The authorities in Quang Nam Province are going to spend VND100bn (US$4.3m) on a project to protect the endangered gray-shanked douc langur.

Gray-shanked douc langur in Quang Nam

On December 12, Quang Nam Province People's Committee held a conference with the World Wild Fund, and Green Viet Organisation about protecting the gray-shanked douc langurs in Tam My Tay Commune, Nui Thanh District in 2019-2028 period. The conference attracted many representatives from various universities and organisations.

Vietnam has about 1,500-2,000 gray-shanked douc langurs, 1,000 of them can be found in five central and central highlands provinces including Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai and Quang Nam. There are about 200 gray-shanked douc langurs in Quang Nam, 50 of which are discovered living in a 25-hectare forest of Nui Thanh District.

Those langurs live separately and are facing dangers from poachers, urbanisation, and bad weather.

Tran Huu Hy, director of Green Viet, said gray-shanked douc langurs were listed as critically endangered in both the red lists of Vietnam and IUCN. The 50 langurs in Nui Thanh District are the only ones that can be easily observed in nature. It's a great opportunity to study and protect them but it also put them at risk to poachers.

The project aims to create a better environment for the langurs, raise public awareness and boost community-based tourism. VND63bn comes from the state budget and the rest will come from the private sector.

The forest land will be expanded to 100 hectares to ensure the habitat and feeding area for the langurs. The forest will be converted into a special-use forest and allocated to the locals in Dong Co Village for management and protection.

"The problem is how to protect the langurs while ensuring that the locals still have a living," said Le Tri Thanh, vice chairman of Quang Nam Province.

It will be a task for both the authorities and community to use the VND100bn wisely.

Dtinews