Local governments in southwest China's Yunnan Province have stepped up efforts in protecting Phayre's leaf monkeys, an endangered species under the country's first-class protection, as more of such primates are spotted.

In January 2018, more than 200 Phayre's leaf monkeys were captured on camera in Mang City, capital of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan by a local photographer. The discovery soon aroused much attention from the public and prompted local authorities to take further actions. 

"We have preliminarily delimited a conservation area covering about 50 thousand mu (about 3333 hectares). We have also stepped up routine monitoring and patrolling on the animal," Zhou Chengwei, head of the wildlife protection division of the city's forestry bureau, told CGTN.

Duan Shengping is a local farmer who lives close to the monkey's habitat. He has worked as a forest ranger since 2014, guarding against deforestation, poaching and fire. Now, he shoulders an extra responsibility – observing the monkeys, and takes the related record on them. 

"I need to take a patrolling diary every day, including the location I spot them, the number and what they eat," Duan told CGTN. 

Besides China, Phayre's leaf monkey can also be found in some other south and southeast Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. In China, Yunnan is home to the largest number of the creature. In recent years, their numbers have sharply declined due to habitat destruction and poor protection.

Duan said local villagers can often meet some of the animals, but nobody knew their species and value before 2018. 

"We usually call them 'grey monkey.' In the past, some people even hunted them," said Duan, adding that their duty includes publicizing related laws and regulations among local people. 

As part of the effort, the Dehong prefectural government has also established a smart monitoring network, complete with infrared cameras installed in the forests. 

"We hope we can work out more scientific and feasible protection plans based on the data we collect. Moreover, this footage will be a good platform from which to publicize biodiversity here and educate the public about protecting ecology," said Yu Shuangping from the Dehong prefectural forestry bureau. 

Yu said next, they plan to build an "online zoo" by integrating different technologies such as VR, as another attempt to raise the public awareness on wildlife protection.

Despite rousing support from the public, the ongoing conservations have also brought challenges to local villagers, as the woods used to be a major source of income for local farmers. 

"The deforestation ban has triggered many complaints, as our livelihood is inevitably affected. But now, people's awareness has improved a lot," said Duan. 

Authorities are now making efforts to address the conflict between nature conservation and local community development. Some non-profit organizations are on board. 

"We're planning a pilot program. We will help farmers plant medical herbs under the woods, optimize their energy structure, and establish clean toilets for them. We try to set a model for local government," Sun Jing, deputy secretary general of the Yunnan Green Environment Development Foundation.

Duan Shengping said these will benefit locals another way too. He believed that with joint efforts from both government and local residents, there will be more monkeys in the coming years, living in harmony with them. 

(Cover photo: A group of Phayre's leaf monkeys are spotted in a forest in Mang City, Yunnan Province. /Courtesy of Zheng Shanhe)

 (If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)