Rebecca has been working at FFI since September 2007. Though she studied conservation in her BA and MSc, she decided that the life in the jungle just wasn't for her. Having grown up in New York City, she has experienced more pigeons and squirrels than parrots and spider monkeys. So she decided to write about the impact that FFI's projects have on the ground.
Her current role as Communications Officer (Business & Biodiversity) has allowed her to focus her energy towards FFI's innovative Business & Biodiversity Programme. Rebecca helps to get the message out about FFI's strategic corporate partnerships and what they have helped to achieve for global biodiversity.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has discovered that the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is in dire threat. Our estimates, published in a recent report, show that there could be as few as 20 to 30 individuals in just two populations in Quan Ba District, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam.
“We can consider that the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is on the brink of extinction in Quan Ba,” said Paul Insua-Cao, FFI’s Indochina Primate Programme Coordinator and the report’s author.
“The work of FFI and the Quan Ba District Forest Protection Department over the next couple of years will determine whether it remains a viable location for conservation of the species.
If the conservation threats can be addressed immediately, it could become an equally as important location for the survival of the species as Khau Ca forest. Khau Ca forest is the monkey’s most important stronghold in the world.
Main threats to the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and other biodiversity in the area are from hunting, logging and cardamom cultivation within the forest. The local communities have reported hearing gun shots and two monkeys were recently shot. These incidents are extremely alarming, suggesting hunting is still a serious problem.
Cross-border trade of forest products to China appears to be putting significant pressure on the forest and exacerbating these issues.
FFI is working to protect the species in Quan Ba by establishing community conservation teams. The teams, made up of local people, help FFI and the Forest Protection Department to raise awareness of the need for conservation, patrol the forest and help to monitor the species.
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