PRCF Vietnam has been implementing community-based conservation projects in the limestone mountains of Tuyen Quang and Bac Kan Provinces since 2005.
We are currently focused on our longest-running program to protect the Endangered Francois’ Langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) and its habitat in the limestone mountains around the Na Hang Reservoir, in Thuong Lam and Sinh Long Districts. A growing langur population shows the efforts are paying off, as the hunting threat has been greatly reduced. The area is also notable for other biodiversity associated with the karst limestone habitats of this region, including Critically Endangered magnolia and conifer species.
The program follows the PRCF bottom-up approach working closely with local communities and engaging them directly in conservation and support livelihoods.
In Cao Bang Province bordering China, PRCF is leading efforts on restoring the habitat of the Critically Endangered Cao Vit Gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), working in partnership with Fauna & Flora International (FFI). This is the only known location in the world with this charismatic ape and limited available habitat is a long-term constraint to the growth of the gibbon population. Past logging and on-going livestock grazing have reduced the forest area, especially in the valleys.
To date, we have mapped deforested valleys considered essential for long-term survival of the Gibbon, identified 250 plant species for Gibbon feeding, and restored more than 30 hectares of degraded forests through assisted natural regeneration and enrichment planting with about 5,000 native trees of 27 different species.
PRCF in collaboration with FFI engages with local communities discussing sustainable livelihood solutions with villagers to ensure that conservation efforts are not at the expense of community well-being. We provide hands-on training, focusing on assisted natural regeneration, nursery establishment and maintenance, and enrichment planting techniques.
The Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area is surrounded on nearly all sides by villages growing rice and maize in the flat alluvial plains. To the north the gibbon’s habitat extends into Bangliang Nature Reserve in China.
Community engagement is critical to conserve biodiversity. Historically, communities in the Lam Binh/Sinh Long Landscape hunted langurs opportunistically. These are the communities that PRCF has worked with most closely to reverse the decline in the local langur population, making it now the largest population of the species in Vietnam.
PRCF trains and equips selected villagers to become members of Community Conservation Teams. These teams carry out patrols and monitoring of the Francois’ Langur population and its habitat. All patrolling data is fed into a SMART monitoring database, collated and analyzed to support conservation management work, in close collaboration with officials from the Forest Protection Department.
The Cao Vit Gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) was previously thought to be extinct, until in 2002 a small population was discovered in an isolated karst forest in northeastern Vietnam on the border with China. This transboundary population is the only one known globally and with less than 150 individuals the species is listed as Critically Endangered and considered one of the world's rarest primates.
Image credit: Zhao Chao
In Vietnam, the remaining Francois Langur populations is fragmented into small sub-populations. By far the largest known population in Vietnam is found in the Lam Binh/Sinh Long landscape of Tuyen Quang Province, where PRCF has recently recorded 13 groups and over 100 individuals, showing that conservation measures are working and the population is increasing.
Image Credit: Xi Zhinong
We are now working to consolidate and expand our programs in Vietnam to include community-based conservation and co-management activities in the Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area, Bac Kan province. In late 2018 we also supported a survey in Cao Bang Province in another area of karst mountains important for reptiles and amphibians. We are now looking at the possibility a conservation program of co-management with local communities to protect this block of forest.
Ba Be Lake is one of the largest natural lakes in Vietnam and unique in being located in a limestone landscape and having high aquatic diversity. Between 2010 and 2012, PRCF Vietnam promoted village-led collaborative management of Ba Be Lake to help communities develop sustainable fishing and farming practices, while better conserving the lakes resources.
The White-eared Night Heron (Oroanassa magnifica) was poorly known in Vietnam. It is rarely recorded, being more active at night and habituating forest streams. PRCF Vietnam conducted surveys for this species throughout this region leading to some of the only new records in recent decades for Vietnam. Nest protection programs were established with local communities and awareness raising materials to encourage communities to protect it and report its presence.
This protected area, which lies at the at the heart of the Ba Be-Na Hang landscape, was established through extensive community consultation. PRCF Vietnam has supported communities in protecting this area of karst limestone forest.
Ba Be Lake is one of the largest natural lakes in Vietnam and unique in being located in a limestone landscape and with high aquatic diversity. Between 2010 and 2012, PRCF Vietnam promoted village-led collaborative management of Ba Be Lake to help communities develop sustainable fishing and farming practices, while better conserving the lakes resources.
This protected area, which lies at the at the heart of the Ba Be-Na Hang landscape, was established through extensive community consultation. PRCF Vietnam has supported communities in protecting this area of karst limestone forest.
The White-eared Night Heron (Oroanassa magnifica) was poorly known in Vietnam. It is rarely recorded, being more active at night and habituating forest streams. PRCF Vietnam conducted surveys for this species throughout this region leading to some of the only new records in recent decades for Vietnam. Nest protection programs were established with local communities and awareness raising materials to encourage communities to protect it and report its presence.
This protected area, which lies at the at the heart of the Ba Be-Na Hang landscape, was established through extensive community consultation. PRCF Vietnam has supported communities in protecting this area of karst limestone forest.
