the babbler 4

1 BirdLife International in Indochina

The Babbler - December, 2002

The honest state of biodiversity

In this fourth issue of The Babbler we are delighted toannounce the publication of the Directory of ImportantBird Areas: key sites for conservation in Vietnam. Thisis the first of three IBA directories we will be publishingtowards the end of this year and early in the New Yearas part of the Danida funded project entitled ImprovedConservation Planning through InstitutionalStrengthening in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. One ofthe major purposes of an IBA directory is to empowerdecision makers so that they make informed and rationalchoices about where to conserve biodiversity. Incomparison with conserving sites, priority setting is theeasy part of conservation, for that which follows. In thisissue Minh Phuong reports on progress in establishingthe first IBA Site Support Group for Vietnam at HanamIsland in coastal Quang Ninh province.

Our major feature in this issue is provided by ourcolleagues at WCS, which reveals the challenges IBAconservation will face in securing the conservation ofGiant Ibis and a whole suite of threatened large birdsand mammals in the dry forest landscape of northernCambodia. The abridged and abstracted version of apaper first presented by Dr John MacKinnon, EU co-director of the Asean Regional Centre for BiodiversityConservation, at the annual meeting of the Society forConservation Biology last summer, presents anotherview that in the eyes of many, we are not only fighting arear-guard action with our attempts to conservebiodiversity, but that we are losing the struggle and asconservationists, will not admit it. James Mellon’sphotograph of a magnificent bull Kouprey from our newFrom the archives section is a salutary reminder of whatthe dry forests of Cambodia have already lost. Swiftand pragmatic action, with a dose of realism will beneeded if the Giant Ibis is not to go the same way.

The Babbler BirdLife International in Indochina December 2002

Volume 1, Issue 4

Inside this Issue

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10131317181919

Welcome

Regional news

Spotlightorganisation

Rarest of the rare

Project updates

Profile

Reviews

Recently published

Staff news

From the archives

Feedback

BirdLife International in indochina#11, Lane 167, Tay SonHanoi, VietnamTel/Fax: (84 4) 851 7217Email: [email protected]

www.birdlifevietnam.com



Regional news

Cambodia’s northernplains - heartland ofthe Giant Ibis

Seasonally-inundated meandows and permanentpools form a patchwork within deciduousdipterocarp forest and support a rich variety ofgrasses, from fire-dependent species to marshlandspecialists. On the richer alluvial soils, tall, maturedipterocarps form the core of the more species-richsemi-evergreen forests.

Cambodia’s northern plains are one of the largest remaining intact blocks of a uniquelandscape that once spread across southern Indochina. The plains comprise a complex mosaicof habitats dominated by deciduous dipterocarp forest.

The northern plains are of exceptional global importance for biodiversity conservation and were formerly the home of thegreatest aggregation of large mammals outside of East Africa’s savannas. Today, the large mammals are severely reducedin mumbers, althrough the landscape is still intact. Populations of at least 32 mammals, reptiles and birds on the IUCN2000 Red List occur, including the near-mythical Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea, a bird rarely recorded during the last100 years, and possibly the legendary Kouprey Bos sauveli, symbol of the Cambodian nation (see From the archives).



The endangered White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata occurs alongforest-shaded streambeds. Photo: Pete Davidson

Past and presentwildlife surveysCambodia has only recentlyemerged from three decades ofconflict and horrific atrocities.From the late 1960s onward, thenorthern plains were a strongholdfor anti-government factions, mostnotably the Khmer Rouge, forwhom it was a stronghold until1998. The Wildlife ConservationSociety (WCS, then the New YorkZoological Society) supported amajor wildlife survey of the areain the 1950s, with then theDepartment of Forestry. Onlythree years ago did it become safeto return, and a joint team from theMinistry of Environment (MoE),the Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF),and WCS re-entered the area inNovember 2000 to beginpreliminary wildlife surveys.Since then, joint surveys betweenBirdLife International inIndochina, WCS, MAFF and MoEhave also been undertaken as partof a Danida funded project whichwill produce an IBA Directory forCambodia. Early results suggestthat, whilst populations of somespecies (particularly largemammals) were evidently muchreduced, an unparalled assemblageof globally threatened and near-threatened species still thrives.

Heartland of the GiantIbis and otherthreatened birdsOne of the most significant findswas a sizable population of thecritically endangered Giant Ibis,centred on Chhep district, PreahVihear province. Since November2000, ongoing ground surveys byMAFF/MoE/WCS, supplementedin September 2001 by aerialsurveys carried out by theInternational Crane Foundation

(ICF), have recorded a minimumof ca. 50, and potentially up to 90individuals, with substantial areasof suitable habitat yet to be visited.

Other globally threatened birdsfound in the northern plainsinclude the critically endangeredSlender-billed Gyps tenuirostrisand White-rumped G. bengalensisVultures and the near threatenedRed-headed Vulture Sarcogypscalvus. All three have undergonemassive declines across Indochina,apparently linked to the declines inlarge mammal mumbers andpersecution. Their remnantpopulations are now centred onCambodia’s northern and north-eastern plains. The endangeredWhite-winged Duck Cairinascutulata occurs in at least tworiver systems, Greater AdjutantLeptoptilos dubius (Endangered)occurs in small numbers, andLesser Adjutant Leptoptilosjavanicus (Vulnerable) is stillwidespread and relativelynumerous. The vulnerable SarusCrane Grus antigone breeds in theopen flooded grasslands during thewet season (June-October). Thevulnerable Green Peafowl Pavomuticus is locally distributed, butin places is not uncommon.



The Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus is near threatenedand probably the rarest stork in Indochina. It shares key feeding siteswith Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea, but eats mainly fish andamphibians rather than probing in the mud. Photo: Pete Davidson.

The near-threatened Black-neckedStork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticusis widespread in small mumbers,and Woolly-necked Stock Ciconiaepiscopus, a regionally threatenedspecies, is still relatively common.The vulnerable Greater SpottedEagle Aquila clanga regularly“over-winters” (some may lingerthrough the rainy season too), andGrey-headed Fish EagleIchthyophaga ichthyaetus andWhite-rumped Falcon Polihieraxinsignis (both near-threatened)occur at low densities. A fewManchurian Reed WarblersAcrocephalus tangorum(Vulnerable) winter in sedge andSesbania scrub stands aroundpools, and small numbers of AsianGolden Weavers Ploceushypoxanthus can be foundamongst mixed flocks of Baya P.philippinus and Streaked WeaversP. manyar.

