Representatives of the People’s Committee of Ninh Bình Province present the decision to establish the Kim Bảng Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area. —VNA/VNS Photo Đức Phương

NINH BÌNH — The People's Committee of the northern mountainous province of Ninh Bình has announced a decision to establish the Kim Bảng Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area.

Under the decision, the conservation area covers 3,182ha, including over 3,016ha of natural limestone forest, within the Vân Long–Kim Bảng–Tam Chúc landscape.

With its extensive coverage, the Kim Bảng Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area is the world's largest protected area dedicated to the conservation of the species.

It is divided into strictly protected, ecological restoration, and service and administrative zones. The Ninh Bình Special-use and Protection Forest Management Board has been assigned direct responsibility for its management.

The establishment of the conservation area provides a solid legal and scientific foundation for completing the dossier to seek UNESCO recognition of the Vân Long–Kim Bảng–Tam Chúc Cultural and Ecological Landscape Complex as a World Heritage Site.

Trần Anh Dũng, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said the establishment of the conservation area marked an important milestone, but was only the beginning.

What matters most is how the plan is implemented to turn conservation objectives into tangible, long-term and sustainable results, he said.

To ensure the conservation area operates effectively, he called on relevant departments, agencies and local authorities to strengthen their management responsibilities, proactively raise public awareness and encourage local people to comply with the law and help detect and prevent violations, he said.

Dũng also called on scientists, experts, conservation organisations and partners to continue sharing knowledge and experience and supporting the province in research, monitoring, habitat restoration, Delacour's langur conservation and the promotion of biodiversity values.

The Delacour's langur (Trachypithecus delacouri), also known as the white-shorted langur, is a primate endemic to Việt Nam.

The species was once found across several areas of northern and north-central Việt Nam, but its population has declined sharply due to hunting and habitat loss.

Delacour's langurs inhabit the Vân Long Wetland Nature Reserve in the northern mountainous province of Ninh Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Thùy Dung

There are currently around 540 Delacour's langurs in Việt Nam, of which nearly 470 are found in the province, accounting for approximately 90 per cent of the global population.

They are concentrated in the limestone forests of Kim Bảng and the Vân Long Wetland Nature Reserve.

The species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on both Việt Nam's Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Hunting, captivity and trade are prohibited.

Delacour's langurs are rescued and conserved at the Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC) in Cúc Phương National Park in the northern mountainous province of Ninh Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Thùy Dung

In 2016, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), together with Vietnamese scientists, recorded more than 100 Delacour's langurs in Kim Bảng, then part of the former northern province of Hà Nam.

In 2017, Hà Nam Province's authorities approved in principle the establishment of a conservation area for the species in Kim Bảng District, with a proposed area of 3,400ha.

In July 2020, the Government directed the provincial People's Committee to take urgent measures to protect the langur population in its natural habitat and review compliance with environmental requirements by stone quarrying operations to ensure they did not threaten the survival and development of the species in the wild.

Since then, both the former Hà Nam Province and the newly established Ninh Bình Province have issued a series of directives to prepare the proposal and seek central Government approval, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, for the establishment of the Kim Bảng Delacour's Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area. — VNS