NINH BINH: The People's Committee of the northern mountainous province of Ninh Binh has announced a decision to establish the Kim Bang Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area.
Under the decision, the conservation area covers 3,182ha, including more than 3,016ha of natural limestone forest, within the Van Long–Kim Bang–Tam Chuc landscape.
With its extensive coverage, the Kim Bang Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area is the world's largest protected area dedicated to the conservation of the species.
It is divided into strictly protected, ecological restoration, and service and administrative zones. The Ninh Binh Special-use and Protection Forest Management Board has been assigned direct responsibility for its management.
The establishment of the conservation area provides a solid legal and scientific foundation for completing the dossier to seek UNESCO recognition of the Van Long–Kim Bang–Tam Chuc Cultural and Ecological Landscape Complex as a World Heritage Site.
Tran Anh Dung, Vice-Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said the establishment of the conservation area marked an important milestone, but was only the beginning.
What matters most is how the plan is implemented to turn conservation objectives into tangible, long-term and sustainable results, he said.
To ensure the conservation area operates effectively, he called on relevant departments, agencies and local authorities to strengthen their management responsibilities, proactively raise public awareness and encourage local people to comply with the law and help detect and prevent violations.
Dung also called on scientists, experts, conservation organisations and partners to continue sharing knowledge and experience and supporting the province in research, monitoring, habitat restoration, Delacour's langur conservation and the promotion of biodiversity values.
The Delacour's langur (Trachypithecus delacouri), also known as the white-shorted langur, is a primate endemic to Vietnam.
The species was once found across several areas of northern and north-central Vietnam, but its population has declined sharply due to hunting and habitat loss.
There are currently around 540 Delacour's langurs in Vietnam, of which nearly 470 are found in the province, accounting for approximately 90 per cent of the global population.
They are concentrated in the limestone forests of Kim Bang and the Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve.
The species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on both Vietnam's Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Hunting, captivity and trade are prohibited.
In 2016, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), together with Vietnamese scientists, recorded more than 100 Delacour's langurs in Kim Bang, then part of the former northern province of Ha Nam.
In 2017, Ha Nam Province's authorities approved in principle the establishment of a conservation area for the species in Kim Bang District, with a proposed area of 3,400ha.
In July 2020, the Government directed the provincial People's Committee to take urgent measures to protect the langur population in its natural habitat and review compliance with environmental requirements by stone quarrying operations to ensure they did not threaten the survival and development of the species in the wild.
Since then, both the former Ha Nam Province and the newly established Ninh Binh Province have issued a series of directives to prepare the proposal and seek central Government approval, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, for the establishment of the Kim Bang Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area. — VNS/ANN
