Identifying joint conservation actions for the skywalker hoolock gibbon and black snub-nosed monkey in China and Myanmar

About the event

ICIMOD in collaboration with Fauna and Flora International, Myanmar and Dali University, China is organising a workshop to exchange updated information on the research, monitoring, and conservation of the skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) and black snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri). The workshop will bring together scientists, protected area managers, and other conservation communities from China and Myanmar to identify areas for future collaboration.

Objective

• Exchange updated information on the habitat status, population, and conservation of the skywalker hoolock gibbon and black snub-nosed monkey
• Explore areas for cross-border collaboration

Expected participants

Representatives from Fauna and Flora International, Myanmar, Dali University, Sun Yatsen University, Yunshan Conservation, Yunnan University, and the Global Environmental Institute will be attending this workshop.

Background

Primates are among the key protected species of the Far Eastern Himalaya Landscape (FEHL). Most of the primate species living in the landscape are listed in the threatened categories of the IUCN Red List. Conservation of these species is often challenged by inadequate funding, weak law enforcement, gaps in scientific understanding and information, low institutional capacity, and lack of sectoral coordination as well as the transboundary linkages of the threats and issues. Many issues related to the effective conservation of these species such as poaching, wildlife trading, and habitat fragmentation are of strong transboundary nature, and cross-border collaboration in research, monitoring, and information sharing can benefit their conservation tremendously.

The skywalker hoolock gibbon and black snub-nosed monkey are both newly described species distributed between China and Myanmar in the FEHL. In the past few years, quite some research has been done in both countries on the population, habitat conditions, and distribution of these two species. In 2021 and 2022, ICIMOD collaborated with Fauna and Flora International, Myanmar for a quick assessment of the habitats of the two species on the Myanmar side.