Students in Đà Nẵng read the book 'The world of wildlife in Sơn Trà Forest' during a field trip at the Sơn Trà Nature Education Centre. The new English-Vietnamese version has been reprinted for donation to school libraries. —Photo courtesy of GreenViet

ĐÀ NẴNG — The Green Việt Nam Biodiversity Conservation Centre (GreenViet), in cooperation with ZaloPay, has reissued 5,000 copies of the book 'The world of wildlife in Sơn Trà Forest' to provide for free to 150 libraries at primary and junior high schools in the central city of Đà Nẵng to promote nature and wildlife conservation in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve.

GreenViet biologist and manager of the Sơn Trà Nature Education Centre Nguyễn Thị Tịnh said 3,000 copies of the book, which was introduced for the first time in 2020, have been reprinted to provide information about the jungle ecosystem and wildlife in the Sơn Trà Reserve.

She said the 2025 edition will be published in both Vietnamese and English for students at Vietnamese and international schools to explore the reserve’s rich biodiversity and conservation efforts.

“The book offers a real-life look at the reserve and gives much-needed information for students to learn more about nature and the wildlife in the area. It features storytelling from the perspective of wildlife species themselves, sort of like kids talking about their daily life activities to friends,” Tịnh said.

“We have had donations from more than 300 individuals and organisations and contributed photos from 20 local photographers for the reprinting, in both the English and Vietnamese versions,” she noted.

“The book just costs VNĐ27,500, but it could help raise awareness among students about nature and wildlife protection as well as the rich biodiversity in the Sơn Trà Reserve.

“Any donations for the book will help open millions of hearts and bring knowledge of wildlife species and the importance of forest protection to the kids.”

GreenViet reports that since 2012, it has organised 500 jungle trips for more than 70,000 students, teachers, parents and communities in Đà Nẵng to explore the Sơn Trà Reserve and its rare wildlife species, especially the endangered red-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus). The reserve is home to a population of more than 1,300 of the critically endangered species.

Two red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathryx nemaeus) living in a safe habitat at the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve in Đà Nẵng. The reserve is home to a population of more than 1,300 of the critically endangered species. Photo courtesy of Bùi Văn Tuấn

A network of 1,000 volunteers has been built by GreenViet for nature and wildlife conservation activities in the reserve, while teams also work to protect habitat for the red-shanked douc langurs living in the reserve.

GreenViet had launched a web portal, thiennhiendanang.vn, for the public to access more than 3,000 documents including 1,000 photos, 53 video clips and statistics from nature reserves in Sơn Trà and Bà Nà-Núi Chúa as well as a special-use forest south of Hải Vân.

The 4,400ha reserve, 10km away from the central city’s downtown area, is also home to more than 1,010 plants and 370 animal species.

Đà Nẵng raised US$4.4 million for conservation, forest protection and afforestation efforts and to establish new reserves on 43,722 hectares of land by 2030. The city aims to grow more than five million trees by the end of 2025. — VNS