Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

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Summary

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• Western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) are present in Muong La Watershed Protection Forest.
• A minimum population of 6 groups was confirmed in 2010.
• The gibbon population trend is decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 30 km².
• Key threats to gibbons are hunting, and habitat encroachment and degradation.
• Conservation activities have focused on gun confiscation and community-based patrols supported by FFI.

Site characteristics

The site is located in Muong La District, Son La Province, Vietnam.

Table 1. Basic site information for Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

Area	30 km²
Coordinates
Designation	watershed protection forest
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The N. concolor population in Muong La Watershed Protection Forest was surveyed four times between 2000 and 2010, at the same time as surveys in Mu Cang Chai SHCA (Rawson et al. 2011). A 2010 survey recorded at least six gibbon groups and a minimum of 12 individuals, within a population of 20 groups including those in Mu Cang Chai SHCA (Le Trong Dat & Le Minh Phong 2010). This is significantly less than in 2008 (also six groups but with >17 individuals) and 2007 and 2006 (14 groups with >43 individuals), suggesting a decline (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

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 concolor	2010	12	6		Muong La Watershed Protection Forest	Fixed-point triangulation	Le Trong Dat & Le Minh Phong 2010

Threats

Hunting has been the main threat to gibbons at the site since the mid-2000s and it continues (Rawson et al. 2011). In January 2010 a hunter shot one male gibbon and sold it to a wildlife trader in Muong La Town for VND 1,800,000 (about US$ 90) and in September 2009, the same trader purchased two gibbon skins and skeletons from hunters (Le Trong Dat & Le Minh Phong 2010). The forest has been extensively logged for high value timber species such as Fokienia hodginsii both legally and illegally (Le Trong Dat & Le Minh Phong 2010). The watershed forest has also been cleared for agriculture and rubber plantations. Hydropower development has led to forest clearance in the inundation zone and displacement of communities, which have been resettled in forest areas, causing further forest loss for agriculture and home construction. In addition, due to a lack of productive agricultural land many displaced people have turned to illegal logging as an income source (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	High		Housing construction due to displacement of communities due to dam construction (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High		Forest cleared for agriculture and rubber plantations (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Hunting with guns (Le Trong Dat & Le Minh Phong 2010).	Ongoing (2010)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Legal and illegal selective logging for Fokienia hodginsii and clearance for agriculture (Le Trong Dat & Le Minh Phong 2010).	Ongoing (2010)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications	7.2 Dams & water management/use	High		Hydropower development has led to forest clearance in the inundation zone and displacement of communities, ultimately negatively impacting gibbon habitat (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
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

FFI established a community-based gibbon monitoring group in Muong La in 2004, similar to the model in Mu Cang Chai. These patrols continued until 2007 due to the end of project funding. In 2005, a gun confiscation and awareness campaign was conducted (1,800 guns were confiscated). The results of the gibbon survey in 2006 seemed to indicate that these conservation interventions were successful, although why it should be so with less intervention than in Mu Cang Chai remains unclear (Swan unpublished data; Rawson et al. 2011). A steep decline then appears to have occurred from 2007 when patrolling ceased and increased migration to the area occurred due to the hydropower development. The patrol group was re-established by FFI in 2010, but pressures remain high (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

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	5.16. Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares	Community-based patrol (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
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
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat		Ongoing (2011)
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 Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

Challenge	Source
Lack of law enforcement	Rawson et al. 2011

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Muong La Watershed Protection Forest

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

[1]

References

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.
Le Trong Dat, and Le Minh Phong. 2010. 2010 census of western black crested gibbon Nomascus concolor in Mu Cang Chai Species/Habitat Conservation Area (Yen Bai Province) and adjacent forests in Muong La District (Son La Province). Fauna & Flora International Vietnam Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 17/04/2023