One species that hasn’t yet beenrecorded in the northern plains,despite the presence of apparentlysuitable habitat, is the criticallyendangered White-shouldered IbisPseudibis davisoni. It hasundergone a more dramaticdecline than the Giant Ibis (it wasformerly described as common orvery common), and is undoubtedlyone of the most pressingconservation concerns in theregion. Fortunately, a survey inMay 2002, of western Siem Pangdistrict, Stung Treng province, tothe east of the northern plains,located the only known significantpopulation of this species inmainland South-East Asia. Thissurvey was conducted by BirdLifeInternational in Indochina, MAFF,MoE and WCS, as part of theDanida funded project ImprovedConservation Planning throughInstitutional Strengthening inCambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Regionally threatenedbirds and deciduousdipterocarp forestspecialistsThe northern plains also supportsan impressive and diversedeciduous dipterocarp birdcommunity. At least 16woodpecker species occur. Red-breasted Psittacula alexandri andBlossom-headed P. roseataParakeets are widespread andcommon, and AlexanderineParakeet P. eupatria (nowextremely rare across much ofSouth-East Asia) remains locallycommon. Nocturnal birds includeOriental Scops Owl Otus sunia,Indian Caprimulgus asiaticus andSavana C. affinis Nightjars,Spotted Owlet Athene brama,Brown Strix leptogrammica andSpotted S. seloputo Wood Owls,and, in copses of semi-everygreenforest, Javan FrogmouthBatrachostomus javensis. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon Treronphoenicoptera, another deciduousdipterocarp forest specialist, islocally common, as is GreenImperial Pigeon Ducula aenea.Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinusoedicnemus occurs sparsely inagricultural fringe habitats andraptors are well represented (16species have been identified todate).

MammalsThe plains are crucial to largemammal conservation in theregion. Many formerly widespreadspecies are now restricted to a fewlocalities, of which the northernand north-eastern plains are thelargest, with the greatest potentialfor conservation. Examplesinclude Eld’s Deer Cervus eldii(represented here by theIndochinese subspecies siamensis,previously considered to be closeto extinction), Banteng Bosjavanicus, Tiger Panthera tigris,Asian Elephant Elephas maximusand Fishing Cat Prionailurusviverrina. Recent surveys havediscovered Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat Otomops wroughtoni, acritically endangered species,



The India Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus is a commonground-nesting species in open deciduous dipterocarpwoodlands; this bird had sited its nest close to afrequently used trail. Photo: Pete Davidson.

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A dam and fish-trap erected by localpeople at a pool favoured as a regularfeeding site by four Giant Ibises andseveral Woolly-necked Storks. Photo: PeteDavidson.

previously known only from asingle cave in western India.Pileated Gibbons Hylobatespileatus still sing in the tracts ofevergreen forest, Asiatic JackalCanis aureus is common, DholeCuon alpinus is widespread butless common, whilst Jungle CatFelis chaus also occurs. Otherglobally threatened residentmammals include Pygmy LorisNycticebus pygmaeus, Pig-tailedMacaque Macaca nemestrina,Gaur Bos gaurus, Southern SerowNaemorhedus sumatraensis andEast Asian Porcupine Hystrixbrachyura. Like the largewaterbirds, many of these speciesconcentrate at a few key localitiesduring infertile or dry periods, anddisperse widely across thefoodplains when water enrichesthe soil.

The northern plains are possiblythe only area in the world whereKouprey still exist. Thischarismatic wild cattle species hasbeen extirpated from its formerrange spanning southern Laos,eastern Thailand and southernVietnam. The only recent reportscome from the forests of thenorthern plains, and any survivingpopulations would have importantramifications for Cambodia’sconservation efforts, for theirsymbolic value to the nation andfor their national and internationalconservation profile (see From thearchives).

Threats and root causesThe area has avoided large-scaledestruction due to its insecurityand consequent inaccessibility.Few people live there, but alreadydevelopment has begun and thereare localised problems withuncleared landmines. Provincialdevelopment plans outline roadconstruction, the opening ofinternational border posts, and theresettlement in outlying rural areasof returning refugees and formersoldiers. Although some of thesemi-everygreen forest areas arebeing heavily exploited, deciduousdipterocarp timber is of little valueto commercial forestry. However,

there are plans for future miningand large-scale agriculturaldevelopment.

The single greatest threat to mostof the large mammals, and otheranimals, is hunting, bothprofessionally to supply theinternational demand for wildlifetrophies and traditional medicine,and opportunistically to serveinternal or local markets.Subsistence hunting appearsmainly to focus on a fewcommoner species, a factor thatshould assist efforts to reduce theloss of key species throughcommunity involvement.

FutureconservationprospectsThe landscape isclearly of global

biodiversityimportance, yet it isstill relatively poorlyunderstood. WCS hasrecently initiated anextensive effort togather essential dataon both human andwildlife use of thelandscape, and tolocate, map andanalyse the threats tocritical resource sitesfor the key wildlifespecies. Crucially,the project also aims

to ensure that the landscape and itscritical areas are represented inprovincial and national land useplanning processes, and thatsufficient resources are committedto the area to promote long-termsustainability. Through theappropriate management oflocalised key sites, a far greaterarea with differing human-usepatterns can be managed for theeffective conservation of thisunique landscape and its wildlife.

Four areas within the northernplains have recently beenidentified as Important Bird Areas(IBAs): Chhep, O Skach, theUpper Stung Sen river and theUpper Chikreng river. These areamong the 41 IBAs in Cambodiarecently identified as part of a jointproject between BirdLifeInternational in Indochina, WCS,MAFF and MoE. These IBAs are afoundation for future conservationefforts in the northern plains, inthe form of local stakeholdersupport groups, a pilot of whichhas recently been successfullyestablished at the Upper Stung SenRiver IBA.

Peter Davidson, Colin Poole andJoe Walston

Wildlife Conservation SocietyCambodia Programme

P.O Box 1620, Phnom Penh,Cambodia



Vietnamese Pheasant Lophura hatinhensis.Photo: Roger Wilkinson.

Vietnamese pheasants Lophura hatinhensis bred at Chester Zoo

Roger Wilkinson, North of England Zoological Society, Chester Zoo, England.

