Nong Son Discovery Run - Responding to World Elephant Day

This activity is part of the Biodiversity Conservation Activity within the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project (VFBC) framework, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The activity aims to promote urgent messages on the conservation of wild elephants.

The event brings together more than 700 athletes and nature lovers to participate and spread the urgent message of wildlife conservation. The marathon is organized by the People’s Committee of Nong Son district (Quang Nam) since 2022 to promote community-based tourism in Dai Binh fruit village.

The marathon includes 7-kilometer run, 21-kilometer run, and 38-kilometer run, traversing through the beautiful Thu Bon river, peaceful villages, and green Nong Son rice fields. The 38-kilometer run passes through the Nong Son Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area, one of the critical project areas in Quang Nam province.

Nong Son Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area has a population of 8 elephants living in nearly 19,000 hectares of natural forest. Such a small population is most likely facing the adverse effects of inbreeding, genetic defects, and vulnerability to disease.

Furthermore, the limited habitat and food sources are also alarming threats to this elephant population.

Through organizing the marathons, the USAID-sponsored Biodiversity Conservation Activity seeks to highlight the importance of protecting the Asian elephant’s natural habitat.

“Elephants are adaptable and long-lived species, but when the population shrinks into this small number, their viability is jeopardized.

This population of eight elephants is a stark reminder of the enormous conservation challenges ahead. It also symbolizes hope, whereas we wish that with the utmost effort, we can restore the environment for elephant habitats and eliminate threats to their survival,” states Nick Cox, Director of the USAID-funded Biodiversity Conservation Activity, WWF.