HANOI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese government has approved an action plan to conserve primates in the country, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday.
The plan calls for strengthening law enforcement to combat the hunt and illegal trade by 2025, towards reducing hunting by 70 percent, as well as building three rescue centers to save and release primates back into the wild.
The plan requires building an inter-sectoral cooperation mechanism and confiscating shotguns in residential areas where endangered primates in need of protection live.
National parks and sanctuaries home to rare and endangered primates are also urged to use spatial monitoring and reporting tools to prevent hunting. State budget funds will be earmarked for them to study, protect and monitor primates while expanding forestation to create more living spaces for primates.
Awareness campaigns will be launched to minimize the consumption of products originating from primates. Meanwhile, lectures on primate conservation will be added to school and tertiary curricula.
According to the United States-based Wildlife Conservation Society, Vietnam has 25 taxa (species and subspecies), the highest number of primate taxa of the countries located on the Southeast Asian mainland.
Following the phylogenic species concept, there are 24 species recognized, and one species, the long-tailed macaque with two subspecies in Vietnam. Five of the species are endemic to the country, and they are also listed among the 25 world's most endangered primates.
