Community-led protection of Tam My Tay’s grey-shanked douc langur

Community: Effective force for protecting forests

At the Forum on Media Mobilization of Community and Stakeholder Participation in Sustainable Biodiversity Conservation, the story of protecting the grey-shanked douc langur in Tam My Tay (Tam My Commune, Da Nang City) stood as a vivid testament to the central role of local communities in nature conservation.

Sharing at the forum, Mr. Huynh Cong Phuong, Deputy Head of the Pioneering Group for the Protection of the Grey-shanked Douc Langur in Tam My Tay, said that for generations, local people have passed down stories about a creature living in the commune’s natural forest. The animal has beautiful fur, a gentle nature, and often makes distinctive calls to communicate with its group. No one knew its scientific name; villagers simply called it as a folk name derived from the sound echoing through the forest.

Because they saw the animals as gentle and beautiful, local people grew deeply fond of them. Without being told, villagers reminded one another not to hunt them and not to allow outsiders to enter the forest to set traps. The initial protection efforts were entirely spontaneous, arising from affection and a very natural sense of responsibility, Mr. Phuong shared.

By 2017, when authorities and specialized organizations began conducting field research in the area, the findings surprised both local residents and authorities: the primate that villagers had protected for many years turned out to be the grey-shanked douc langur, an endemic primate species of Viet Nam, listed in the Viet Nam Red Data Book and classified as Critically Endangered on IUCN Red List.

When they learned it was an extremely rare species, everyone felt both happy and worried. Happy because, unknowingly, they had helped protect a natural treasure; worried because the responsibility from that point on became much greater, Mr. Phuongrecalled.

A decisive turning point for the Tam My Tay community came in 2018, when the Green Viet Biodiversity Conservation Centre (GreenViet) entered the area at the request of the forest rangers. Recognizing that the local community was the core force for sustainable conservation, GreenViet worked with the Tam My Tay commune authorities to establish the Tam My Tay Grey-shanked Douc Langur Protection Pioneering Group.

At the outset, the group consisted of 10 members representing various forces, including the commune People’s Committee, local forest rangers, and residents. Its core tasks were forest patrols, forest protection management, monitoring, and the timely prevention of acts that could harm the douc langur troop as well as the natural forest ecosystem.

To date, the group has grown to 18 regularly active members, including 10 core members. According to their schedule, each month the group conducts patrols lasting from 7 a.m. until after 6 p.m. Beyond the fixed schedule, whenever local people detect signs of illegal logging, wildlife traps, or unlawful bird hunting, members are ready to head out at any time, day or night.

There are many hardships, all on a shoestring, with no fixed salary. But every time I accompany expert teams into the forest for research and see people aged 70 or 80 still so energetic, cherishing every small living creature in the forest, even stopping to give way to frogs and toads, I tell myself there is no reason not to try harder, Mr. Phuongshared emotionally.

Beyond being forest guardians, group members are also active communicators within the community. Through conversations and village meetings, stories about the grey-shanked douc langur have gradually spread, helping local people better understand the biological value, legal status, and significance of conserving this rare primate species.

Partnership with authorities and social organizations

Also speaking at the Forum, Mr. Tran Huu Vy, Director of the Green Viet Biodiversity Conservation Centre GreenViet, said that from a completely spontaneous protection group, after nearly 10 years the Tam My Tay grey-shanked douc langur conservation community has continued to grow stronger, operating in an increasingly structured and professional manner thanks to the joint efforts of local authorities, mass organizations, and residents.

From a time when people simply knew that the grey-shanked douc langur was a beautiful animal, community awareness has gradually improved to recognize it as a rare primate requiring strict protection. The protection group has been strengthened in capacity and better equipped for patrol work, while members and their families have also been provided with insurance as a practical and humane form of encouragement.

After more than a decade, positive changes have become clearly visible, with large areas of forest restored and local people proactively creating ecological corridors around the strictly protected zone. As a result, the grey-shanked douc langur population has remained stable and grown strongly, increasing from around 20 individuals in 2017 to 75 individuals in 2024. The fauna recorded now includes 176 species, of which 10 are rare species.

To achieve these results, recognition and attention from local authorities have played a particularly important role. Local leaders regularly visit the field, listen to the community, provide encouragement, and promptly help resolve difficulties. Being acknowledged by the authorities is a major source of motivation for the protection group to sustain and further enhance the effectiveness of forest protection efforts, Mr. Tran Huu Vy noted.

In addition, the support of the media and domestic and international organizations has also been a key factor. To date, more than 100 articles and news reports have highlighted conservation efforts in Tam My Tay. Notably, international organizations such as WWF have not only provided financial support and capacity building but have also partnered in communication and outreach activities. In Tam My Tay alone, more than 50 percent of GreenViet’s operating budget comes from support from WWF, alongside other funding sources.

At present, many travel companies have organized experiential tours in Tam My Tay. Nationwide, this is one of the few places where the grey-shanked douc langur can be observed in its natural habitat. GreenViet has signed cooperation agreements with two tourism enterprises to develop ecotourism, contributing to environmental protection while creating sustainable livelihoods for local people.

In 2023, the former Quang Nam Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development developed a Project on the Conservation of the Grey-shanked Douc Langur in Tam My Tay, proposing the restoration and enrichment of 60 hectares of natural forest and forestry land planned for special-use forests. At the same time, it prioritized the development of 90 hectares of large-timber forests on local people’s production land to both create livelihoods and expand suitable habitat for the langurs.