Vu Quang National Park

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Summary

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• Northern white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) are present in Vu Quang National Park.
• It has been estimated that 185 (95% CI: 78-448) individuals occur in the site.
• The gibbon population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 550.3 km².
• Key threats to gibbon are illegal hunting and habitat encroachment.
• Conservation activities have focused on awareness raising, infrastructure development and community development activities, e.g., apiculture.

Site characteristics

Vu Quang National Park is located in western Vietnam, next to Nakai-Nam Theun National Park in Laos. The park was established in 2002 and covers an area of about 550 square km (Tran Van 2021). The site is located in three districts in Ha Tinh province, including Vu Quang, Huong Khe, Huong Son district. The protected area lies on the Annamite mountain, which harbours the highest biodiversity in Vietnam as well as Indochina; at least 94 mammals, 315 birds, 58 reptiles, and 31 amphibians have been confirmed in Vu Quang (Tran Van 2021). Two new mammals were discovered at the site in the 1990s, including Sao La (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), and Giant Muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis). The fauna of Vu Quang NP also includes species endemic to Indochina, such as the Northern Whitecheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) and Edwards’s Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) (Tran Van 2021). The area has also been declared an important bird area for conservation (BirdLife International 2022). In addition, the protected area reported that 1,678 flora species with 191 families have been documented, of which 94 species were listed in the Vietnam Red List Book (Tran Van 2021).

Table 1. Basic site information for Vu Quang National Park

Species	Nomascus leucogenys
Area	550.3 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 18.281588 , Lon: 105.474190
Type of site	Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest
Type of governance

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

A 2020 survey confirmed the presence of 19 groups; based on the survey results it was estimated that 185 gibbon groups occur in Vu Quang National Park, making it a priority site for the conservation of the species (Tran Van 2021). Furthermore, the suitable gibbon habitat was predicted at approximately 252 sq.km, accounting for 45.56% of the total area of the park (Tran Van 2021).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Vu Quang National Park

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	NA	NA
Nomascus leucogenys	2020		0.74 (0.31-1.78)	185 (78-448)		Vu Quang National Park	Fixed point triangulation		Tran Van 2021

Threats

Illegal hunting is one of the main threats to gibbons and other wildlife species at the site. The illegal hunt of several species, including Red-Shanked Douc Langurs, Civets, and Annamite Striped Rabbits, was reported during a 2020 gibbon survey. Rangers are facing many challenges to control the hunting activities due to the far distance from the forest ranger stations and the complex topography of the site. Furthermore, the park's ecosystem is facing degradation due to the impacts of deforestation and forest fragmentation (Tran Van 2021).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Vu Quang National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1 Residential & commercial development	1.1 Residential areas	Present (unknown severity)	Development of human settlements in the area (BirdLife International 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	Clearance of forest for agriculture (BirdLife International 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.3 Livestock farming & ranching	Present (unknown severity)	Grazing of livestock (BirdLife International 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Illegal wildlife hunting (Tran Van 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

Threats

Conservation activities

WWF and FIPI conducted a biodiversity survey of Vu Quang Nature Reserve in 1992. Between June 1995 and June 2000, the WWF Indochina Programme-Vu Quang Conservation Project was implemented with funding from the Royal Netherlands Embassy (BirdLife International 2022). Accomplishments of this project during the first three years included the construction of a guard station, road upgrading and other infrastructure development, and socio-economic and biological research. Project activities during the final two years included field surveys (including a joint BirdLife/WWF ornithological survey in 1999) and community development activities, including irrigation, infrastructure development, planting of fruit trees, apiculture, community forestry and community farming (BirdLife International 2022).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Vu Quang National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	In cooperation with Vu Quang NP, the Gibbon Conservation Alliance raised awareness of local communities in local villages by presenting and discussing with local authorities and communities the current status of gibbons in the park, why it is necessary to conserve gibbons, the role of local communities, and the current regulations of law in the protection of gibbons and other wildlife (Tran Van 2021).		Ongoing (2021)
4 Education & awareness	4.5 Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	Awareness material including posters, lecture files were distributed to Vu Quang NP, and local people. The project also provided 50 T-shirts to our volunteers, forest rangers of Vu Quang NP, and local villagers (Tran Van 2021).		Ongoing (2021)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site is classified as a National Park.		Ongoing (2022)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Vu Quang National Park

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Tran Van 2021
2 Resources and capacity	2.1 Lack of capacity/training	Tran Van 2021
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Tran Van 2021

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Vu Quang National Park

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Vu Quang National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

BirdLife International (2022) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Vu Quang. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 16/02/2022.

Tran Van, D. (2021). Population assessment, habitat suitability and conservation of the Northern White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) in Vu Quang National Park, Vietnam. Final project report to the Gibbon Conservation Alliance.

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