Chester Zoo has been working with Vietnamesepheasants Lophura hatinhensis since February1999 when, through the auspices of the WorldPheasant (WPA), Chester received a young pair ofcaptive-bred birds that were the progeny of birdsloaned by Hanoi Zoo. These birds form part of amanaged conservation breeding programme withbreeding and pairing recommendations made by theWPA studbook keeper. The male was received fromAntwerp Zoo, Belgium, and the hen from theprivate collection of Michel Klat in England.

Breeding behaviour commenced in March 2000when four eggs were found on the aviary floor; butrather than laid in one nest these were scatteredthroughout the aviary. This is not unusual ininexperienced pheasants and the eggs weregathered and taken for artificial incubation.Although these eggs were fertile only one hatchedand then with human assistance but the weak chickdied shortly afterwards.

The hen proved to be a prolific layer but furtherclutches (one of five eggs, and two of four eggs) alldied in early incubation. Eggs of the later clutcheswere laid together at a defined nest site andalthough different incubation techniques were usedincluding placing the eggs under a broody bantamno chicks were hatched. In early May the femalehatinhensis was discouraged from laying furthereggs and at the same time given the opportunity topractice brooding behaviour by replacing her latestclutch of eggs with two fertile eggs of a goldenpheasant Chrysolophus pictus. These failed to hatchand this saw the end of breeding activities in 2000.

In August 2000 the male Vietnamese pheasant wassadly found dead. This was as sudden as it wasunexpected and post mortem investigationsindicated kidney failure. In agreement with thestudbook keeper it was later arranged that a newmale should be received in 2001 from the DurrellWildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey Zoo.

In March 2001 the hen Vietnamese pheasant atChester Zoo began egg-laying whilst still on herown. Three eggs were laid on alternate days on 16,18 and 20 March then eleven more laid between 25March and 14 April after which time she began tosit the eggs left with her. Eggs were usually laid onalternate but occasionally found on consecutivedays but as not all laying dates were recorded overthis period the clutch size within this series was noteasily definable. The new male was received fromJersey on 19 April and introduced to the hen two

days later after the infertile eggs had been removedfrom the nest site.

The first clutch of four eggs laid after the male wasintroduced were removed for artificial incubationand although all fertile none hatched. The last eggof the season was laid on 13 May and taken forartificial incubation the following day. This egghatched under a foster bantam on 9 June and thechick was successfully reared by its foster parent.This young Vietnamese Pheasant has proved to behen and was sent on loan to Belfast Zoo, NorthernIreland, in June 2002.

At Chester Zoo in 2002 disturbance of the breedingpair of Vietnamese pheasants was kept to aminimum to encourage natural breeding behaviour.A first egg was laid on 17 March and the hencompleted her clutch of six eggs and incubatedthese. Three of the six eggs proved infertile, onedied during incubation and two hatched on 21April. Both chicks have been successfully reared bytheir parents and now well grown have proved to bea cock and a hen. We hope that future studies andobservations from birds in the ex-situ breedingprogramme for the Vietnamese Pheasant mayfurther contribute to the knowledge of thisthreatened endemic.



Avenues of Futility inConservation

By John MacKinnonEU Co-director

The ARCBC

Honest State of BiodiversityThe world is in a terrible state. The situationis worse than most ecologists’ worstnightmares. Our forests are disappearing,the sea is polluted, the atmosphere isdamaged, global fisheries are crashing,plant and animal species are going extinctall around us, deserts are spreading andglobal temperatures are rising. Thebiosphere is literally collapsing ecologicallyand world leaders are completelyunconcerned and unwilling to do anythingto help e.g. Kyoto Protocol.

Where are we going wrong?Conservationists have been totallyineffective. We have failed to prove ourargument. We fail because we completelyunderestimate the scale of the problems anddoggedly pursue a totally flawed logic andmethodology. Conservation is rife with falsebeliefs and repeated mistakes such as thecommon misconception that raising livingstandards of local communities willeffectively reduce natural resourceexploitation within protected areas, when inreality, every step of the development ladderis accompanied by an overall increase inresource use levels. We try to deal with thesymptoms of biodiversity loss such ashabitat loss and over-harvesting andcompletely ignore the underlying causes,such as unfair international tradeinstruments, lack of transparency inresource allocation, corruption and poorgovernance.

We also consistently fail to learn from ourmistakes and to forge powerful allianceswith any forces big enough to make any realdifference. Until conservationists learn thelanguage and methods of finance such asenvironmental accounting etc, a lack ofappreciation of the real values ofbiodiversity and ecosystem service valuesby governments and industry will continue.Until governments accept these values, thefinancial feedbacks necessary to protect theworld’s environment will not exist.

Early this year, the General Department of Post andTelecommunications (GDPT) issued a set of stamps entitled“Birds (Timaliidae family)”. The stamps show several residentbird species which occur in Vietnam. These species are wellknown for their beautiful songs and colourful plumage. In general,they inhabit evergreen forest and forest edge habitat, secondaryforest and live on a variety of insects. Among the speciesillustrated are several species recently discovered in Vietnam byornithologists belonging to BirdLife International, the Institute ofEcology and Biological Resources and the Forest Inventory andPlanning Institute.

How do we change course?We need to forget all our preconceptions and start seeing theworld as it really is. Politicians should be forced to recognisethe serious state of global biodiversity and the economicconsequences of failing to act. We need to recognise that thereare real enemies out there and identify and counter theindividuals, corporations, systems and policies that are takingthe planet down the slope. Alliances should be forged tocombat those enemies, and the public and NGOs should bearmed with data to lobby against destructive programmes andpolicies. We need to get more devious, wily and secretive inthe way we move towards our goals. We also need to dismantlethe stranglehold of powerful multinationals and unfair tradeagreements that force developing countries to followunsustainable development paths.



"One of two White-shouldered Ibis thatwere recently on display at the Royal ForetDepartment in Bangkok. Their provenanceand date of collection is unknown but arethought to originate from Cambodia. It ispossible that they are two of four birdscurrently being held at the Sarus CraneBreeding Centre near Bang Pra Reservoirin Chonburi province. There is currentlyanother White-shouldered Ibis in captivityat Bang Sai Aveng near Ayutthaya."

Source: John Parr

White-shouldered Ibis (left). Photo: JohnParr.

