The Conservation Status of Gibbons in Vietnam - Gibbon Research ...

The Conservation Status of Gibbons in VietnamStatusIn 2007, six gibbon groups with 18-20 individuals were recorded at this site (Le Dinh Thu & DoTuoc 2007). Most gibbons in this site are probably located in evergreen forest near the borderswith Lam Dong Province.Threats and Conservation ActionsHunting at the site focuses on large ungulates and civets, not primates (Le Dinh Thu & Do Tuoc2007). Commercial and illegal logging is causing the loss and fragmentation of gibbon habitats.Priority actions include the development of sustainable logging practices and inclusion ofbiodiversity conservation in logging plans, a halt to illegal logging, and surveys to clarify the localstatus of N. gabriellae.8.3.10 Nam Nung Nature ReserveLocation: Krong No and Dak G’Long Districts, Dak Nong ProvinceArea: 10,499 hectaresStatus criteria: 1a, 2a, 3b, 4b, 5fDate of most recent survey: 2010Date of most recent confirmed record: 2010Minimum population: ≥ 11 groupsStatusGibbon surveys in the reserve in late 2011 returned 11 groups, mostly in the southern and centralparts of the reserve and the reserve as a whole may contain 30 groups (Dong Thanh Hai pers.comm.). These surveys follow up on surveys earlier in 2010 when N. gabriellae was confirmed tooccur in this reserve (Dong Thanh Hai et al. 2011). The reliability of records from the 1990s (Anon.1994a) is unclear (Tordoff et al. 2004). Reports of gibbons from Krong No District (which partlyincludes the reserve) compiled by Geissmann et al. (2000) were from Brickle et al. (1998), but thegiven coordinates for these reports are outside the reserve boundaries. The small size of thereserve suggests it does not hold a large gibbon population.Threats and Conservation ActionsHunting with guns, agricultural encroachment, illegal logging and exploitation of non-timberforest products are key threats to biodiversity in this park (Nam Nung Nature Reserve 2008) andthreaten N. gabriellae and its habitat. A small project to strengthen management capacity and acommunity awareness campaign was conducted in the reserve in 2009 funded by the VietnamConservation Fund. A new project at the site is currently underway, led by the Forestry Universityof Vietnam, which is assessing gibbon status and threats and training local protection staff (A.Sheridan pers. comm.). Priority actions include surveys to clarify the local status of N. gabriellaeand reserve expansion to encompass Dak Mol and Nam Nung SFEs, where gibbons are alsoreported (Do Tuoc pers. comm.).8.3.11 Ta Dung Nature ReserveLocation: Dak G’long District, Dak Nong ProvinceArea: 18,893 hectaresStatus criteria: 1a, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5cDate of most recent survey: 201089