FFI Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Project

Some of the funds raised by the EAZA Ape Campaign will go towards supporting this project.

Cao vit gibbon. Credit: Zhao Chao/FFI

Cao vit gibbon. Credit: Zhao Chao/FFI

With just over 100 individuals left in the world, the cao vit crested gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), listed by the IUCN [2008] as Critically Endangered, is one of the most endangered primates in the world and in dire need of conservation support.

Alongside ecological research and direct protection of the gibbon’s habitat, Fauna and Flora International (FFI) is helping local communities to develop pig-manure biogas plants and fuel efficient stoves to reduce the demand for fuel wood, the extraction of which poses a significant threat to the gibbon’s habitat along with livestock grazing.

What does the FFI Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Project (FFI CVGCP) do?

FFI CVGCP has been working with local government forestry agencies and local communities in order to reduce threats to the gibbon population and to provide some level of immediate protection in the forest. In Vietnam, a preliminary protection zone was agreed upon by local authorities and conservation agreements signed by local households. Community patrol groups have been established in both Vietnam and China, supervised by local government forest protection agencies. In Vietnam, biodiversity surveys, socio-economic surveys and stakeholder consultations led by FFI CVGCP resulted in the establishment of the 1,600 ha Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area adjacent to the Chinese border. In August 2009, formal approval was given expanding the area of forest protected for the gibbon by another 6,500 ha.

What are the objectives of the FFI Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Project?

  1. Protection of the gibbon population and its habitat;
  2. Support to local communities to reduce their dependency on forest resources and improve their livelihoods;
  3. Further understanding of gibbon ecology through scientific research;
  4. Raising awareness among stakeholders about the cao vit gibbon and the importance of its conservation;
  5. Rehabilitation of the habitat of the Cao Vit gibbon; and
  6. International transboundary cooperation for conservation.

How do FFI Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Project’s goals align with the EAZA Ape Campaign aims?

The EAZA Ape Campaign addresses three main issues that are related to the decline of apes in the wild:

  1. Habitat loss
  2. Hunting and illegal trade of apes
  3. Ape disease and health
Habitat of the cao vit gibbon. Credit: FFI

Habitat of the cao vit gibbon. Credit: FFI

FFI CVGCP’s goals tie in with the EAZA Ape Campaign aims as they address the issue of the destruction and fragmentation of crucial gibbon habitat. The project aims to strengthen the interventions with local communities which both reduce habitat degradation and support livelihoods, to expand its detailed ecological monitoring efforts in China, and to further the transboundary collaboration between Vietnam and China.