(VOVworld) - A more than 100- year old banyan tree in the central province of Binh Dinh has been certificated as a Vietnamese Heritage Tree by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment. A ceremony to announce the status was held in Hoai An district this week.

The ancient banyan is over 30 meters in height and 10 meters in diameter. In 2011 the association launched a program to conserve Vietnam’s Heritage Trees, aiming to select and honor the country’s heritage trees in a bid to conserve their gene sources, while raising public awareness of protecting the environment.  The number of recognized Heritage Trees is currently around 970.