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Endangered bird gets helping hand

HA NOI — Che Tao is one of the most remote communes in northern Viet Nam – a fact that helps one of the country’s most endangered species, the Rufous-necked Hornbill (Aceros nipalensis), in its daily battle for survival.

Situated in Mu Cang Chai District of Yen Bai Province, Che Tao’s remoteness and inaccessibility keeps away poachers and illegal loggers and supports populations of rare animals and birds rarely found elsewhere.

A rare primate, Phayre’s Langur (Semnopithecus Phayrei), was seen during the Fauna&Flora International (FFI)’s recent Indochina Programme expedition. Happily, the team saw too, a golden-coloured infant with a group, indicating that the population was breeding.

Che Tao Commune may support a viable population of this species, it is believed.

Historically, the Western Black Crested Gibbon (Gibbon nomascus concolor concolor) was known to have roamed north-western Viet Nam between the Song Da (Black) and the Song Hong (Red) rivers. They were feared extinct until some were found in Che Tao Commune in 1999.

Surveys since then have shown that this globally important population may number 100.

Following this, the FFI Indochina Programme assisted the Mu Cang Chai authorities to initiate conservation activities-a forest protection management board was formed with local community members and local households were encouraged to make written commitments not to hunt gibbons.

With the discovery of the Rufous Hornbill and some other rare bird species, it is clear that Che Tao Commune is an internationally vital bird conservation area and qualifies as an Important Bird Area (IBA).

During the expedition, BirdLife and FFI discussed with the local community the conservation of the gibbons and the hornbills. The locals admitted that they needed neither species for food (they simply did not find them tasty!) and that neither had any medicinal use.

Through the intensive awareness campaigns carried out by local agencies, the people are now in fact seized of the importance of the two species to the health of the forest; by dispersing seeds, they help trees regenerate.

Happily now, the local communities are dedicated to the protection of their environment and the rare animals that makes their area special. — VNS

www.ecologyasia.com

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