Tonkin snub-nosed monkey
I have just arrived back in Hanoi, Vietnam, from the field, and I miss the villages already. Some might say that the endless hiking, hardwood floor beds, and simple cuisine are the hard part, but, personally, I think this is the best. There’s nothing more wholesome and fulfilling than living off the land, learning from some of the wisest of people, and getting your feet a little dirty. What an amazing trip! (See post, Trip Preparations: Monkeys in Vietnam.)
Corrin conducts households interviews in Vietnam's Ban Bo village.
To get to the villages, we traveled north by bus for approximately nine hours. The travel buses are always packed, with bodies squeezed into every inch of open space. Once in Ha Giang Province, we checked in with local forest protection authorities and gathered our last-minute supplies. This year we spent extra time in the market buying seemingly random parts and pieces: scrap metal, weighing scales, washers, plastic jars, pots, transportable stoves, markers, plastic bags, metal wire, and pliers. As our translators looked on in a bit of puzzlement over our must-have purchases, we were ready to begin the uphill climb to the mountains. Onto Khau Ca we went.
Corrin collects soil samples from agricultural fields in Khau Ca villages.
To begin the trek, we first took a special high-clearance taxi that was able to withstand poor and muddy road conditions. Then we hopped onto a motorbike taxi for a 40-minute ride, culminating in a 3-mile hike on foot. This was about the time when we began thinking through our shopping spree items again: do we REALLY need these cumbersome and heavy materials?
Once in the villages, the real fun began: household interviews and group discussions. We are working to develop an understanding of the daily lives of people in Khau Ca in order to generate livelihood improvement and alternative project initiatives that are culturally appropriate, economically viable, environmentally sensitive, and sustainable.
Corrin organizes soil samples for analysis.
Implementing household interviews and group discussions may sound a bit more straightforward than it actually is. We need to be culturally sensitive, gracious, and respectful. This usually entails casually drinking tea or locally distilled rice wine, chatting about family and friends, exchanging small gifts, and sharing fun stories about the past. This can take hours, yet the time is well spent, as our success relies upon building solid relationships, involving people in creating solutions, encouraging a sense of ownership, and teaming up with locals as true colleagues.
Did we get what we came for? We certainly think so! Pilot project plans are now being drafted, fully equipped with all the necessary details. We’re exploring locally created opportunities in agriculture improvement training, cattle husbandry management alternatives, merchandise businesses, tree nurseries, and possibly fuel-efficient stove utilization. Moreover, all the supplies we carried with us have been left in the villages as good-faith gifts, and locals are now collecting baseline fuel wood usage-rates and experimenting with locally made alternative stoves. We plan to submit pilot project plans to local residents and authorities, local and international experts, and colleagues within San Diego Zoo Global for additional feedback. With a little help from our friends, we hope to implement the next steps in the very near future.
Future conservation biologists?
What does all of this have to do with the conservation of Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys? Quite a lot! We want to help ensure that resources and livelihood techniques that have historically been dependent on forested areas where the snub-nosed monkeys live are made available outside of the protected area or by other means. In this way, we can collectively reduce degradation to the ecosystem on which the monkeys depend while helping to improve the lives of local people in adjacent villages.
Conservation can pose challenges for people living near protected areas. We believe that by involving local communities, we are benefiting from their knowledge and experience and are working toward mutually beneficial solutions that will strengthen our conservation efforts and make them more sustainable. In reality, it is the local citizen who will be carrying the conservation torch into the future. Only by working together can we move mountains, or in this case, save critically endangered monkeys and the unique forest they call home.
Stay tuned as we continue our work on this project. Until next time, look for our new Tonkin snub-nosed monkey plush animal in San Diego Zoo and Safari Park gift shops. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each plush goes directly to our conservation efforts! Thanks, as always, for your support.
Corrin LaCombe is a conservation education research coordinator for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.
Thanks Corrin for this detailed update. I understand how you have to start with the people. If you can’t get them to change some of their ways then the monkeys habitat will continue to get smaller and smaller. Will these villages also be stewards to the monkeys to help protect them?
I have heard of something similar being done in a few places in China regarding the bamboo forests that are being cut down. If alternative ways can be taught to the people living there, that help them and the animals involved, then there is hope that their numbers will start climbing.
Looking forward to more of your blogs.
I do not belong to facebook so I just want to say happy 50th birthday Janey.
Just read the article about Corrin’s trip to Vietnam to do more research about the snub nosed monkeys there. Looks like she’s doing some great things over there with education and conservation efforts. Have fun, Corrin!
Some great news coming from Atlanta Zoo’s Great Ape House! AZ’s orangutan, 8 year old male Bornean Orangutan Satu, has recently become the first orang to participate in the awake cardiac ultrasound procedure. This is the result of hard work, consistant training, and patience on the part of the zookeepers, vets, and Satu. Another orang, 34 year old Chantek, is also being trained to take part in this same procedure. The staff are hoping to add more orangs to this program in the months ahead. This is the same procedure that they are doing on the gorillas for the Great Ape Heart Health program that Atlanta Zoo has set up for their research on heart health for gorillas, chimps, bonobos, and orangs. Heart disease is a constant concern for zoo staff and vets in all zoos and sanctuaries when these great apes start to get older, and this new awake procedure will provide the great, necessary medical info that the vets will need to help monitor the health of these animals. This is another huge step forward for great apes living under human care!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL