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© Le Khac Quyet / Fauna & Flora

Vietnam

Protecting one of the world’s greatest nature havens

Country

Vietnam is one of the most biologically rich countries in the world, with a huge variety of distinctive and fascinating wildlife. The country is situated at the point where Southeast Asia’s tropical ecosystems meet the temperate ecosystems of mainland Asia, and stretches over 1,650 km from north to south.

Vietnam’s varied landscapes include cool mountains in the Himalayan foothills, tropical forests, striking karst (limestone) peaks, wetlands and an extensive coastline that encompasses thousands of offshore islands. This diversity of ecosystems gives rise to a rich variety of plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. The Annamites mountain range, which forms the backbone of the country, has been hailed as Asia’s version of the Amazon, due to the incredible biodiversity that it harbours.

Nature is under immense pressure in Vietnam. Habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting, human-wildlife conflict and illegal wildlife trade are threatening the future of much of the country’s fascinating wildlife.

What wildlife does Vietnam support?

More than 13,200 terrestrial plant species and around 10,000 animal species have been recorded in Vietnam. Over 3,000 freshwater species have been identified within the country’s wetland areas. More than 11,000 marine species are found in Vietnam’s coastal waters.

Among Vietnam’s many mysterious and elusive species are the saola (also known as the Asian unicorn), the hairy-nosed otter and Owston’s palm civet. Pu Mat National Park is a vital refuge for some of the last remaining Asian elephants in the country. Vietnam is also home to some of the world’s most spectacular and critically endangered magnolia trees.

Most famous of Vietnam’s wildlife are its primates. Twenty-five primate species can be found here. Eleven of these are critically endangered and five – including the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and Delacour’s langur – are found nowhere else in the world. Vietnam is undoubtedly one of the most important countries in the world for primate conservation.

All of these primates, along with the rest of Vietnam’s astonishing biodiversity, are at risk from the overexploitation of their habitat and other threats. There is an urgent need, therefore, to protect the remaining populations and to work with government partners and local communities to better manage protected areas and other sites of high biodiversity importance.

Red-shanked douc, Vietnam © Ryan Deboodt

© Fauna & Flora / Pu Mat QRT

Fauna & Flora’s work in Vietnam

Fauna & Flora has been working in Vietnam since 1997. Today, we have an in-country team working side by side with our partners to address some of the country’s biggest conservation challenges.

We play an active and leading role in protecting Vietnam’s critically endangered primates. This work includes supporting the monitoring of primate populations and developing initiatives to engage local people in community-led conservation. We’re also working to ensure better management, patrolling and enforcement within protected areas designated for primate conservation.

At all our project sites across the country, we work with our government partners to drive better planning and operations within protected areas. This includes boosting the technical capacity of park authorities, introducing new conservation technologies, improving biodiversity monitoring and supporting more effective law enforcement.

Central to our work – here and around the world – is collaboration with the communities living closest to nature, understanding their needs and finding ways to develop improved and more sustainable livelihoods. Saving nature, while supporting people.

More about our work in Vietnam

Protecting rare conifers and magnolias in northern Vietnam
© Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora
Project

Protecting rare conifers and magnolias in northern Vietnam

Fauna & Flora is working with local community groups in northern Vietnam to conserve 17 threatened tree species found in...
Vietnam
Habitat destruction
Resource extraction
Forest Protection in Pu Mat National Park, Vietnam
Credit: Anoop Anu/500px/Getty Images
Project

Forest Protection in Pu Mat National Park, Vietnam

Fauna & Flora works with community-based conservation teams in Pu Mat National Park to strengthen law enforcement, remov...
Vietnam
Habitat destruction
Illegal wildlife trade
Conserving the critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in Vietnam
Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys © Le Khac Quyet / Fauna & Flora
Project

Conserving the critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in Vietnam

Fauna & Flora is building community-led conservation initiatives across critical forest habitats to protect the Tonkin s...
Vietnam
Habitat destruction
Illegal wildlife trade
People & the environment
Transboundary cao vit gibbon conservation
Cao vit gibbon mother with young. © Nguyễn Văn Trường / Fauna & Flora
Project

Transboundary cao vit gibbon conservation

Fauna & Flora works with local partners in northern Vietnam to protect the critically endangered cao vit gibbon.
China
Vietnam
Habitat destruction
Asian elephant
Asian elephant collecting grass in woodland habitat. © Nick Everett / Getty Images
Species

Asian elephant

Delve into the life of Asia's largest land mammal and discover how Fauna & Flora is addressing the increasing threats to...
Delacour's langur
Delacour's langur. © Nguyen Truong Sinh
Species

Delacour's langur

Find out how Fauna & Flora is protecting one of the world's rarest monkeys and its last remaining limestone forest stron...
Wild magnolias
Wild magnolia flower. © Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora
Species

Wild magnolias

How Fauna & Flora and partners are saving the critically endangered wild ancestors of some of the world's oldest trees.
Pangolins
Sunda pangolin © Bjorn Olesen
Species

Pangolins

Meet the world's most trafficked mammals and discover how Fauna & Flora is tackling the threats to their survival in Afr...
Tonkin snub-nosed monkey
Tonkin snub-nosed monkey. © Le Khac Quyet / Fauna & Flora
Species

Tonkin snub-nosed monkey

Meet the mysterious monkey that Fauna & Flora rediscovered in Vietnam and find out how we're tackling the threats to its...
Cao vit gibbon
Cao vit gibbon. © Ryan Deboodt
Species

Cao vit gibbon

High-speed swingers with haunting calls, cao vit gibbons are under threat from hunting and habitat loss in their shrinki...