A group of biologists have spent days trailing a troop of primates inKon Ka Kinh National Park, before they eventually caught up with about30 gray-shanked douc langurs having an afternoon meal in the treetopssome 30 metres above the ground.
"I was lucky.Those endangered primates are so afraid of humans, they will run fromanything that may threaten them," explained Tran Huu Vy, director of theBiodiversity Conservation Centre - GreenViet. "The existence of such acrowd of langurs is evidence of over effective environmental protectionand the park's rich biodiversity," he said.
The42,000-ha Kon Ka Kinh National Park in the Central Highlands province ofGia Lai has been a safe haven for about 250 gray-shanked douc langurs(pygathrix cinerea) - the world's largest troop living in the centralregion of Vietnam.
Vy and his German colleaguesfrom the Frankfurt Zoological Society's Vietnam Primate ConservationProgramme have pursued a long-term conservation, protection andeducation programme on the gray-shanked douc langur in the park since2006.
Experts of Conservation Programme now saythe park is home to around 1,000 gray-shanked doucs spread across fiveprovinces, including Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Kon Tum and GiaLai. Currently, Gia Lai's Kon Ka Kinh Park preserves the largest numberof langurs.
"We counted 250 langurs living inthe park. We also found species of the most endangered primates livingin the park, including three kinds of monkey (Macaca leonia, Macacaartoides and Macara mulatta), two species of loris (Nycticebusbengalensis and Nycticebus pygmaeus) and gibbons (Nomascus leucogienysleucogienys)," Vy said.
The gray-shanked douclangur is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUNC) Red List as one of the world's 25 critically endangered primates.
Ha Thang Long, head of the representative officeof the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Vietnam, who is an authority ongray-shanked douc studies, began the conservation programme to protectthe primate species in 2006.
"Langurs can onlybe seen in the central region of Vietnam, and Kon Ka Kinh Park conservesthe largest number of endangered primates in the country," Long said."This is why the Frankfurt Zoological Society has come to protect thegray-shanked doucs and the park's rich biodiversity."
He said the Society's conservation programme has provided funding tosupport rangers in the park since 2010. "We have joined hands with localadministrations and the park to raise awareness among local people ofthe importance of forest and langur protection. We have also hostedfield training courses for nearly 200 students from Da Nang's TeachersCollege since 2006, in an effort to educate younger generations," thebiologist said.
Long, 37, said the educationprogramme for college students will help spread awareness ofenvironmental protection of the most endangered primates acrossgenerations. In fact, many students from the programme have pursued thestudy and protection of the doucs.
Nguyen ThiTinh, 30, who joined the first field training course, has continuedflora studies in Kon Ka Kinh Park with the Frankfurt Zoological Society."I have been going on flora studies since I attended the first trainingcourse for students," Tinh said.
"Thebiodiversity of the 42,000-ha reserve, of which tropical evergreenforest covers 2,000ha, supplies enough food for langurs and otherprimates. The park's flora shelters primates, while langurs scatterseeds with their movement," she said.
Multiple threats
The park's ranger Nguyen Van Truong says hunting has been a majorproblem for gray-shanked doucs, but the impact of human activity onhabitats will lead to the extinction of the most endangered species."They and other primate species are hunted for meat and use intraditional medicines. Their bones are used to make glue to treat lowappetites, insomnia, and anemia," Truong said.
"Despite local people regularly being in the park, we are yet to find acase of langurs being hunted in the area. Local people have been warnedvia the education programme from the park and the Frankfurt ZoologicalSociety," he said.
Vice Director of Kon Ka KinhPark Ngo Van Thang said locals living in buffer zones also benefit fromthe forest protection programme. "Villagers can increase their incomefrom forest protection, so they abstain from farming and hunting in theforest. They are assigned to protect 8,000ha of land in the park at acost of 200,000 VND per ha each year," Thang said. "Monthly legaleducation and communication efforts among ethnic communities have helpedraise awareness among local people."
DinhDuong, 45, and part of the ethnic Ba Na group, said hunting in the areahad decreased as local people gradually recognised the importance ofprotection. "Most of villagers now can earn quite a good income frommasonry, afforestation and forest protection. They sometimes also gogathering honey, mushrooms and bamboo shoots," he said. "Some villagersstill trap little animals like squirrels and weasels for meat. However,the constant patrols of forest rangers in the park also limit theillegal hunting."
Duong, who has spent 30years patroling the forest, says the park is still well preservedbecause it is located in tough terrain, 1,300m above sea level. "I canspot monkeys, loris, wild boar or bears in the forest; but rarelygray-shanked douc langurs," he said.
