Conservation and the Current Status of the Golden Langur in Assam, India, with Reference to Bhutan

Abstract

The golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), which only became known to science 1953, is endemic to western Assam, India, and southern Bhutan. The Indian population had been greatly depleted due to a fragmented range and the species was declining radically 1997 with a pessimistic view for its future. The Golden Langur Conservation Project was begun 1998 with the goal of protecting the golden langur within its entire Indian range. At the time of the project's initiation, the species was considered India's most endangered primate due to limited range and major deforestation (50%) as a result of a complex political situation from militants the forest threatening the Assam Forest Department staff, and ethnic violence. The project worked with regional non-governmental organizations and government agencies using the following tools to effect conservation contagion: 1) community meetings; 2) involving villages forest committees and Self Help Groups for economic development; 3) formal seminars; and 4) celebratory events for the creation of the Manas Biosphere Reserve. The project developed conservation con- tagion, resulting villages creating their own conservation groups to participate the project, eventually resulting 18 com- munity groups forming Forest Protection Forces collectively, under the Unified Forest Conservation Network, to protect almost the entirety of the Manas Biosphere Reserve as well as other reserve forests Assam. This community protection resulted an increase of the Indian population of golden langurs from c.1,500 1997 to c.5,600 langurs 2007 to 2012. The project also resulted the lifting of the in danger listing for the Manas Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The Indian population of golden langurs mainly resides the Manas Biosphere along the Bhutan border and a number of southern isolated reserve forests north of the Brahmaputra River. In adjacent Bhutan, the southern subspecies is contiguous with its Indian counterpart and with the northern subspecies, which has more gray on its arms and tail and inhabits higher altitudes. The Bhutan population is grossly esti- mated at over 6,600 langurs based on a population census of 60 km², giving a total estimate for the species Assam and Bhutan of over 12,000 individuals. The potential for community conservation Bhutan is also discussed.