Vietnam Primate Conservation Status Review 2002 - Hoang Lien ...

The aims of an ex-situ programme should be:
✱ A captive breeding programme to establish a small and stable captive population.
7 CONSERVATION POLICY
✱ A release programme to close the gaps between groups in the wild to guarantee genetic flow
for the entire wild population, to strenghten declined wild populations or to reintroduce
populations in their original habitat where the species was eradicated. The precondition for
this step is a safe habitat without poaching and foreseeable habitat destruction.
Confiscated young langurs, and injured or handicapped animals should be remain in captivity. Groups
caught for a translocation programme could also be divided, and some members used to establish a
captive population. This might be a good way to increase the rate of reproduction and ensure genetic
diversity (such as through introducing wild surplus males into a breeding programme).
Zoological gardens attract a large number of visitors each year and primates are among the most
popular species. Captive breeding programmes could be conducted in these institutions. This has
the double advantage of representing a potential income source and increasing public awareness.
However, due to the extreme precaution that must be taken for such a programme, even if captive
management is undertaken in zoological gardens, it must be done in close collaboration with an
experienced institution. For many years the EPRC has successfully kept and bred such langur species
under captive conditions. The EPRC also has experience managing groups living in semi-wild conditions
in two areas surrounded by electrical fencing (Nadler, 1996c, 1997c, 1998b, 1999a, 2000). Thus the
EPRC provides an suitable location to start with the ex-situ programme.
To summarise, population management in captivity should have a double impact for the conservation
of highly threatened species:
✱ Preservation of the genetic pool of the species
✱ Value for scientific research and conservation education
7.3 Habitat disturbance
Sustainable income alternatives to destructive forest exploitation should be developed. Given that
certain local peoples subsist and are highly dependent on forest resources, no biodiversity conservation
programme will be efficient without appropriate alternative income generation strategies for forest
product dependent households. This strategy must be economically attractive and must increase the
living standard of the rural population. Raintree et al. (1999) proposed different strategies including:
(1) planting of local forest trees of high timber value, and ordinary species to supply firewood; (2)
planting of grafted fruit trees of superior varieties; (3) planting of rattan along field boundaries and in
the understoreys of tree crops; (4) planting of medicinal plants in the understoreys of tree crops.
These alternatives will be efficient if the local market is improved by business training and organisation
of the different steps of production and selling.
The negative impacts of infrastructure development on the environment must be limited. The
development of infrastructure such as hydro-electric dams or roads is a necessity for economic
progress at both national and local levels. However, often there may be environmental repercussions.
Environmental impact assessments should be conducted for each case in order to determine the real
economic potential of the project as well as the environmental consequenses. Furthermore, such
development projects should contain an in-built management component to prevent the loss of
biodiversity and environmental degradation.
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