UNESCO National Commission requests Delacour’s langur assessment

UNESCO World Heritage Centre to conduct preliminary assessment of Van Long–Kim Bang–Tam Chuc Delacour’s langur ecological landscape nomination dossier.

The Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO has recently requested the UNESCO World Heritage Center to conduct a preliminary assessment of the Van Long - Kim Bang - Tam Chuc Cultural and Ecological Landscape nomination dossier for the Delacour’s langur.

The preliminary assessment will provide the locality with a basis for determining the appropriate direction, identifying the criteria that require greater focus, and clarifying issues that need further research before preparing the official nomination dossier.

Under UNESCO procedures, a preliminary assessment is a mandatory step before a State Party submits a nomination dossier. The dossier is reviewed based on information provided by the State Party to identify at an early stage issues related to Outstanding Universal Value, integrity, authenticity, and protection and management requirements.

After the UNESCO World Heritage Centre checks the completeness of the dossier, it will be forwarded to UNESCO’s advisory bodies, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), for assessment against the relevant criteria.

Under the new guidelines, if the process proceeds as planned and favorable conditions are in place, the entire process from the preliminary assessment to consideration of the nomination dossier could take around five years.

In the coming period, Ninh Binh will focus on conducting in-depth research into the values of the area, including its archaeological heritage, ecological landscape, Delacour’s langur, geology and geomorphology. The findings will be compiled, analyzed and compared with similar sites around the world to further clarify the values of the proposed landscape.

As part of the recently held Asia-Pacific Dialogue Conference on Heritage and Authenticity, Ninh Binh coordinated field survey programmes in Trang An and Tam Chuc, while also introducing the proposed Van Long - Kim Bang - Tam Chuc area to international experts.

According to the UNESCO dossier, the proposed area covers about 11,000 hectares, including Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve, the Kim Bang area, the Tam Chuc Complex, and connecting ecological corridors. The nomination focuses on the area’s limestone landscape, biodiversity, ecosystems and the relationship between people and their environment.

A key feature of the area is the habitat of the Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri), a primate endemic to Viet Nam and classified as Critically Endangered.

A survey conducted by the Center for Conservation of Nature and Development from 2022 to 2025 recorded an estimated 562-570 Delacour’s langurs remaining in Viet Nam, distributed across 81-82 groups in five of the seven surveyed areas. The three largest populations are located in Van Long - Dong Tam, Kim Bang - Tam Chuc and Yen Mo - Tam Diep, with around 95% of recorded individuals concentrated in Ninh Binh.

The species’ habitat continues to face pressure from hunting, trapping, forest loss and quarrying activities in some areas. The development of a connected landscape spanning Van Long - Kim Bang - Tam Chuc is expected to help maintain habitats, connect populations and strengthen protection mechanisms for the Delacour’s langur.

On September 10, 2026, Ninh Binh established the Kim Bang Delacour’s Langur Species and Habitat Conservation Area, covering 3,182 hectares, of which more than 3,000 hectares are natural forest.

Kien Trung