Conservation of northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) at Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh province

The project “Conservation of the northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) in Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh Province” is part of the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation (VFBC) project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) was selected as one of the local partners to support wildlife conservation in the priority group of the VFBC project.

In the previous phase, the project focused on capacity building activities for Vu Quang’s staff and carrying out communication campaigns about wildlife and gibbon conservation to the local and public. In 2024, CCD in collaboration with Vu Quang National Park is conducting population surveys, which is the first holistic gibbon study undertaken in Vu Quang National Park. To execute the task, CCD has coordinated with the Park to perform desk review, assessing the impacts and quality of natural habitat, thus designing a comprehensive survey plan, by extension, listed all routes and listening points, covering northern white-cheeked gibbons distribution areas. In the first trip, CCD’s team surveyed 6 routes and 7 listening points, combining with automatic live recorders. The survey also aims to validate data collection methods and procedures in the field, thus conducting systematic surveys for all designated areas in Vu Quang National Park.

In addition, field surveys benefit Vu Quang’s staff in applying training knowledge (e.g. practicing skills in using  equipment, recording, analyzing information and managing data). Thereby, the Park strengthens their capacity and  is able to effectively study, monitor gibbons and endangered wildlife in the Park.

In the forthcoming time, CCD will continue to coordinate with Vu Quang National Park to implement the project on the conservation of the northern white-cheeked gibbon, along with the technical assistance and capacity building for forest rangers, staff of the Parks on the conservation of primates and other endangered wildlife. Not only Vu Quang, CCD and partners in Vietnam have been corporated in research, conservation and rehabilitation programs for other endangered wildlife, effortlessly contribute to the restoration of nature.