France funds Vietnam animal conservation project
The French Development Agency AFD will provide EUR580,000 (US$692,000) in non-refundable aid for a project to protect hoofed animals in the Cat Tien National Park in southern Vietnam.
An agreement was signed for the purpose in Hanoi Wednesday between AFD and the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The funding will be used to survey and conserve gaurs (Bos gaurus), the large, rare ox-like mammals which are on the verge of extinction. Gaurs are found mainly in parts of Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, and India.
The project will also draft a master plan for developing Cat Tien National Park and the surrounding areas.
It is part of the EUR1.5-million ($1.8 million) BIODIVA program funded by France’s International Environment Fund to improve the diversity of domestic and wild animals in Vietnam.
The 74,300-hectare Cat Tien National Park is situated in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong and southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc.
Recent surveys in the park showed the presence of many rare animals and plants, thought to be threatened, like black-foot monkeys, short-tail monkeys, elephants, gayals, and gaurs, besides unidentified bird and butterfly species.
By Thu Thuy - Thanh Nien - March 9, 2006.
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