COMMUNITY-BASED PATROL TEAM IN KIM BANG JOINS HANDS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE DELACOUR’S LANGUR POPULATION AND WILD BIRDS IN NINH BINH

In late October, Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) and the Community-Based Monitoring Team for Delacour’s Langur in Kim Bang Forest (Community Team) supported the Ninh Binh Sub-Department of Forestry - Forest Protection, and the Forest Protection Unit of Region IV (formerly Kim Bang FPU) to remove bird traps and confiscate trapped wild birds in Tien Son Commune, Ninh Binh Province (formerly Duy Tien District, Ha Nam Province). This activity was carried out during the migratory bird season (from September to April each year).

Established in 2019, Community Team has been actively maintained to this day. It represents the collaboration between CCD, the Forest Protection Department, and local communities with the shared goal of protecting the population of Delacour’s Langur (Trachypithecus delacouri) and the limestone forest ecosystem of Kim Bang.

The team also operates under the supervision and coordination of Ninh Binh Forest Protection authorities, contributing to on-site protection tasks. The recent bird-trap removal was part of this joint effort.

Since 2024, within the framework of the Delacour’s Langur Conservation Project funded by Conservation Vietnam, CCD and Community Team have continued to work closely with the Forest Protection Unit of Region IV to implement key activities:

• Conduct monthly patrols to monitor langur groups, remove traps, and promptly record any signs of disturbance.

• Share information with Forest Protection officers to coordinate actions, prevent, and reduce threats to langurs and biodiversity in Kim Bang.

• Carry out awareness-raising activities in Kim Bang’s forest-edge communities to enhance local responsibility and engagement in conserving Delacour’s Langur and the limestone ecosystem.

In the coming time, CCD and Community Team will continue to cooperate with the Ninh Binh Sub-Department of Forestry - Forest Protection to sustain patrolling and strengthen conservation awareness programs in schools, buffer zone communities, and the wider public — contributing to the protection of this rare endemic primate’s habitat and preserving a vital link in the limestone ecosystem of northern Vietnam.