Dr. Charles C. Cheng, President of Wild Bird Federation ofTaiwan and Mr. Jack Tordoff, Coordinator of IBA

Programme. Photo: N. Sage.

Wild Bird Federationof Taiwan visits theBirdLife

In November 2002, the newly appointed president and severalsenior members of the Wild Bird Federation of Taiwan(WBFT), the BirdLife Partner in Taiwan, visited BirdLifeInternational in Indochina, the first official visit by one ofBirdLife’s regional partners to its representative office inHanoi. The purpose of the WBFT’s trip was to learn of latestdevelopments concerning the IBA programme in Vietnam,share experiences and explore possibilities for futurecollaboration.

All keen bird enthusiasts, the WBFT delegation also took theopportunity to join staff at BirdLife birdwatching at Xuan ThuyNature Reserve. The trip proved a great success and we lookforward to having the WBFT visit us again in the future.

Environment Reception atBritish Ambassadorsresidence

On 20 November 2002, H.E Warwick Morris andMrs P. Morris, British Ambassador to Vietnam,kindly held an Environment Reception at the officialresidence. This is now an annual event in theconservation calender where NGOs and theirsupporters can get together to catch-up and exchangeviews. This was the biggest event yet and a fineevening after so much recent rain ensured a goodturn-out. Thank you Warwick and Pam.

Photo (left): H.E. Warwick Morris and Ms. VuThi Minh Phuong at the BirdLife’s display at theEnvironment Reception. Photo: Nathan Sage.



Last seen in the wild in 1949, the Pink-headed Duck surely stillexists on a grassland jheel somewhere in northern Myanmar?

Contact address. Building No.1. First Floor left. Aye Yeik Mon Lane (1) Yadanar Mon Housing Complex, 3rd

Quarter. Hlaing Township. Yangon.

View from the summit of Mount Victoria of montane evergreenforest in Natmataung National Park in Chin State, Myanmar.

Photo: J.C. Eames.--------------------------------------------------------------

Spotlight organisation

Bird Enthusiasts and nature conservation association (BENCA)

Bird Enthusiasts and Nature ConservationAssociation (BENCA) is a local NGO formedby those who value and wish to protect theforests, mountains, land and water whichexist in the natural state in the humanenvironment and the biologically diverseflora and fauna which are part of thisenvironment.

Objectives• To promote conservation awareness of

birds, wildlife and their habitats amongthe Myanmar people.

• To collaborate more intensively withinternational organisations inconservation of birds and their habitats.

• To provide up to date information onavifauna, wildlife and their habitats tolocal authorities and internationalorganisations to promote the moreeffective management.

• To provide information to the Nature andWildlife Conservation Division ofMyanmar’s Ministry of Forestry forestablishment of protected areas and theireffective management.

• To conserve birds and their habitats, especiallyMyanmar endemic and globally threatened species.

• To promote birdwatching and nature tours.

• To name all birds found in the country in theMyanmar language because only 20% of the totalbird species are currently named.

Rarest of the rare

Pink-headed DuckRhodonessa caryophyllacea

This duck is probably extinct, butuntil the last known areas of itsformer range are surveyed thiscannot be confirmed. Any remainingpopulation is likely to be tiny. Ittherefore qualifies as Critical.

Identification 60 cm. Graceful, long-necked duck. Males have deep pinkhead and neck, blackish-brown centre



of throat, foreneck and most of remaining plumage. Rosy-pinkish bill. In flight, pale brownish-buffsecondaries, narrow, whitish leading edge to wing-coverts and pale pink underwing. Females haveduller and browner body, pale greyish-pink head and upper neck with brownish wash on crown andhindceck and duller bill. Juvenile has duller brown body than female, with fine, whitish featherfringes. Voice Males utter weak whistle, females a low quack. Hints Search remote, overgrownwetlands in north-east India and northern Myanmar.

Range and Population Pink-headed Duck was locally distributed in the wetlands of India,Bangladesh and Myanmar, and occurred rarely in Nepal, with most records from north-east Indiaand adjacent Bangladesh. It was always considered uncommon or rare and was last seen in the wildin 1949, surviving until around the same time in captivity. Recent “sightings” and positive leads froma series of questionnaires about its possible continued existence in north-east India were the result ofconfusion with Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina. Hope remains that it may be rediscovered inremote wetlands in northern Myanmar. Its extinction cannot be confirmed until this part of itsformer range has been surveyed.

Ecology It is shy and secretive, inhabiting secluded and overgrown still water pools, marshes andswamps in lowland forest and tall grasslands, particularly areas subject to seasonal inundation and,in winter, also lagoons adjoining large rivers. Outside the breeding season it was usually encounteredin small groups and occasionally flocks of 30-40. Some, and possibly all, populations undertook localseasonal movements, resulting in scattered historical records as far afield as Punjab, Maharashtra,and Andhra Pradesh.

Threats Its decline resulted from a combination of hunting and habitat loss. As a sedentary species,its suffered year-round persecution during a period (the late 19th and early 20th centuries) whenhunting levels in India were high. Clearance of forest and drainage of wetlands for agricultural landhas destroyed much of its habitat. It is likely that egg collection and disturbance also contributed toits decline.

Conservation Throughout the 1950s there were attempts to clarify its status, culminating in aliterature and museum specimen review. It was subsequently searched for in some key areas. Since1956, it has been legally protected.

Project updates

Translation project funded by ARCBC

In September 2002, the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation(ARCBC) – A joint cooperation project between ASEAN and the European Unionprovided a grant in support of translation, printing and distribution of a book entitled “Bird SurveyTechniques”. The grant will allow BirdLife International in Indochina to reproduce Khmer and Vietnameselanguage versions of the book, helping to promote the study of birds in these countries. BirdLife would like toexpress its thanks to the ARCBC for its support.

Conservation Monitoring at Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve

With continued support from Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF), BirdLifeInternational has begun implementation of the second phase of the project entitledConservation Monitoring at Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve. Project outputs will include a manualon conservation monitoring of wetland sites which will be produced during the currentproject phase.



FPD took an active part during the training course

Photo: Minh Phuong.

The IBA support group released confiscated birds.

Photo: Minh Phuong.

