Kon Ka Kinh becomes Vietnam’s third-largest national park

There is a lot happening for conservation in Vietnam right now, and this is a development we are especially happy to share.

Kon Ka Kinh National Park, Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve and An Toan Nature Reserve will now be managed under the newly established Kon Ka Kinh National Park Management Board.

Together with an additional area expected to be formally assigned to the Board, the national park will cover around 1,056 square kilometers. This will make Kon Ka Kinh the third-largest national park in Vietnam.

For us, this milestone has particular significance. We have been working in Vietnam since 2010, alongside people who have dedicated years to protecting these forests and their wildlife. The new management structure marks an important next step for a landscape where long-term conservation cooperation is already well established.

The forests of the Central Highlands are among Vietnam’s most important areas for biodiversity. The wider Kon Ka Kinh landscape forms part of one of the country’s largest contiguous forest areas and encompasses forests across a range of altitudes and climatic zones.

These habitats support exceptional species diversity, including some highly threatened primates.

Kon Ka Kinh is home to the largest population of the critically endangered grey-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea), a species found only in central Vietnam. The forests also provide habitat for the endangered Northern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus annamensis).

Protecting these species means protecting the forests they depend on. Illegal logging, hunting and agricultural expansion continue to threaten protected areas and surrounding forests. Effective management across a larger connected landscape can therefore make an important contribution to their long-term conservation.

We have supported conservation in Kon Ka Kinh since 2010. Our work focuses on strengthening protected area management, improving wildlife monitoring and supporting the people responsible for protecting these forests.

Together with protected area teams and partners, we support forest patrols, biological monitoring and the development of conservation measures. We also work with local communities on environmental education and cooperate with universities to train future conservationists.

Since 2021, we have also supported conservation management in Kon Chu Rang and worked with partners to strengthen the connection and protection of forest areas between the protected areas.

This long-term cooperation is what makes the latest development particularly meaningful.

The establishment of the new Kon Ka Kinh National Park Management Board creates an opportunity to strengthen conservation across this important landscape.

We are proud of our colleagues and grateful to everyone who has contributed to reaching this point: our team in Vietnam, the protected area teams, the authorities and all our partners who have worked together over many years.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the new Kon Ka Kinh National Park Management Board, led by our long-standing partner Ngo Van Thang, and to supporting the protection of this extraordinary landscape and its wildlife in the years ahead.