LAUNCHING THE PROJECT “CONSERVATION OF NORTHERN WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON (NOMASCUS LEUCOGENYS) IN VU QUANG NATIONAL PARK, HA TINH PROVINCE”

On October 5, Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) with representatives from the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation (VFBC) and Biodiversity Conservation Activity (USAID BCA) organized a meeting with Vu Quang National Park to finalize the workplan and implementation process of the project “Conservation of the White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) in Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh Province”. The project is within the framework of USAID BCA of VFBC Project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Northern white-cheeked gibbon is listed as Endangered (EN) in the Vietnam Red Data Book (2007); belongs to group IB of Decree No. 84/2021/ND-CP; and Critically Endangered (CR) in IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2022). Previous studies have preliminarily identified Vu Quang National Park as one of the important distribution areas of this species in Vietnam, but no thorough study exists to date. Therefore, CCD will support Vu Quang National Park to develop a research program and a complete database of the Northern white-cheeked gibbon, along with long-term communication programs to mitigate impacts on the gibbon populations and other endangered species in Vu Quang. The project will be implemented for 12 months during 2023 – 2024, including surveys in Vu Quang National Park and communication activities in local villages and schools in the buffer zone.

With the vision to conserve value of nature and biodiversity, CCD is implementing cooperative conservation programs for critical ecosystems and species in Vietnam including elephants, big cats, small carnivores, ungulates and endangered primates, wild birds and threatened plant species. For the effective conservation, CCD is promoting community tourism, ecotourism activities in special-use forests as an effective method to generate revenue for conservation and sustain livelihood for communities, thus reducing  the dependence on forest and natural resources.