Volunteers join a patrol to protect the grey-shanked douc langur living in Nui Thanh district of Quang Nam province. A film on the group won the runner-up prize in the Documentary Shorts Category of Film for the Forest 2023. (Photo: VNA) The film, a co-production of WWF-Vietnam and Melt Films, was made to honour avolunteer conservation group that inspired their community to protect the lastremaining members of this langur species in Nui Thanh district, the centralprovince of Quang Nam.
"Langurs in the Tam My Tay community were once abundant,” said Nguyen DinhPhuoc, leading the Change Project, under WWF-Vietnam.
“But their population was down to about 50 by 2018, clinging on to four smallislands of natural forest. Habitat loss, hunting and climate change are themain threats. This film shows the power of dedicated and passionate peopleworking together.”
The film, Tam My Tay, features a group of friends creating a community patrolto protect the grey-shanked dour langur. As plantations divide langur habitatsacross central Vietnam, a forest smallholder realises the pressures faced bythese langurs and seeks help from his community with the support of WWF-Vietnamand the Centre of Biodiversity Conservation.
“We all have a stake in the grey-shanked douc langur’s future. It is an exampleof the need to find balance with nature and prioritise co-existence. Thevillage of Tam My Tay has developed a tight bond with the langurs and – maybebecause of that – with each other. I hope their story inspires othercommunities to follow their lead and to realise the power they hold to changethings”, said James Thomson, the director of Tam My Tay.
Launched in 2010 by the Rainforest Partnership, Films for the Forest is anannual short film collection and a platform for filmmakers around the world toshare stories of forests worldwide. Highlighting their beauty and richbiodiversity, the threats they face and renewal opportunities for forests, thetheme for 2023 is “Living Forests, Thriving Future”.
Eighty-three films from filmmakers in 26 countries submitted entries in five categoriesof short films and Tam My Tay is among ten selected. These winning films willbe presented at Films for the Forest screenings and by the RainforestPartnership. Tam My Tay has already been selected to be screened at anenvironmental film festival, IFF Ekotopfilm-Envirofilm 2023 in Slovakia inSeptember 2023.
The WWF-Vietnam and GreenViet have been working together on a project toprotect the grey-shanked douc langurs in the province’s Nui Thanh districtsince 2020.
The year-long project helped improve forest patrol skills to protect a herd ofgrey-shanked douc langurs – living in Tam My Tay Commune.
A fire-free zone was set up on a 70-ha log farm – a safe habitat for theanimals.
The Quang Nam Provincial People’s Committee had been seeking a fund of 4.4million USD to restore a 100ha area as a safe habitat for the animals.
According to a report by the provincial Forest Protection Division, a herd ofabout 50 gray-shanked douc langurs was found living in the area in 1997.
The local community and district rangers established a voluntary team toprotect the endangered primates from being hunted.
According to Dr. Ha Thang Long, head of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, some1,000 gray-shanked doucs have been found in forests of five provinces,including Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Kon Tum and Gia Lai.
The gray-shanked douc langur is listed on the International Union forConservation of Nature red list as one of the world’s 25 critically endangeredprimates./.
VNA
