Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

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Summary

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• Eastern Black Gibbons (Nomascus nasutus) are present in Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area.
• It has been estimated that 100-130 individuals occur in the site.
• The gibbon population trend is stable.
• The site has a total size of 16.56 km².
• Key threats to gibbons are habitat degradation, timber extraction.
• Conservation activities have focused on education and awareness raising, and regular patrols.

Site characteristics

The Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area is located in the Trung Khanh District, Cao Bang Province, Vietnam, bordering China. The population is believed to be confined to this area and therefore is of high international and national importance for gibbon conservation. The population was rediscovered by FFI Vietnamese scientists in 2002 in a small fragmented forest (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 1. Basic site information for Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

Area	16.56 km²
Coordinates	22.883148, 106.704305
Designation	Conservation area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Gibbons were first recorded in the area in 2002. In 2007 a gibbon census recorded 17 groups of 94 to 96 individuals; including the groups in China, the total population was estimated at 18 groups of 110 individuals (Rawson et al. 2011). In 2009 Chinese researchers in Jingxi County, Guangxi Province observed the formation of a new group along the border. Other gibbons surveys have been conducted in 2007, 2006, and 2002, however, due to differing survey efforts, objectives (e.g. training local patrol staff, rapid assessment), seasonal variation, survey results cannot be directly compared. Nevertheless, the population trend is increasing (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

Species	Year	Total number indiv. (95% CI)	Total number groups (95% CI)	Density ​​[groups/km²​] (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Nomascus nasutus	2002	26-28	5		Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area	Unknown	Geissmann et al. 2002

Threats

The small size of the site, limited extent of gibbon habitat and ongoing (but decreasing) degradation of habitat are the main threats to gibbons. Local communities extract timber from the site for fuelwood, waterwheels, house construction and other domestic use, and they collect non-timber forest products and food for livestock. Due to their small population size, gibbons are vulnerable to stochastic events such as fire, disease or reduced gene flow. In addition, climate change may impact the extent and composition of remaining gibbon habitat (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present, but threat level unknown		Collection of non-timber forest products and food for livestock (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat level unknown		Extraction of timber for fuelwood, waterwheels, house construction and other domestic use (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area was designated in Trung Khanh District in 2007. In 2009 a contiguous nature reserve was designated in Jingxi County, China. FFI has worked with local government agencies and communities in both Trung Khanh District and Jingxi County since 2003 and 2006 respectively (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	With support from IUCN SOS Gibbons, FFI and the FPD conduct regular patrols to protect the gibbon population and the conservation area (Ali, N. 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
	5.15. Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g. SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement patrols	During patrols the rangers collect data using the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) (Ali, N. 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	Not reported	FFI has also been working to raise awareness, for example, in 2020 FFI organised an environmental education course. FFI also organised three Cao-vit Gibbon festivals in Phong Nam and Ngoc Khe communes over the last three years. The festivals were attended by more than 1,500 people and offered a range of activities for adults and children (Ali, N. 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
11. Habitat Protection	Not reported
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

The Cao-vit Gibbon Conservation Team, which consists of 11 members including government staff and people from local communities, conduct regular monitoring of the gibbon population in the conservation area. A novel method being piloted in the area is acoustic monitoring. FFI has deployed 50 audio moths across the entire range of the gibbon population in the conservation area. Data collected by these devices will help to improve the accuracy of population survey and monitoring results (Ali, N. 2022).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

FFI

References

Ali, Noor (Dec 06, 2022). Saving the Cao-vit Gibbon in northern Vietnam. Online: https://www.iucn.org/blog/202212/saving-cao-vit-gibbon-northern-vietnam
Rawson, B. M, Insua-Cao, P., Nguyen Manh Ha, Van Ngoc Thinh, Hoang Minh Duc, Mahood, S., Geissmann, T. and Roos, C. 2011. The Conservation Status of Gibbons in Vietnam. Fauna & Flora International/Conservation International, Hanoi, Vietnam

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 10/02/2023