Duong isthe most experienced in tracking langurs, helping experts from theFrankfurt Zoological Society research the endangered primates."Protecting the park and endangered primates from extinction requires along term plan and support for local people, who still make huge profitsfrom illegal logging, hunting and over exploitation of honey, mushroomsand medicinal herbs," he warned.
The FrankfurtZoological Society enables protection of the park by providing educationfor biology faculty students from Da Nang Teachers College. Field tripsto Kon Ka Kinh Park have run in the past eight years, to give workexperience to second year and final-year students.
"They will continue researching on the biodiversity or helpcommunicate the importance of nature conservation to youngergenerations," said Long, head of the Society representative office. "Thefield trip aims to raise awareness of endangered primates at the parkand educate students on how to protect them."
The programme has provided park rangers with facilities and funding fortighter control and protection of the primates. "Rangers receive anallowance and equipment for long patrols every week while they trail theendangered animals and prevent poaching," Long said.
The park's Centre for Education and Environment, together with theFrankfurt Zoological Society, has also held conservation modules atseven junior secondary schools on the park's buffer zone.
"Leaflets and painting contests with nature topics is organisedregularly for local students. It gradually provides basic forestknowledge for kids," said the centre's vice director, Dinh Khanh Toan.
Tran Ngoc Son, a lecturer at Da Nang's TeachersCollege, said field trips had helped students build up practicalknowledge for further study, but also provided students with reallife-skills.
Quynh Trang, 20, the second yearstudent of biology faculty at the college, says she leant much fromfield trip to Kon Ka Kinh park. "It's great. I have seen a group oflangurs for the first ever time. I and my friends from college just sawthose (langurs) through pictures or paintings," Trang said. "Weacknowledge the importance of nature protection and endangered speciesin the park. I would like to spread the message of environmentalprotection and primate conservation to younger generations when I becomea teacher."
GreenViet director said his centreplans to a plantation project to transform the lives of local peopleliving in the park's buffer zone. "We have been seeking funding for theproject. Local people can change their crops to profitable Indian Laurel(litsea glutinosa) trees which could earn 30 million VND (1,400 USD)per ha each year from their wood, bark and leaf," Vy elaborated.
"We're aiming to support 1,000 people in Bong Bim in the first stagebefore the project in neighbouring villages," he said, adding that theproject will help local people abstain from illegal hunting or loggingin the park.-VNA
"I was lucky.Those endangered primates are so afraid of humans, they will run fromanything that may threaten them," explained Tran Huu Vy, director of theBiodiversity Conservation Centre - GreenViet. "The existence of such acrowd of langurs is evidence of over effective environmental protectionand the park's rich biodiversity," he said.
The42,000-ha Kon Ka Kinh National Park in the Central Highlands province ofGia Lai has been a safe haven for about 250 gray-shanked douc langurs(pygathrix cinerea) - the world's largest troop living in the centralregion of Vietnam.
Vy and his German colleaguesfrom the Frankfurt Zoological Society's Vietnam Primate ConservationProgramme have pursued a long-term conservation, protection andeducation programme on the gray-shanked douc langur in the park since2006.
Experts of Conservation Programme now saythe park is home to around 1,000 gray-shanked doucs spread across fiveprovinces, including Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Kon Tum and GiaLai. Currently, Gia Lai's Kon Ka Kinh Park preserves the largest numberof langurs.
"We counted 250 langurs living inthe park. We also found species of the most endangered primates livingin the park, including three kinds of monkey (Macaca leonia, Macacaartoides and Macara mulatta), two species of loris (Nycticebusbengalensis and Nycticebus pygmaeus) and gibbons (Nomascus leucogienysleucogienys)," Vy said.
The gray-shanked douclangur is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUNC) Red List as one of the world's 25 critically endangered primates.
Ha Thang Long, head of the representative officeof the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Vietnam, who is an authority ongray-shanked douc studies, began the conservation programme to protectthe primate species in 2006.
"Langurs can onlybe seen in the central region of Vietnam, and Kon Ka Kinh Park conservesthe largest number of endangered primates in the country," Long said."This is why the Frankfurt Zoological Society has come to protect thegray-shanked doucs and the park's rich biodiversity."
He said the Society's conservation programme has provided funding tosupport rangers in the park since 2010. "We have joined hands with localadministrations and the park to raise awareness among local people ofthe importance of forest and langur protection. We have also hostedfield training courses for nearly 200 students from Da Nang's TeachersCollege since 2006, in an effort to educate younger generations," thebiologist said.
