Hanoi (VNA) - PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the northern province of Ha Nam to take emergency actions to protectwhite-rumped langurs – a critically endangered primatespecies endemic to northern Vietnam.
The Government leader made the instruction after Fauna & FloraInternational (FFI) made recommendations calling for furtherconservation of thelangur population in Ha Nam’s Kim Bang forest.
ThePM asked the Ha Nam provincial People’s Committee to review the environmental impacts of stonemining activities on thelangurs’ natural habitat.
TheMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development was assigned to instruct theprovince to implement conservation measures in line with regulations.
Itis estimated that about 300 white-rumped langurs are living in nature, mostlyin forest areas in Kim Bang district of Ha Nam and Van LongWetland Conservation in nearby Ninh Binh province.
Earlylast year, Ha Nam People’s Committeeannounced plans to build a white-rumped langur conservation site.
Theconservation site is expected to cover some 2,483 ha in Lien Son and Thanh Son communes of Kim Bang. The region has high biodiversity valueand it is large enough to develop a population of white-rumped langurs.
Accordingto a survey by FFI in 2018, the forest area in Kim Bang has 13 flocks of white-rumped langurs,made up of 73 individuals.
However,the white-rumped langurs in Kim Bang are under serious threat from huntingand habitat loss due to mineral exploitation and forest product collection./.