IBA Site Support Group up-and-running on Hanam Island

Kenh Trap Important Bird Area (IBA) Support Groupon Ha Nam island is now up and running. Kenh Trapis Vietnam's first IBA support group: a group ofstakeholders who develop local solutions to locallyidentified environmental problems. The establishmentof the IBA support group was prompted by the resultsof a recent survey, which identified Ha Nam island inYen Hung district as the most important site for birdconservation in the coastal zone of Quang Ninhprovince.

During October 2002, with financial support fromDanida, BirdLife International in Indochina, theInstitute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR)and Quang Ninh Department of Science, Technologyand the Environment (DOSTE) collaborated to run atraining course to build the capacity of IBA supportgroup members to monitor bird populations, habitatsand threats. The training course was attended by about30 members of the IBA support group, includingrepresentatives of the District People’s Committee(DPC), the Forest Protection Department (FPD),police and all shrimp pond owners in the Kenh Traparea. During the training, all participants were invitedto participate in discussions concerning keyconservation issues on Ha Nam island and wereencouraged to think of solutions.

The training course proved to be a considerablesuccess, and, in the future, Kenh Trap IBA SupportGroup can become an example for Quang Ninhprovince and Vietnam as a whole of how localcommunities can take responsibility for managingtheir own environment for the long-term benefit ofboth people and biodiversity.

Although the training course took place at a very busytime for all shrimp pond owners, they still attendedthe training course every day. The participants werevery enthusiastic about the course, and stronglysupported the idea of protecting their ownenvironment by themselves.

One of the participants, the 72 year old Mr. Don, said"I am very happy to attend this training course, whichhas helped me to understand the value of theenvironment. Thank you BirdLife for bringing such agreat opportunity to the local peoples of Ha Nam, andfor making me aware that all of us have a veryimportant role to play in environmental protection. Iwill tell all my children what I have learnt today, and Istrongly believe we, the people of Ha Nam, can dosomething to protect our rich natural heritage."

"We now understand the values of and threats to thisarea. We will not allow any hunter to come to ourshrimp ponds, and it is our responsibility to educateother people to stop using nets to catch birds," anotherparticipant said. "The proplem is that nobody, exceptthe members of the IBA Support Group, knows thathunting birds and using mistnets are illegal activities.I hope the regulations will be finalised soon, whichwill help local people to understand what they shouldor shouldn’t do in order to protect our environment."

In the one month since the establishment of KenhTrap IBA Support Group, nearly 400 waterbirds havebeen confiscated and released from hunters, includingwatercocks, common coots, and ducks. In the future,BirdLife, IEBR and Quang Ninh DOSTE hope to workcloser with the FPD and DPC in order to build on theinitial successes of the IBA support group, and make ita model for stakeholder participation in conservationin Vietnam.



PARC project

In October and November 2002, a team of biologists from BirdLife International carried out a biodiversity survey at Ba Be National Park and Na Hang Nature Reserve on behalf of the Creating Protected Areas for Natural Resource Conservation using Lanscape Ecology (PARC) project currently being implemented at these two sites and Yok Don National Park

Lesser Bamboo Bat Tyloncteris pachypus. A singlefemale of T .pachypus was recorded foraging inlowland forest during the BirdLife survey,representing a new species record for Na HangNature Reserve. Tropical forests containing areas ofbamboo provide important habitat for the species,which possesses several adaptive features enablingit to roost inside the hollow stems of bamboo plants.

Forested river (left)

A stretch of forested river in the BanBung sector of Na Hang NatureReserve. Special emphasis was placedupon investigating forest streams, inthe hope of recording the elusive White-eared Night Heron Gorsachiusmagnificus. Until its recent rediscoveryin adjacent forest areas in 2001, thespecies was thought to be possiblyextinct in Vietnam.

--------------------------------------------------------All photographs in this page by J.C. Eames.--------------------------------------------------------

Basecamp at Na Hang (right)

Fieldwork operated from semi-mobilebasecamps located in selected areas of thecore zone of Na Hang Nature Reserve andBa Be National Park.

BirdLife International in Indochina


13

Profile

Mai Xuan TrungXuan Thuy Nature Reserve

Following his graduation in 1995 from the Agricultural EconomicDepartment in Hanoi Agricultural University, Trung joined themanagement board of Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve. Xuan Thuy N.Ris located in Nam Dinh province. As well as being the onlydesignated Ramsar site in Vietnam, Xuan Thuy N.R. is the mostimportant staging and wintering area for migratory waterbirds inthe coastal zone of Red River Delta. Since joining the site’smanagement team, Trung has become a key member of itstechnical department and is one of the most active rangers at XuanThuy Nature Reserve.

As part of his work with Xuan Thuy N.R., Trung has attended awide range of training courses organised by several conservationorganizations and projects. In 1997, he attended a one-monthcourse in biodiversity training at Cuc Phuong National Park. Thefollowing year, Trung participated in a six-month training courseentitled ‘Approaches in natural resource management, environmentimpact assessment and ecology and development’, and several other short courses relating to biodiversity conservation andfisheries management. A keen ornithologist, Trung takes every opportunity to join bird-watching events organised byBirdLife, and not surprisingly, has become the leading bird guide for tourists visiting Xuan Thuy.

Since 2001, Trung has also been a member of the Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve and BirdLife International collaborativeproject entitled Conservation monitoring at Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve, funded by the Keidanren Nature ConservationFund. As part of his contribution to the project, Trung has implemented numerous field surveys at the nature reserve andremained at the forefront of efforts to monitor bird populations and threats to the avifauna of the site. As a result of thiswork, Trung has gained invaluable experience in the study of Vietnamese avifauna under the tutelage of BirdLife staff.Trung is one of the most ardent rangers in Vietnam and is determined to devote his life to wildlife conservation.

REVIEWs

A collection of birds fromthe Cardamom Mountains,Cambodia, including anew subspecies ofArborophila cambodianaby Eames, J.C., Steinheimer,F.D. and Ros Bansok (2002).Forktail 18: 67-86.

This paper provides a full anddetailed account of theornithological results of thefirst comprehensiveexploration of the CardamomMountains in Cambodia in2000, undertaken as part ofwider efforts organised byFlora and FaunaInternational to determinethe biological importance ofthe region at the request of

the Government of theKingdom of Cambodia.During the survey a total of166 bird species wererecorded either by trapping ordirect observation, includingtwo threatened species(Chestnut-headed PartridgeArborophila cambodiana andGreen Peafowl Pavo muticus)and 15 species new forCambodia. Most significantly,the paper describes a newsubspecies of Chestnut-headed Partridge, namedArborophila c. chandamonyi,in honour of ChandamonyiMeas, a Cambodianornithologist who tragicallydied during the fieldwork.