Long, 37, said the educationprogramme for college students will help spread awareness ofenvironmental protection of the most endangered primates acrossgenerations. In fact, many students from the programme have pursued thestudy and protection of the doucs.
Nguyen ThiTinh, 30, who joined the first field training course, has continuedflora studies in Kon Ka Kinh Park with the Frankfurt Zoological Society."I have been going on flora studies since I attended the first trainingcourse for students," Tinh said.
"Thebiodiversity of the 42,000-ha reserve, of which tropical evergreenforest covers 2,000ha, supplies enough food for langurs and otherprimates. The park's flora shelters primates, while langurs scatterseeds with their movement," she said.
Multiple threats
The park's ranger Nguyen Van Truong says hunting has been a majorproblem for gray-shanked doucs, but the impact of human activity onhabitats will lead to the extinction of the most endangered species."They and other primate species are hunted for meat and use intraditional medicines. Their bones are used to make glue to treat lowappetites, insomnia, and anemia," Truong said.
"Despite local people regularly being in the park, we are yet to find acase of langurs being hunted in the area. Local people have been warnedvia the education programme from the park and the Frankfurt ZoologicalSociety," he said.
Vice Director of Kon Ka KinhPark Ngo Van Thang said locals living in buffer zones also benefit fromthe forest protection programme. "Villagers can increase their incomefrom forest protection, so they abstain from farming and hunting in theforest. They are assigned to protect 8,000ha of land in the park at acost of 200,000 VND per ha each year," Thang said. "Monthly legaleducation and communication efforts among ethnic communities have helpedraise awareness among local people."
DinhDuong, 45, and part of the ethnic Ba Na group, said hunting in the areahad decreased as local people gradually recognised the importance ofprotection. "Most of villagers now can earn quite a good income frommasonry, afforestation and forest protection. They sometimes also gogathering honey, mushrooms and bamboo shoots," he said. "Some villagersstill trap little animals like squirrels and weasels for meat. However,the constant patrols of forest rangers in the park also limit theillegal hunting."
Duong, who has spent 30years patroling the forest, says the park is still well preservedbecause it is located in tough terrain, 1,300m above sea level. "I canspot monkeys, loris, wild boar or bears in the forest; but rarelygray-shanked douc langurs," he said.
Duong isthe most experienced in tracking langurs, helping experts from theFrankfurt Zoological Society research the endangered primates."Protecting the park and endangered primates from extinction requires along term plan and support for local people, who still make huge profitsfrom illegal logging, hunting and over exploitation of honey, mushroomsand medicinal herbs," he warned.
The FrankfurtZoological Society enables protection of the park by providing educationfor biology faculty students from Da Nang Teachers College. Field tripsto Kon Ka Kinh Park have run in the past eight years, to give workexperience to second year and final-year students.
"They will continue researching on the biodiversity or helpcommunicate the importance of nature conservation to youngergenerations," said Long, head of the Society representative office. "Thefield trip aims to raise awareness of endangered primates at the parkand educate students on how to protect them."
The programme has provided park rangers with facilities and funding fortighter control and protection of the primates. "Rangers receive anallowance and equipment for long patrols every week while they trail theendangered animals and prevent poaching," Long said.
The park's Centre for Education and Environment, together with theFrankfurt Zoological Society, has also held conservation modules atseven junior secondary schools on the park's buffer zone.
"Leaflets and painting contests with nature topics is organisedregularly for local students. It gradually provides basic forestknowledge for kids," said the centre's vice director, Dinh Khanh Toan.
Tran Ngoc Son, a lecturer at Da Nang's TeachersCollege, said field trips had helped students build up practicalknowledge for further study, but also provided students with reallife-skills.
Quynh Trang, 20, the second yearstudent of biology faculty at the college, says she leant much fromfield trip to Kon Ka Kinh park. "It's great. I have seen a group oflangurs for the first ever time. I and my friends from college just sawthose (langurs) through pictures or paintings," Trang said. "Weacknowledge the importance of nature protection and endangered speciesin the park. I would like to spread the message of environmentalprotection and primate conservation to younger generations when I becomea teacher."
GreenViet director said his centreplans to a plantation project to transform the lives of local peopleliving in the park's buffer zone. "We have been seeking funding for theproject. Local people can change their crops to profitable Indian Laurel(litsea glutinosa) trees which could earn 30 million VND (1,400 USD)per ha each year from their wood, bark and leaf," Vy elaborated.
"We're aiming to support 1,000 people in Bong Bim in the first stagebefore the project in neighbouring villages," he said, adding that theproject will help local people abstain from illegal hunting or loggingin the park.-VNA
