Saving Son Tra
Son Tra Nature Reserve located in Danang, Vietnam is home to more than 60% of the Endangered Red-shanked Douc Langur population.
Protecting through Conservation, Education and Research
Douc Langurs are Endangered Colobine monkeys found only in the evergreen forests of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Once thought to be rare and with limited distribution, our recent fieldwork has demonstrated that small populations of Doucs are widely distributed and found in a variety of forest habitats.
Red-Shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix nemaeus)
The Red-shanked Douc is located in the forests of north and central provinces of Vietnam and central and south eastern forests of Laos. New discoveries have also demonstrated that Red-shanked Doucs are found in north eastern Cambodia.
Grey-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix cinerea)
The Grey-shanked Douc, a new and critically endangered form, has been located in a restricted distribution in central Vietnam.
Black-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix nigripes)
The Black-shanked Douc is found in central and southern provinces of Vietnam and in the eastern and southern forests of Cambodia. Black -shanked Doucs do not occur in Laos.
Douc Habitat
All Doucs are entirely restricted to wooded habitats. Populations of Doucs have been found in monsoon forests as well as rain forests and their forest homes include: semi evergreen, lowland lower montane and upper montane forests types.
Deforestation
All forests are rapidly disappearing in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos as a direct result of intense and often illegal logging activities which supply hardwoods prized by the building trades for construction of houses, floors and furniture. Forest land is being converted to agriculture at an increased rate as people move into the forests along with logging operations.
History of Son Tra
French-Spanish War
1858 > Colonial European nations begin war campaign with French-Spanish war ships anchoring on Sơn Trà Peninsula before launching attacks on Đà Nẵng’s Điện Hải Citadel in 1858-60.
French map of the Seige of Tourane (Tourane > name used by the French for Danang)
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American War
1965 - 1975 > American military forces begin ground campaign on the beaches of Danang in 1965. Son Tra Peninsula was used as a U.S. military outpost for the duration of the war due to it's strategic geographic position.
U.S. Marines landing on Danang beaches March 1965 (Associated Press)
Science
1969 > First scientific studies undertaken by Van Peenen and colleagues investigating the record of the Red-shanked Douc Langur in Son Tra.
1973 > Lois K. Lippold (Founder of DLF) studied the Red-shanked Douc on Son Tra Peninsula during the American War and carried out fieldwork in active war zone.
1977 > Establishment of Forest Protection Department to protect Son Tra National Forbidden Forest (Decision 41 / TTg).
1988 > Forest Protection Department coordinated with FIPI to survey forest resources in order to formulate a Feasibility Study for Son Tra Nature Reserve.
1993 > Forest Protection Department coordinated with Forest Inventory and Planning Union to organize inventory of Son Tra forest resources (level I).
1993 to Present > Lois K. Lippold (Founder of DLF) has been studying at Son Tra since 1993 on all aspects of douc feeding, social behavior and population etc.
1995 > Lois K. Lippold (Founder of DLF) studied the Red-shanked Douc in Son Tra.
1997 > Scientific study undertaken by Dinh Phuong Anh and her colleagues investigated the fauna and flora zones and proposed a Conservation Plan for Son Tra.
2007 > DLF was founded after Lois K. Lippold observed and counted the largest population of Red-Shanked Douc Langurs ever discovered at a single site.
2007 - Present > Hanoi University of Science and Technology collaborates with DLF to conduct research on ecological nutrition of Red-shanked Doucs in Son Tra.
2010 - Present > DLF Surveys observed approximately 800 individuals in 88 groups scattered throughout Son Tra Nature Reserve.
2006 > DLF carries out a Study of Son Tra Nature Reserve > The Time is Now: Survival of the Douc Langurs of Son Tra, Vietnam. Lois K. Lippold and Vu Ngoc Thanh. Douc Langur Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA, Department of Vertebrate Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Hanoi, Vietnam. Primate Conservation 2008 (23): 75-79.
2016 > DLF carries out a Study of Son Tra Nature Reserve > Resource Assessment and Development Impact on Douc Population at Son Tra Nature Reserve, Vietnam. Lois K. Lippold, Vu Ngoc Thanh and Tran Dinh Nghia. Douc Langur Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam. Primate Conservation 2018 (32): 8 pp.
Conservation
1980 - 1990 > Implementation of Forestry Program PAM / 2780-4126.
1993 - 1998 > Implementing the 327 / CT-TTg Forestry Program.
1997 > Establishment of Son Tra Nature Reserve Management Board.
1999 - 2010 > Implementation of the Forestry Program 661 / QD-TTg.
2009 > Implementation of the Project to support capacity building for SUF Management Boards implemented by the Vietnam Special-use Forest Conservation Fund (VCF) component in Son Tra.
2009 > Department of Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with Hanoi University of Science to set up a biodiversity conservation project in Son Tra Nature Reserve.
2007 - 2010 > Sub-department of Forest Protection and DLF coordinated to implement the Douc Langur Protection Plan in Son Tra.
2009 - 2011 > DLF Protection Teams confiscated 8 doucs, 840+ wire snares and 6000+ meters of fencing used to direct animals into traps.
DLF Protection and Monitoring Team
2011 - Present > DLF started school education programs in several primary and secondary schools in towns close to Son Tra Nature Reserve.
Son Tra in the News!
In 2017, Son Tra Peninsula made National News headlines in Vietnam.
A Da Nang citizen posting on Facebook about construction on Son Tra sparked a lot of attention from News media.
More News Stories!
Art by Marco Polo Studios
Explore Son Tra in 3D!
Son Tra Master Plan Map (2025 - 2030)
Son Tra Master Plan Map (2025 - 2030)
"The protection of natural resources, fauna and flora on Son Tra Peninsula should be considered as a top priority, then the extraction of its values in the direction of making trips to visit and explore the wildlife to learn about the environment."
Tran Huu Vy, GreenViet
"If Da Nang keeps an extremely wild Son Tra next to a modern city it would be the most unique destination in the world. Da Nang should develop green tourism completely in Son Tra, with tourists only being allowed to visit Son Tra and then returning to Da Nang city."
Huynh Tan Vinh, Da Nang Tourism Association
"Visitors to Da Nang are not coming to see great buildings but only the nature, the red-shanked doucs and also the history of Son Tra. It is necessary to immediately abandon plans in Son Tra forest land and to return Son Tra into a primeval forest."
Ho Duy Diem, Architect
"It's unrealistic to think that the future of humanity can be achieved only on the basis of prayer; WHAT WE NEED IS TO TAKE ACTION." - Dalai Lama
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