Although analysis shows thatthe Camdamom Mountainssupports a depauperateavifauna compared with theDa Lat Plateau Endemic BirdArea (EBA) in Vietnam, theconfirmed occurrence of tworestricted-range speciesmeans that Thailand-Cambodia MountainsSecondary Area (s085) nowmeets the minimum criteriafor an EBA and that the areashould be considered to be ofelevated conservationconcern. However, within anIndochinese context theCardamom Mountains cannotbe considered to be a majorcenter of bird endemism.

Neil Furey



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The avifauna of Hong Kong by G J Carey, M L Chalmers, D ADiskin, P R Kennerley, P J Leader, M R Leven, R W Lewthwaite, D SMelville, M Turnbull and L Young. Hong Kong Birdwatching Society,Hong Kong, 2001. 563pp, £44.50 (Hbk.). ISBN 962-7508-02-0.

The value of bird records in birdwatchers’ notebooks is provingincreasingly useful for the monitoring of bird population trends anddistributions and even the impact of climate change. The avifauna ofHong Kong, produced in the tradition of high-quality annual birdreports of recent years from the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society (theBirdLife affiliate organisation in Hong Kong), analyses 41 years’ worthof bird records and surveys. It includes the first comprehensivebreeding bird survey carried out in Hong Kong and a detailed analysisof the status and distribution of each species in Hong Kong,comparisons being made with data collated as long ago as 1861. Alsoincluded is a review of 20 years’ worth of waterbird count data, anassessment of the wild bird trade in Hong Kong and a summary ofdata from a long-term ringing programme. The report is an essentialreference to the status and distribution of the birds in this part ofChina. Marco Lambertini

A Field Guide to the Birds ofThailand by Craig Robson,2002. Bangkok. Asia Books Co.Ltd. ISBN 1843300583.

This new guide enters a marketwhere an excellent modern birdfield guide (Lekagul andRound 1999) already exists. Soone assumes that it wasadvances in modern publishingtechniques alone thatconvinced New Holland andAsia Books, that it would be intheir economic interests tocannibalize the recent A Field

Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia (Robson 2000), andlaunch this volume to competewith the earlier work. Thisnew guide cuts and pastesthose species occurring inThailand and differs from itspredecessor by the inclusion ofdistribution maps withshortened text captions (It alsoadds a family key on the frontend-paper, which issuspiciously reminiscent ofLekagul and Round).

A good field guide is a tool-kitthat facilitates correct and rapididentifications in the field by alayperson. In severalimportant respects this newtitle meets this challenge betterthan its parent volume becauseit is a smaller, more portabletome, and most importantly,because it treats significantlyfewer species, there aregenerally includes fewerillustrations per plate. Theinclusion of maps shouldenable this volume to competewith Lekagul and Round(1999). Sadly though, the mapsare just too small to be of muchuse. They would have been

better reproduced twice thesize. I recognize that this couldnot have been done withoutreducing the accompanyingtext, but it would have alsogiven the page more colour!My favorite map is that ofCrow-billed Drongo, whichlooks like the flag of Columbia,or is it Romania? Couldperhaps the plumagedescriptions even have beeneliminated altogether? Aradical and heretical suggestionto some perhaps? One mustalso really question the utilityof small maps when birddistributions in Thailand are sopoorly known (Although not soin comparison withdistributions in neighboringcountries). The authoracknowledges as much, bystating they are based onknown distributions. The firstfield guide to the birds ofSouth-East Asia, (King et al.1975), regionally subdividedIndochina, and this systemtherefore overcame our lack ofrange-knowledge. This wasfollowed in Robson (2000) andfor the time being, is myfavored approach.



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Even though, on average, thenumber of species orillustrations per plate is muchreduced in this volume, anumber of plates are still rathercrowded. For example, plate56 incorporates no less than 32illustrations. A shame too that15 illustrations of nightjars, agroup where wing and tailpatterns are so distinctive, weresqueezed into only half a page.In many places poor platelayouts mean that somefamilies (again, includingnightjars) are spread over twoor more pages. Plate 3, takes

the prize for the worse layout.The poor old Great Argus andGreen Peafowl, just squeezeonto the plate.

The taxonomy of this bookfollows its parent volume andtherefore furtherinstitutionalizes the taxonomicchanges introduced in thatwork. I would prefer to see thecase for these presented in thescientific press. Thus,unsubstantiated “splits” likeBlack-browed Fulvetta Alcippegrotei slips, almost unnoticed,in. Although the validity of

Siamese Partridge Arborophiladiversa has been recentlychallenged in the literature, theauthor chooses to include itagain in this work. It wasunfortunate too that the chancewas missed to include a speciesaccount for the newlydescribed Mekong Wagtail,which, after all, was firstcollected in Thailand. Overall,a pleasant and nicely producedbook, that should appeal tothose with their sights firmlyset on Thailand.

Jonathan Eames

Raptor migration at Hoang Lien Nature Reserve, northern Vietnam by Tordoff, A.W (2002),Forktail 18: 45-48.

This paper presents a detailed and concise account of raptor migrations witnessed at Hoang Lien NatureReserve in autumn 1997, during a 12-month survey carried out by the environmental conservation NGOFrontier-Vietnam. Over a 13-day period, a total of 1,884 raptors were recorded including over 1,400 AmurFalcons Falco amurensis and 110 Grey-faced Buzzards Butastur indicus. Aside from the scale of migration,the first of its kind to be recorded in Vietnam, another notable factor of the phenomenon was the rarity ofsome of the species involved in northern Vietnam. These include 16 Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga,and a remarkable record of four Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus, representing the first record of thespecies from northern Indochina in recent times. The discovery of a previously unknown raptor migrationof this size demonstrates the relative scarcity of basic information on the avifauna of Vietnam andhighlights the need for further research.

