Pham Van Thong
Cuora bourreti is a Critically Endangered species with a restricted distribution in central Vietnam and Laos. Remnant populations of this species survive essentially in protected areas. Bach Ma National Park is one of the largest protected areas where this species does survive. This project aims at studying population size and conservation ecology of the species and also of the other sympatric turtle species. A combination of structured interviews and field surveys will be employed to obtain the data necessary to implement a reliable management of the study species in the middle term at the local scale.
![Cuora bourreti Loc Tri commune, Bach Ma, Phu Loc, Hue [PVT-T].](https://ruffordorg.s3.amazonaws.com/media/cached/project_images/29699-1_Cuora_bourreti_Loc_Tri_commune_Bach_Ma_Phu_Loc_Hue_PVT-T_10/80b25fe3f4c7ccf152e4da7a489388f3.jpg)
Cuora bourreti Loc Tri commune, Bach Ma, Phu Loc, Hue [PVT-T].
The project goal is providing scientific information on Bourret’s box turtle (Cuora bourreti) population status, threats, basic ecology to better in conservation the species and the other sympatric species within the park. Therefore, the proposed work will improve the conservation outlook for this species by greatly increasing our knowledge of the species’ occurrence, biology, and threats. Specifically, the baseline data from this project will contribute to the following steps in conserving C. bourreti in Vietnam. At the national level, our project will provide crucial information for writing an updated action plan for the conservation and management of C. bourreti in Vietnam. At the local level, our project will serve to enhance the awareness of local populations toward the conservation of the species, and also to help the National Park management to take corrected decisions for increasing the wild population sizes of an otherwise neglected threatened species.