ENV

Education for Nature Vietnam

News Brief (E161, 14th - 20th April, 2006)

Local resident hands in langur
Quang Ngai Province – On April 16th, a resident of Ba To town handed in a grey–shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus cinerea) to the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department. The six-kilogram langur was reportedly bought from Ho-re ethnic village in Quang Ngai Province. The langur was transferred to the Endangered Primate Rescue Center at Cuc Phuong National Park.

The critically endangered grey–shanked douc langur is native to southeastern Vietnam on both sides of the Vietnam-Cambodia border, and is protected under Group 1B – Decree 32/2006/ND-CP dated March 30th 2006.

(Labor issue 106 dated April 17th 2006, Pioneer issue 76 dated April 17th 2006; Cuc Phuong National Park)

Forest rangers injured in illegal timber accident
Quang Tri Province – On April 17th, the Dakrong District police prosecuted a logger for seriously injuring two rangers. According to the police, on March 22nd, the logger was illegally transporting timber from Dakrong District to Dong Ha Town. While the rangers were escorting the truck, the logger pushed the logs off the truck injuring the pursuing rangers.

(Sai Gon Liberated issue 10351 dated April 19th 2006)

An international training course on flora conservation
Quang Tri Province – The Vietnam Botanical Conservation Program (VNBCP) under a project run by the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Missouri Botanical Garden (USA) completed a flora conservation training course at Dakrong Nature Reserve from March 13th to April 7th 2006.

This is the first course in the 2006 – 2009 phase of a project called “Initiatives in international flora conservation and training in order to improve management capacity for nature reserves in the Indochina region”. Seventeen participants, three from Laos and Cambodia, were taught about field-research on diversity of Vietnamese flora and medicinal plants in Dakrong and Huong Hoa districts.

(Website of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment dated April 16th 2006; Website of Vnanet dated April 14th 2006; Vietnam Botanical Conservation Program, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources)

Rare species discovered in Chu Yang Sin National Park
Dac Lac Province – On April 17th, Birdlife International Vietnam Program announced the discovery of rare pine species in the Chu Yang Sin National Park following a field expedition in March 2006.


A Blyth's Kingfisher Alcedo hercules recorded during the survey. Photo: Nguyen Truong Son

According to Birdlife, primary vegetation at 800m elevation to the Chu Yang Sin peak (2,442m) remains undisturbed where they found many rare plants including Pinus dalatensis (globally considered Vulnerable), Pinus krempfii (Vulnerable), and Fokienia hodginsii (Near Threatened). They also found eight groups of yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) and one group of black-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus nigripes) during ssurveys. Other primate species recorded during the survey included the stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides) and long-tailed macaque Macaca fascicularis. A group of gaur, Bos gaurus, were also recorded.

(News Release of Birdlife dated April 17th 2006; Website of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment dated April 19th 2006; Website of Vnanet dated April 18th 2006; Website of Laborers dated April 18th 2006)

Updates from ENV’s Wildlife Trade Hotline 18001522

Lorises turned over to the Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC)
Ha Noi City – On April 20th, two pygmy lories (Nycticebus pygmaeus) were turned over voluntarily to ENV by a Hanoi student after the student discovered from a hotline advertisement that the lorises were protected under law. The student reportedly bought the lorises on Hoang Hoa Tham street and had kept them for a month. ENV transferred the lorises to the Endangered Primate Rescue Center at Cuc Phuong National Park.

Sea turtles confiscated at Cam Ranh Airport


Marine turtles displayed and sold openly in CamRanhAirport. (Source: Michael Haynes, Hon Mun MPA)

Khanh Hoa Province – A call to the ENV Wildlife Trade Hotline resulted in the seizure by Fisheries Department officers of marine turtles on display in Cam Ranh Airport. Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Fisheries officers requested airport authorities not to display or offer for sale protected wildlife in future.

(Wildlife Trade Department, Education for Nature-Vietnam)

New Publications

Bring peace to the lives of Vietnam’s bears – Say NO to bear bile. A sticker produced by ENV and part of ENV’s ongoing campaign focused on bears.

(Education for Nature-Vietnam)

Links to environmental articles (Vietnamese)

Tay Ninh Province - A local forest protection officer turned out to be a logger
http://www.monre.gov.vn/monreNet/default.aspx?tabid=209&ItemID=13262

Cao Bang Province – Protecting Eastern black-crested gibbons
http://www.nld.com.vn/tintuc/khoa-hoc/148529.asp

Nature reserves of low quality
http://www.vnanet.vn/news.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=1&CATEGORY_ID=26&NEWS_ID=195772

Ha Noi – Hoan Kiem turtles emerged.
http://www.vnmedia.vn/newsdetail.asp?NewsId=50372&CatId=23

STOP THE WILDLIFE TRADE
If you observe wildlife being displayed, sold, transported, or kept illegally in captivity, notify your local Forest Protection Department or contact the ENV Wildlife Trade Hotline

1800-1522
YOU can make a difference!

For more information, please contact:

Nguyen Phuong Dung
Education for Nature - Vietnam (ENV)
No.2/C5 tap the Dai hoc Ngoai Thuong, pho Chua Lang, Ha Noi.
Tel/Fax: 04-775 3685
env@fpt.vn or communication.env@fpt.vn