Environmental groups in Vietnam have urgently proposed setting up a conservation area in Kim Bang district, Ninh Binh province, to protect Delacour’s langurs and their habitat, aiming to restore the environment and maintain ecological connectivity disrupted by limestone mining.
The Delacour’s langur is one of the country’s rarest native primates, classified as critically endangered in both the 2023 Vietnam Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
Kim Bang’s limestone forest hosts the world’s second-largest population of this species, with about 120-150 individuals, following the group in Van Long Nature Reserve, which is located in Gia Vien district in the same province.
Threats persist despite efforts
Since 2016, conservation groups and government agencies have pushed for a conservation area in Kim Bang.
The former Ha Nam Provincial People’s Committee carried out surveys and reached interdepartmental consensus.
By 2023, a core area of 3,182 hectares was included in the National Forestry Planning Scheme.
However, threats such as illegal hunting, trapping, and logging persist, along with habitat loss from mining, dust, and noise pollution.
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What are the proposed key actions?
The petition proposes four key actions.
To formally create the conservation area to protect this endangered species and support the country’s biodiversity commitments; rehabilitate mining-damaged areas and expand protected zones to restore ecosystems; reassess development projects near the site to balance economic and environmental goals; and secure resources and cooperation for conservation.
This aims to integrate it into provincial, national, and global frameworks.
It also calls for stricter environmental screening of new developments, including golf courses, tourism projects, and road construction.
Environmental impact assessments should be reviewed by both government bodies and conservation experts before approval.
The petition ends with an appeal to the prime minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, and the Ninh Binh Provincial People’s Committee to urgently address these recommendations.
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