Purple-faced langur (Trachypithecus vetulus (4 subspecies) primary target species)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 13257336

The purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus), toque macaque (Macaca sinica) and red slender loris (Loris tardigradus) are endemic to Sri Lanka, and also listed as endangered by the IUCN.Primary reason for their endangerment is deforestation, which has reduced Sri Lanka’s forest cover from 50% to 23% of land area in sixty-five years since the country gained independence.  Forest cover currently available is less than the minimum needed for the country’s ecological stability as well as its economic progress. Therefore, the country’s President declared that forest cover must be increased to 36% of land area using native species. This declaration provided an opportunity to increase Sri Lanka’s forest cover through reforestation of degraded habitats, and thereby enhance the viability of the endangered non-human primate populations. Therefore, I developed a comprehensive long-term project that included,

• Field surveys to select areas with suitable attributes for reforestation (i.e., Safe Havens).

• Field research to identify native plants to reforest safe havens.

• Community development initiatives designed to garner support of adults living around safe havens for reforestation,

• Schools programs to educate children living around safe havens about the benefits of forest conservation, 

• Training youth and adults in nature tourism, leadership and management and administration of safe havens.

When the abovementioned activities are completed, negotiations with government agencies will take place to hand over the protection and administration of safe havens to well trained and self-reliant local communities. In this manner, local communities will be able to protect their safe havens and also derive benefits from them through sustainable development.