Conservation Efforts

1) Decree 32/2006/NP-CP on Management of Endangered, Precious and Rare Forest Plants and Animals

The prime minister of Vietnam has officially declared that gibbons are protected under IB, which is the highest level of protection for animals. Animals and plants under this system are strictly banned from exploitation and use for commercial purposes despite reaping significant economical benefits.


2) Laws

Example of conservation laws involving Primates in Vietnam:

A. International Law

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international treaty that supervises the trade of involved animals and plants. It does not accept any domestic trades. There are 3 levels of classifications for these wildlife;

Appendix I being the most severe among the 3. This is an umbrella to which endangered with serious cases of being extinct fall under. Trade or exchange of such species would require an import and export license that can only be issued by the CITES Management Authority of the both involved countries.

Appendix II houses vulnerable species that could possibly be extinct with rampant and unrestrained exploitation. The trade of such species only requires and export license from the CITES Management Authority of the exporting country. This is less stringent as compared to Appendix I.

Appendix III includes species that are sheltered from exploitation in at lease one country involved in the trade (either importing OR exporting country). The trade of such species only requires and export license from the CITES Management Authority of the exporting country. The process is less demanding as compared to Appendix II.

All gibbons and most primates on the list are classified under Appendix I which echoes the highest need for protection in the form of governmental laws.

B. National Laws

Penal Code (1999) 
“The Penal Code No. 15/1999/QH10 with Article 190 on Breaching Regulations on the Protection of Precious and Rare Wildlife on the List of Endangered, Precious, and Rare Species Prioritized for Protection. Accordingly, the acts of hunting, killing, transporting and smuggling of precious and rare wild animals are prohibited under the provisions of the Government, and transportation and illegal trade of animal products may result in a maximum penalty of 50 million VND fine, or a sentence of three years prison.”

Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of Penal Code (2009)
“This law came into effect from 1st January, 2010 and Article 190 was amended to ‘Breaching Regulations on the Protection of Precious and Rare Wildlife on the List of  Endangered, Precious and Rare Species Prioritized for Protection’. Accordingly, the law adds the raising and keeping acts, and transportation and illegal trade in body parts of the species on the list of endangered, precious, and rare species prioritized for protection. The maximum penalty increased to 500 million VND fine or seven years in prison.”


Law on Forest Protection and Development (2004)
“All species of wild animals are afforded some level of protection under the Law on Forest Protection and Development, which came into effect from 1st April, 2005. Accordingly, it’s illegal to hunt, transport, keep, advertise, sell, purchase and consume wildlife without an appropriate permit issued by the Forest Protection Department to show that the animal was of legal origin.”

C. Laws for National Parks

Laws are also enacted to set up compulsory National Parks especially in areas that house primates and other wildlife that are on the brink of extinction. For instance, Xuân Thủy Wetland National Park, four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, Hạ Long Bay and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Parks.

 

eco-travel-vietnam-national-park-cucphuong

 

This is an example of a typical scene in the National Parks.


3) Rescue Centres

Rescue centres are usually initiatives by non-governmental organisations (NGO). There has been many rescue centres set up as homes for the endangered primates in Vietnam.

Examples:

A. Endangered Primate Rescue Centre at Cuc Phuong National Park

The Endangered Primate Rescue Center is home to over 140 creatures from 15 species of gibbon, langur and loris including the top 5 most endangered ones that I have mentioned. This centre provides a shelter for primates that were illegally captured for human consumption and trade.

Read more at: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/north-central-vietnam/cuc-phuong-national-park/sights/natural-parks-forests/endangered-primate-rescue-center

B. Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre at Cat Tien National Park, South Vietnam

The centre located on a 57-hectare island at the entrance of Cat Tien National Park, South Vietnam, is a collaboration between Cat Tien National Park, the Vietnamese Forestry Protection Department, Monkey World – Ape Rescue Centre, UK, and Pingtung Rescue Centre, Taiwan.

The centre focusses in the rescue of primates, rehabilitation and their release. The vulnerable and endangered primates are rescued from the surrounding regions, and are victims of the illegal wildlife trade.

Read more at: http://www.go-east.org/Pages/projects.html


4) International Agreements

Vietnam joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1994. This international agreement aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. International agreements tend to be relatively effective because of the strict monitoring from all around the world. Such pressure would drive Vietnam to stick to the agreements and live up to the expectations of the treaties signed.


5) Community Initiatives

One of the most remarkable and significant conservation effort is community initiatives. The higher authority might imposed a million set of laws but eventually, it depends on the value of compliance. And that relies heavily on the cooperation of communities.

As mentioned previously, the Golden-headed langur, also known as  the Cat Ba langur is endemic to the island of Cat Ba in Northern Vietnam and is critically endangered. The communities in various forested areas of Northern Vietnam see the need of protecting these langurs and save them from the predominant threat of poaching. Münster Zoo and the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP) formed a cooperative partnership with Vietnamese conservation agencies, and the “Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project” was initiated. 

The “Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project” was launched in November 2000, with only 53 such langurs in existent. The main focus of the project is to oppose langur poaching and to arrest individuals who commit such illegal acts.

“Project activities concentrated on the close monitoring of the langur population, the evaluation and implementation of protection measures for single langur groups, the promotion of public conservation awareness, and the capacity building of the Cat Ba National Park staff. These efforts have culminated in bringing hunting of langurs to a halt, and for the first time in decades the World’s only remaining population of the Cat Ba langurs has increased to at least 65 individuals at present.”

Read more at: http://www.catbalangur.org/index.htm