Central city seeks stricter controls on forests

A banyan tree features the beauty and well-protected forest in Sơn Trà Nature Reserve of Đà Nẵng City. The city has planned to set up a joint-management board for two reserves of Sơn Trà, Bà Nà-Núi Chúa, and protected landscape of South Hải Vân. — VNS Photo Công Thành

The city’s agriculture and rural development department said the introduction of the new unit would limit residents, visitors or poachers illegally entering the forests.

It said the strict rules will help the management board build stronger powers and law enforcement in tackling illegal snares and negative impacts on natural reserves and wildlife habitats.

In a written reply to the Việt Nam News, the department admitted that there were no fines to prevent people from feeding wildlife with human food in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve.

Local rangers and joint-patrol forces erected notice boards warning visitors not to feed monkeys.

A group of tourists feed a monkey with human food. Photo courtesy of Thanh Trúc

Vice director of the department, Vũ Bích Hậu said a total of 90km of traffic routes had been built in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve – one of the most visited sites in Đà Nẵng – creating smooth travel for residents and tourists by cars and motorbikes.

She said tourists and motorbike trippers could get into the reserve more easily via good routes including Hoàng Sa, Intercontinental Đà Nẵng Sun Peninsula Resort, Yết Kiêu and Tiên Sa that go through the reserve.

Hậu said: “Ranger forces did strict control on the reserve, but it needs financial sanctions on feeding wildlife with human food and a series of warnings were built at the roadside and destinations in the reserve.

“We could not establish a management board on the Sơn Trà nature reserve as the law of forest does not allow a reserve with an area less than 5,000ha to create a management board, while Sơn Trà reserve has 4,400ha. It means the city has to set up a joint-management board of SUF for two reserves and a landscape protection area.”

A monkey finds food in a coconut shell left by visitors in Sơn Trà Nature Reserve. — Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Công Hưng

Currently, the Sơn Trà Reserve is managed by different agencies, the Sơn Trà-Ngũ Hành Sơn forest protection sub-department; Thọ Quang Ward’s administration; Sơn Trà Peninsula’s management board of Beaches and Tourism; and the Border Guard, Air Defence and Navy.

Each agency only manages one assigned area, but an overall management board has not been set up to deal with people feeding wildlife, illegal snares in the reserve and waste left by visitors.

The department said a joint-patrol force, which involves Thọ Quang Ward’s administration, rangers, public security, border guards and Sơn Trà Peninsula’s management board of Beaches and Tourism, was set up by the Sơn Trà district to protect the reserve.

According to a report from the Sơn Trà-Ngũ Hành Sơn forest protection sub-department, 20 clam traps, or so-called the 'Jaws of the Devil', which can kill or seriously injure animals, as well as wire snares left by poachers, were dismantled and destroyed in the first quarter of 2024.

Head of Sơn Trà-Ngũ Hành Sơn forest protection sub-department, Ngô Trường Chinh, says more than 100 trips had been held in the first quarter of 2024 to remove more than 400 traps and three tents in reserve.

Local rangers release a monkey back into the wild after it was rescued by residents. — Photo courtesy of Bùi Thanh Lang

Poachers could access the reserve by different paths and unofficial shortcuts that rangers failed to detect, he added.

The department said only eight rangers of the Sơn Trà-Ngũ Hành Sơn forest protection sub-department are assigned to manage 2,500ha in the Sơn Trà reserve, so it’s difficult to cover the large forest area.

Authorities of Sơn Trà District have been cooperating with the Centre of Biodiversity Conservation and GreenViet in seeking the protection of the rhesus macaque monkey in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve.

A survey from GreenViet revealed that at least 10 herds of monkeys (about 200 individuals) were living near the Intercontinental Đà Nẵng Sun Peninsula resort, Linh Ứng Pagoda and Lê Văn Lương Street, and they would often get feed by residents

Despite serious warnings not to feed the monkeys, some residents and tourists still give them fruit, snacks, bread and even rotten, left-over food.

A group of 30 monkeys used to gather by the Linh Ứng Pagoda, a popular destination, to seek food from visitors, or rummage in dustbins.

Several monkeys were killed by cars and motorbikes when crossing the road and two other monkeys were killed by household dogs at farms in the reserve.

Freelance photographer. Nguyễn Công Hưng, had taken photos of eight rhesus monkeys living at the Linh Ứng Pagoda with serious injuries or missing limbs caused by traps.

The rhesus macaque is listed as Least Concern in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s red list of threatened species.

The reserve is also home to more than 1,300 red-shanked douc langurs – an endangered primate species listed by IUCN – and more than 1,000 plant and 370 animal species including 15 flora and 25 fauna species listed as the most threatened species in the world.

The Sơn Trà often hosts around 10,000 visitors every month.

Đà Nẵng has been raising total funds of US$4.4 million for conservation, forest protection and afforestation and establishing new reserves on 43,722 hectares by 2030. The city aims to complete growing more than five million trees by the end of 2025.

The city also built the Master Plan on biodiversity conservation in 2030 that aims to reserve Sơn Trà, Bà Nà-Núi Chúa and Nam Hải Vân, or South Hải Vân forest as key priorities for strict protection in biosphere reserves, natural landscape protection, herb and botanical gardens covering 37,534ha.