Conserving grey-shanked doucs in Vietnam’s central highlands

Restricted to the forests of central Vietnam, the known global population of grey-shanked douc langurs was almost doubled in 2016, during a field survey by Fauna & Flora, when 500 individuals were discovered in Kon Plong, in Kon Tum Province.

This site is a Key Biodiversity Area and habitat for two critically endangered primates (the douc and yellow-cheeked gibbon), among a host of other important species, including endemic birds and butterflies.

Despite the good news in 2016, the grey-shanked douc remains critically endangered and is threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation, caused by numerous roads, hydropower projects, and formal and informal expansion of agriculture, all accompanied by resettlement. Doucs are still regular victims of illegal wildlife trade and are targeted for bushmeat, traditional medicine and the pet trade.

The project will help address the root causes of forest loss and degradation by facilitating community resource-use planning around a new protected area, supporting both women and men in securing land tenure, developing strategies for sustainable livelihoods and providing livelihood diversification opportunities. Fauna & Flora is working to conserve the doucs and other wildlife in the area through government and community partnerships.

We are grateful for financial support from the UK government’s Darwin Initiative, Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing & Peter Baldwin, the Rainforest Trust, Stiftung Artenschutz, KfW, European Forest Institute/EURF and Vietnamese private donors.