEKAP-development-project.
The detailed inventory of the cave systems and underground water courses has generated valuable data for the research project. Since recently, we collaborate in a new development project on the improvement of water management in the Dong Van – Meo Vac karst districts (Ha Giang Province), which gives us, together with the VIGMR, the opportunity to continue the underground exploration in North Vietnam.
Over the years, work has been done in different provinces of NW Vietnam. In the 1993 and 1995 expeditions, the Son La province has been surveyed. In 1997, exploration was done further to the north in the Lai Chau province. The expeditions of 2000, 2001 and 2002 focused on Son La, Thuan Chau (Son La province), Tua Chua, Tam Duong (Lai Chau province) and Sin Ho. During the seventh and eight expeditions (2003-2004 and 2005-2006), the northernmost region along the Chinese border (Ha Giang province) has been thoroughly investigated together with three other areas in other districts: Tan Lac (Hoa Binh province), Ba Be (Bac Kan province) and Thac Ba (Yen Bai province). In 2009-2010 expeditions we worked in the provinces Son La, La Chau and Ha Giang.
Since 2010 spekul is involved in KaWaTech-project from the KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technlogy) where spekul is responsible for the underground activities. The KaWaTech project is a German-Vietnamese project: “Sustainable Technologies for karst water resources managment in karst regions of Northern Vietnam”. The aim of the project is to develop a sustainable water supply for the region of Dong Van Karst Plateau (2013-2016). An extention of the project is currently under development.
Caving Expeditions in Vietnam
Vietnam has well over 60.000 square kilometres of exposed karst, most of that being located in the north of the country. One of the most important areas is the north-western Bacbo region. This region extends from the border with China to the seacoast of Bacbo gulf in the Southeast over a length of about 400 km and a width ranging from 10 km to 40 km. The deepest cave in Vietnam and Southeast Asia is Cong Nuoc, -600m deep and located in Lai Chau province.
The Belgian – Vietnamese caving expeditions concentrate on the provinces of Son La, Lai Chau, Ha Giang and Cao Bang in North Vietnam.
This picture gives an overview of the kast areas in Vietnam.
We worked in the provinces of Lai Chau, Son La, Ha Giang and Cao Bang
Results of the 1993 – 2004 Caving expeditions:
Detailed cave descriptions per explored area: (updated till 2002 expedition)
| Area | Name/Link |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nog niet beschikbaar |
| 2 | Nam Khum |
| 3 | Bom Bay |
| 4 | Ban Thong |
| 5 | Ban Bon |
| 6 | Ban Phe |
| 7 | Mai Son |
| 8 | Nog niet beschikbaar |
| 9 | Phong Lai |
| 10 | Pu Nhung |
| 11 | Chieng Ban |
| 12 | Sang Nhe |
| 13 | Tua Thang |
| 14 | Tua Phinh |
| 15 | Huoi So |
| 16 | Quynh Nhai |
| 17 | Muong Trai |
| 18 | Sung Phai |
| 19 | Lan Nhi Thang |
| 20 | Tam Duong |
| 21 | Ban Hon |
| 22 | Bin Lu |
| 23 | Nung Nang |
| 24 | Nam Loong |
| 25 | Chieu Sai Pin |
| 26 | Sin Chai |
| 27 | Ban Giang |
| 28 | Muong Xo |
| 29 | Phan Xui Lin |
| 30 | Ta Ngao |
| 31 | Tan Lac |
| 32 | Ba Be |
| 33 | Dong Van |
| 34 | Pho Bang |
| 35 | Meo Vac N |
| 36 | Meo Vac E |
| 37 | Meo Vac W |
| 38 | Yen Minh N |
| xx | Moc Chau |
| xy | Nam Phe |
Vietnamese entertainment in California: Miss Vietnam, Vietnamese popsongs, …
Expedition reports (as pdf available):
- Dusar, M., Masschelein , J., Phan Cu Tien, Do Tuyet, 1994. Belgian Vietnamese speleological Expedition Son La, 1993. Professional Paper of the Belgian Geological Survey, 1994/4, no. 271, 60 p.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 1996. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition Son La, 1995-1996. Cave Investigation, a Start for Research on Sustainable Development, 63 p.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 1998. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition Son La 1997-1998. Report on the Third Expedition in the Northern Provinces of Son La and Lai Chau, 68 p.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 2000. Belgian-Vietnamese speleological expedition 2000. Report of the Fourth Expedition in the Provinces of Son La and Lai Chau, 51 p. + addendum.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 2001. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition 2001. Report of the Fifth Expedition in the Provinces of Son La and Lai Chau, 55 p. + addendum.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 2004. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition 2002. Report of the Sixth Expedition in the Province of Lai Chau, 45 p. With addendum.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 2005. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition 2003 – 2004. Report of the Seventh Expedition in the Provinces (District) of Hoa Binh (Tan Lac), Bac Kan (Ba Be) and Ha Giang (Dong Van and Meo Vac), 58 p.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 2006. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition 2005 – 2006. Report of the Eighth Expedition in the Provinces of Ha Giang and Yen Bai. 82 p.
- SPEKUL, RIGMR & BVKCA, 2016. Belgian-Vietnamese Speleological Expedition 2009 – 2010. Report of the Ninth Expedition in the Provinces of Son La, Lai Chau and Ha Giang and. xx p.
An overview of all the expeditions has been published in the series: Berliner Höhlenkundliche Berichte.
J. Masschelein, V. Coessens, D. Lagrou, M. Dusar & Tran Tan Van (eds.). 2007. Northern Vietnam, 1993 – 2006 (Belgian-Vietnamese speleological projects in the provinces of Bac Kan, Ha Giang, Hoa Binh, Lai Chau and Son La). Berliner Höhlenkundliche Berichte 22, 212 p.
Lagrou D., Klingel P., Kunze M., Chung H. T., Oberle P., Nestmann F., Van T. T. and De Bontridder L. (2011). From speleological exploration to sustainable Karst water management in Northern Vietnam. In: International Symposium Karst Research, Challenges for the XXIst century, Brussels, Sept 30 – Oct 01, 2011.
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