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

8 APPENDIX: 2
the surrounding area is home to around 100,000 people, many of whom use natural resources of the
national park. The most widely exploited forest products are timber and fuelwood. The collection of
snails, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, banana stems and medicinal plants are common. Hunting, both
for subsistence and commercial purposes, takes place at an unsustainable level, and threatens to
eradicate a number of mammal, bird and reptile species from the national park.
The large number of tourists who visit Cuc Phuong pose particular problems for the management.
Waste disposal, collection of plants, and excessive noise created by large tour groups are problems
which are not under control. More significantly, the management agenda of the national park is
heavily focused on tourism development at the expense of biodiversity conservation. This has resulted
in the development of tourism infrastructure with negative environmental impacts. Upgrading the
road through the central valley of the national park has facilitated exploitation of forest products, and
the construction of artificial lakes inside the national park has resulted in forest clearance, altered
local hydrology, and introduction of exotic fish species.
Currently, one of the biggest threats to biodiversity is the planned construction of National Highway No.
2 through the national park. If the planned road development goes ahead, it will bisect the national
park. Apart from the direct impact of construction, the road would facilitate access to the forest and,
hence, forest product extraction, and might, in the future, act as a focus for human settlements.
Xuan Lien Nature Reserve (THANH HOA)
Special use forest: Nature reserve (21,000 ha)
Forest size: 18,522 ha (Le Trong Trai, 1999a)
Forest type: lowland evergreen, lower montane mixed coniferous, broadleaf evergreen, mixed bamboo
Elevation: reaching 1,605m a.s.l.
Leaf monkey and gibbon species: [Trachypithecus crepusculus], Nomascus leucogenys leucogenys
Xuan Lien Proposed Nature Reserve near the Lao border was decreed in 1999 and covers 21,000 ha. The
topography is characterised by medium-high mountains which reach elevations of 800m to 1,600m a.s.l.,
and are dissected by deep, narrow valleys. It includes 18,522 ha of forest, only 1,572 ha of which is primary.
A large proportion comprises bamboo forest (36.8%) with varying degrees of disturbance. Undisturbed
forest only occurs above 700m a.s.l. The primary forest is now distinctly fragmented (Le Trong Trai, 1999a).
Thanh Hoa Provincial FPD (2000) identifies the biggest threats to biodiversity to be forest clearance
for agriculture, hunting, over-exploitation of forest products and forest fire. Since the establishment
of the nature reserve in 2000 considerable patrolling, enforcement and awareness activities by highly
motivated park management and rangers have contributed to more effective conservation.
Pu Luong Nature Reserve (THANH HOA)
Special use forest: Nature reserve (17,662 ha)
Forest size: 13,305 ha (BirdLife International & FIPI, 2001)
Forest type: lowland evergreen, lower montane evergreen, limestone
Elevation: 60m to 1,667m a.s.l.
Leaf monkey and gibbon species: Trachypithecus delacouri; [Trachypithecus crepusculus], [Nomascus
leucogenys leucogenys]
Pu Luong was officially established in 1999, and covers 17,662 ha (BirdLife International & FIPI,
2001). The nature reserve lies along two parallel mountain ridges, that run from north-west to southeast,
and is bisected by a central valley. This valley contains several human settlements and a large
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