The park was the first wetland area to be announced a Ramsar site in south-east Asia and is internationally significant as a migratory bird habitat.

The area has a long history of wet rice cultivation as well as dike construction and land reclamation'[6] Giao Thuy district lies in the tropical monsoon region, which has two distinct seasons.

[7] Xuân Thủy National Park is a staging and wintering area for shorebirds, gulls and waterfowl in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta.

The total number of black-faced spoonbill in the world are about 1000, it shows that 5% of the whole population of the species are living in Xuân Thủy National Park during the winter season.

These include species of otter, endangered cetaceans such as Chinese white dolphins, finless porpoise, and rorqual whales.

The mangrove forest helps stabilizing the alluvial soil as well as functioning as flood protection and playing an important role in different biochemical cycles.

Most of the areas in Bai Trong and Con Ngan, Xuân Thủy's buffer zone, have been divided into ponds to raise shrimps and crabs.

Also, the National Park has the task to raise awareness in the communities of the Buffer Zone to care about the environment and to protect it on a long-term basis.

To achieve this goal, the National Park started some educational activities which include annual lessons in nine local secondary schools.

Since it is a very important natural site in Southeast Asia, Xuân Thủy National Park has been subject to many both Vietnamese and international scientific researches.

According to the National Park, there have been written more than 10 PhD theses, tens of master and hundreds of research papers by students from over 30 Vietnamese universities.

While this economic field has therefore reached its capacities, the second most important one still is seen to have a high potential: In 2007, fisheries came up for 36.1% of a family's income, there were 1,800 hectare of aquaculture ponds in the Buffer Zone.

With the annual growth rate of the marine business being 14.9%, this sector is in fast expansion and is seen to have a higher economic turnover than traditional agriculture.

As the water quality is endangered, it can be seen that some aquacultural ponds stop making any profit after some years and put the owner into a very difficult financial situation.

[12] Husbandry makes up 10% of the annual income, it can improve the daily life of inhabitants and produce organic fertilizer needed for agricultural activities.

New industries and techniques belonging to the sector of services and trade meet a high demand and have a big potential for the future, now making up only 14.6% of the average income.

The field of industry and handicraft is underdeveloped and only responsible for 5%; the reasons for this can be found in missing education and a poor material base.

The general rate of unemployment declined from 8.26% to 6.51% in the period from 2001 to 2005, but since 96.8% of all residents in the Buffer Zone grow their own rice, a high number of workers depends on the agricultural season.

The low living standard and infrastructure also can be seen as the reason for the unstable and spontaneous production and the missing knowledge and experience of market business, which also causes economic difficulties.

To reduce the pressure on the National Park and lower the level of poverty which still lies between 10 and 15%, alternative livelihoods must be created and supported.

The goal of gaining awareness on ecological issues and creating a sustainable development mainly is tried to reach by technology support.

The transfer of technology to the local population includes the teaching of techniques to grow mushrooms, keep bees and maintain extensive shrimp farms.

In November 2010 the project is an important employment possibility between the harvests, now being the Xuân Thủy National Park Mushroom and service cooperation it also has an improved legal status.

A group was created which now according to the National Park can work more effectively together, thereby increasing the number of bee cages and honey production and gaining a higher income.

Since institutional arrangements were unclear, the National Park was not able to implement monitoring activities which could have helped stopping over-exploitation quickly.

A new office including different function rooms and a natural museum was built and can now meet the given demand for infrastructural and technical capacities.

Now there are not only 20 people working in the office, the staff also participates regularly in workshops and training programs to improve their skills in fields of environmental education, ecotourism and community development.

The ongoing task of strengthening its institutional capacity is very important for the National Park, for example there is still the need to know about the land use rights in the area to have basic information which then can be used to manage the given resources and activities.