Neil Furey

Green Forest (Rung Xanh)Student Activity Book by ENV(2002)

Education for Nature-Vietnam(ENV) announces the release oftheir fifth edition of the studentactivity book, Rung Xanh (GreenForest), thanks to the collectiveefforts and contributions from arange of national and internationalorganisation such as Cuc PhuongNational Park, Frontier-Vietnam,..and BirdLife International. Thecurrent issue of Green Forestfocuses on the wildlife trade,including an overview of huntingand trends in the trade, uses andvalues, enforcement efforts, andhow students can help protect wildlife. Asalways, Green Forest also includes a variety ofactivities, games, cartoons, and stories aboutnature and the environment, in addition toletters and other contributions by students.

In addtion to providing ameaningful and enjoyable wayfor students to learn about keyissues relating to nature and theenvironment, Green Forest alsoserves as a forum through whichstudents can exchange theirideas and contribute to efforts toraise awareness amongst theirpeers about the need to protecttheir environment. Green Forestis distributed free toparticipating community-basedenvironmental educationprogrammes throught Vietnam.ENV would like to encourageother school children andenvironmental education

programmes in Vietnam to contribute to the nextissues of Green Forest. Please contact Trinh LeNguyen for more details. Tel: 856 1759 or email:[email protected]

Minh Phuong



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Illustrated Identification Guide toInsects Protected by the CITES andWildlife Conservation Law of Taiwan,R.O.C by Shen-Horn Yen and Ping-ShihYang (2002).

This beautifully illustrated book provides aexcellent identification guide to all ofTaiwan’s insects listed in appendices I, IIand III of the Convention for InternationalTrade in Endangered Species (CITES) andthose protected by Taiwan’s WildlifeConservation Law (WCL). Partiallystimulated by the lack of informationavailable in English to foreign entomologistsand insect collectors working in Taiwansince enactment of its WCL, the mainintention of the guide is to enhanceknowledge in identifying protected speciesand to provide up to date informationregarding their conservation and legal statuswithin the country. Previously published in

Chinese, high qualityphotographs grace each ofthe species accounts, whichalso provide summaryinformation on distinguishingfeatures, taxonomy,distributions, threats andecology. Towards the rear ofthe book, the complete text ofthe WCL is given, togetherwith a checklist of protectedspecies and a list of nationalorganisations relevant toentomology. This book shouldbe considered an essentialreference guide for allconcerned with entomology inTaiwan and it is hoped that itwill do much to promote thecause of insect conservationwithin the country, as well asstimulating amateur interestin the subject.

Neil Furey

Vietnam EnvironmentMonitor 2002 by World Bank(2002). 42ppThis document aims to

provide a systematic andcoherent analysis ofenvironmental data forVietnam, covering green, blueand brown issues, whilst

presenting a snapshot of keyenvironmental trends in thecountry. A stated intention isto provide stakeholders of keyenvironmental changes asthey occur in an easy tounderstand format. Stafffrom the NationalEnvironmental Agency, theWorld Bank and Danidaprepared the document.

The overall aim of producingsuch a document is to bewelcomed. The report couldgo much further than itactually does. As one mightexpect, it is very neutral in itslanguage and is rarely criticalof inadequacies, orshortcomings in achievingpolicy goals. It would havebeen considerablystrengthened had it not reliedon government statistics

alone as a source of data.However, it was good to see aBirdLife source being quoted!Had it also taken theopportunity to utilize theexperitize within the NGOcommunity in Vietnam, itcould have been a muchbetter document and beperceived to be more accurateand impartial. The greensection contains a number ofcareless errors (“100 birdspecies are endemic”) andsome of the tables included,such as kilogrammes ofwildlife confiscated are notparticularly useful. It wouldbe worthwhile producing sucha document on a regularbasis, and draw-on in-countryexpertise to do so.

Jonathan Eames

Conservation Bird Biodiversity General Principles and their Application. Ken Norris and Deborah J. Pain. CambridgeUniversity Press, 2002. 340 pp. ISBN 0-521-78949-4

The Earth’s biodiversity currently faces an extinction crisis that is unprecedented. Conservationists attempt to intervene inthe extinction process either locally by protecting or restoring important species and habitats, or at national andinternational levels by influencing key policies and promoting debate. Reliable information is the foundation upon whichthese efforts are based, which places research at the heart of biodiversity conservation. The role of research in suchconservation is diverse. It includes understanding why biodiversity is important, defining “units” of biodiversity, priority-setting for species and sites, managing endangered and declining populations, understanding large-scale processes, making



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predictions about the future and interfacing with training, education, publicawareness and policy initiatives. Using example form a wide range of birdconservation work worldwide, researchers consider the principles underlying theseissues, and illustrate how these principles have been applied to address actualconservation problems for students, practitioners and researchers in conservationbiology.

The most important skill is in good project design and management that deliverseffective conservation action. Technical skills, infrastructure and resources thensupport project implementation. As scientists, we need to teach people how to askthe ‘right’ question and how to design a project capable of answering that question.This need is global, but is urgent particularly in those countries ‘rich’ in biodiversityconservation problems yet ‘poor’ in terms of the resources nessesary for dealingwith these. The book itself is organised into a series of chapters each dealing with aparticular conservation problem or issue. Chapters are written by specialists, andinclude practical examples of actual projects plus an extensive review of thescientific literature. The chapters are designed to be challenging and sometimesprovocative to stimulate readers to think about unresolved problems.

Minh Phuong

Recently published

Directory of Important Bird Areasin Vietnam

The global Important Bird Area (IBA)programme is coordinated by BirdLifeInternational, and aims to identify and protecta network of critical sites for the world’sbirds. The IBA programme began in Europein 1985, and was adopted as a globalinitiative by BirdLife International at the1994 World Conference. The IBAprogramme has proved to be a very cost-effective and flexible way of identifying andpromoting coherent and organized action forpriority sites for birds and biodiversity at theregional, national and local levels. To date IBAs havebeen identified for all countries in Europe, Africa andthe Middle East, and inventories are underway in Asiaand the Americas and planned for the Pacific. Based onthe work done to date, it is expected that the programmewill identify approximately 14,000 IBAs worldwide. InVietnam, the IBA programme is being coordinated byBirdLife International in Indochina, in collaboration withthe Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources of theNational Centre for Natural Science and Technology,and with financial support from Danida.

