Marine protected area (MPA) is considered as an effective management tool to maintain the sustainability of marine waters and associated economic sectors, such as marine fisheries, tourism and related services. The national system of MPAs planning in Vietnam started in 1998 and was approved by the Government in May 2010. Key coastal and marine ecosystems like coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, nursery and feeding grounds, important habitats of economically valuable species, endemic and threatened species are to be managed in the planned MPAs by 2020. In the planning process, an ecosystembased marine spatial planning (MSP) approach has been applied. The approach has 6 key steps with associated thematic maps used as supportive documents. By using this approach, 6 marine biodiversity zones and 9 high conservation clusters and habitats have been identified in the Vietnamese seas. The conservation potential sites for MPAs have been identified following IUCN criteria with advice from Vietnam’s scientists. Based on the relative range of conservation potentials and MPA site profiles, a representative system of 16 MPAs with high conservative values has been listed and approved by the Prime Minister. It is the first national system of MPAs in Vietnam with 3 main categories: Marine Park, Species and Habitat Protected Area, and Aquatic Natural Resources Preserved Area. Some lessons learnt from the MSP approach application to establish the national system of MPAs in Vietnam are shared in the paper. 

Marine protected area, marine spatial planning, marine biodiversity zone and cluster, ecosystem-based approach