After two years of field research and review of allpublished and unpublished literature on birds inVietnam, the Directory of Important Bird Areas inVietnam will be launched this January, 2003. Thisdocument will present information on sites ofinternational importance for bird conservation in anaccessible form, for use by scientists, site managers,decision makers and donors. The objectives of theDirectory are to:

• Present data oninternationally importantsites for the conservation ofbirds and other biodiversityin a standardised and clearformat.• Assist Vietnam to meetits obligations under theConvention on BiologicalDiversity and theConvention on Wetlands ofInternational Importance by,in the first case, identifyingcandidate sites for inclusionwithin a representativesystem of protected areas,and, in the second case,identifying candidate sites

for nomination as Ramsar sites.• Inform decision makers at local, national and

international levels of the biodiversity values ofsites, to identify threats to biodiversity, and torecommend appropriate steps that can be taken toensure their conservation.

• Identify clear priorities for conservation action, andto encourage government agencies, donors andNGOs to address them.

• Provide a centralised source of information for usein education, training and environmental awareness.

• Provide information on key sites for birds andbiodiversity in a format that can be used bybirdwatchers and thereby support the developmentof ecotourism in Vietnam.

Hardcopy versions of the directory will be published inboth English and Vietnamese. For further information,contact Ms. Vu Thi Minh Phuong [email protected]



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Le Trong Trai (left) and Nathan Sage (right)

Staff newsWelcome to Le Trong Trai

We are pleased to welcome Le Trong Trai, whorecently joined BirdLife as Senior ProgrammeOfficer. Trai is curently leading a multi-disciplinaryteam who are conducting baseline biodiversity surveyin forest areas adjacent to Ba Be National Park andNa Hang Nature Reserve as part of the PARCproject.

Le Trong Trai was formerly the senior project officeron the collaborative BirdLife – Forest Inventory andPlanning Institute (FIPI) project Expanding theProtected Areas Network in Vietnam for the 21st Century.This European Union-funded project providedsupport for the implementation of the Governmentof Vietnam's policy commitment to expand thenational network of protected areas. Prior to this, hewas project officer on the project entitled: TheConservation of Biodiversity in the AnnameseLowlands and the Da Lat Plateau, Vietnam, whichwas also funded by the European Union.

Trai's work has concentrated on biodiversity surveysand monitoring the wildlife resources of Vietnam. Heis now recognised as one of Vietnam's leading fieldecologists. He has discovered an undescribed taxonof muntjac and re-discovered Roosevelt's Muntjac.He was also involved in the discovery of two newspecies of birds – the Black-crowned Barwing andthe Golden-winged Laughingthrush. He haspublished extensively on the fauna of Vietnam. Healso has extensive experience of protected areasplanning, and production of feasibility studies andinvestment plans for the establishment of protectedareas in Vietnam. Trai recently co- authoredVietnam's first Vietnamese-language bird field guideChim Viet Nam. Trai has a B.Sc. in Biology and hasworked at FIPI since 1981.

Trai has extensive field survey experience which willenable him to make a major contribution to thedevelopment of the BirdLife International inIndochina.

Goodbye to Nathan Sage

Nathan Sage, who has been busy cultivating donorsand developing proposals for BirdLife’s expandingprogramme, is moving across town to work at theUS-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), aprogramme of the US Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID).

Since joining the BirdLife team in Spring 2002,Nathan has led several key initiatives, including thedevelopment of a medium-sized UNDP-GEFproposal entitled Making the Link: the connection andsustainable management of Kon Ka Kinh and Kon Cha RangNature Reserves in Gia Lai province and an interimproject review of the Danida-funded project ImprovedConservation Planning through institutional strengthening inCambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Nathan has also movedforward the World Bank/GEF proposal forEstablishment of Chu Yang Sin National Park anddeveloped new proposals for support to IBA sitesupport groups in Vietnam and Cambodia,institutional strengthening of BENCA (a local NGOin Myanmar), and an a second edition Sourcebook ofProtected Areas of Vietnam.

Luckily for us, Nathan will remain an active partnerin conservation when he assumes his new post asCountry Representative for US-AEP in Hanoi.Nathan will be in charge of developingenvironmental strategies and partnerships betweenthe Governments of Vietnam and the United Statesof America, multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental organizations, and the private sectorthat advance US-AEP objectives. This work includesoperationalising the US-AEP strategy in policy, urbandevelopment, civil society and industrial developmentas well as the development of “green and blue”initiatives.



This remarkable, undated photograph from James Mellon shows a “Sunday hunter” from Phnom Penh posing withan adult bull kouprey: he is said to have shot several over the years. This photograph was published in theNovember 1970 issue of Animals Magazine in a feature about the rarest animal in the world. James Mellon sawtwo kouprey and numerous sets of trucks in what was koulen-promtep rescue north of Chhep. This area forms partof an IBA but there have been no hints that kouprey survive in the area.

I was most interested to see the account in World Birdwatch of your fine work in SE Asia, an area closeto my heart as I was born in Darjeeling, spent my childhood in north Bihar and, in the Army, served in India,Burma and Malaya. In particular, as sponsor in "Threatened Birds..", in memory of my father, I was de-lighted tosee your optimistic remarks about my favourite bird of all time: the Pink-headed Duck. As a boy in the '20's',before I was whisked away to school in England, I can still remember the thrill of seeing a group or, veryoccasionally, a pair with ducklings swimming majestically across a reed-edged lake-they rarely joined the hugegatherings of many species of duck on the larger jheels. I suppose I must be among an ever-decreasing number of'westerners' to have seen the magnificent Rhodonessa in the wild.

I'm glad you have used the famous Gronvold painting (in my view the only artist to have achieved thecorrect 'jiz'!) which also appears in "Salim Ali's India" where he quotes that the last authentic sighting was byC.M.Inglis in the Darbhanga district of Bihar in June 1935! Do you know where and by whom the 1949 recordwas made? My father tried desperately but, alas, unsuccessfully to obtain a live pair for Peter Scott in the late '30'sand maybe early '40's. I am now 82 and would dearly love to hear that this wonderful bird had been rediscoveredbefore I die so, if you have time, I would much appreciate any positive news you may get in the future.

With very best wishes from Mr. Geoffrey Munns

From the archives

Feedback

Compiled and edited by Vu Thi Minh Phuong, Communications OfficerFor more information, contact: [email protected]; Tel/Fax: ++844 851 7217

Website: http//www.birdlifevietnam.com (English) or http//www.birdlifevietnam.org (Vietnamese)

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