Short Communication Conservation of turtles in Vietnam: a survey of Cat Tien National Park Minh Le Abstract Turtles in South-east Asia, especially in Vietnam, have been overexploited for more than a decade, largely because of international trade with and demand from China. This study examined natural populations in Cat Tien National Park and the local trade in surrounding areas to find ways of protecting remaining turtle populations more effectively. The re- sults show that although trade around this protected area remains high, viable turtle populations still exist. However, these populations need immediate measures to protect them. Increased protection measures in such areas should have priority over trade control, given the complexity of the trade network and the lack of gov- ernment resources to control it. Nevertheless, for long- term conservation goals additional measures such as trade control, environmental education in buffer zones, and raising people’s awareness in urban areas, where wildlife consumption has increased, are also required. Keywords Cat Tien National Park, population survey, turtle conservation, turtle trade, Vietnam. This paper contains supplementary material that can be found online at http://journals.cambridge.org Turtle populations around the world have declined drastically during the past 30 years (van Dijk et al., 2000). In Asia the main threats to turtles are the de- struction and modification of natural habitats, and wildlife trade. While the former is considered the great- est threat to many species, current levels of turtle trade have a much greater impact (van Dijk et al., 2000; Ginsberg, 2002). Overexploitation of turtle populations in Asia to supply wildlife trade results primarily from an increasing demand in China where a long tradition of using turtles for food and medicine arises from the belief that turtles have a significant role in improving human health (Compton, 2000). Although the tradition has existed for centuries, the trade in turtles has grown at an unprecedented rate since the early 1990s because of demand from China’s growing middle class and because the Chinese currency is now being readily con- verted to other currencies (Zhao, 1995; Behler, 1997). Turtle trade has also increased because of growth in the Malaysian and Thai economies as well as the opening up of markets in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia after their long isolation (van Dijk et al., 2000). The turtle fauna in Vietnam is especially threatened because of its geographical proximity to China. Al- though collecting wildlife species is illegal, Vietnam’s traders exported 35.7 t of mostly wild turtles comprising 11 species to China and Taiwan during 1994-1999 (Nguyen, 2003). The quantity of turtles used locally is insignificant, accounting for ,10% of the harvest (Le & Broad, 1995; Hendrie, 2000). Conservation efforts to date in Vietnam have focused on emergency measures such as the confiscation of illegally traded animals. To set appropriate priorities for conservation, data on population status, distribution, and trade patterns are required but the data available (Hendrie, 2000) are insufficient for this purpose. To address this problem a survey was conducted in Cat Tien National Park in southern Vietnam because the Park is relatively well protected and has been chosen as a site for the release of turtles (Turtle Conservation and Ecology Project, 2001). Turtle populations in many protected areas in the north may have already been extirpated (Kiester & Juvik, 1997). The Park comprises a total area of 73,878 ha over three provinces, Dong Nai, Lam Dong, and Binh Phuoc (Fig. 1), and is home to 108 mammal, 339 bird, 123 reptile and amphibian, 130 fish, 439 butterfly species, and eight (Table 1) of the 24 species of terrestrial turtle known from Vietnam. It has perma- nent and seasonal wetlands that provide important habitat for both aquatic and semi-aquatic species. I carried out diurnal and nocturnal surveys in Cat Tien National Park during 21 July-26 August and Minh Le Department of Herpetology and the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA, and Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA. E-mail minhl@amnh.org Received 29 December 2005. Revision requested 8 June 2006. Accepted 9 October 2006. ª 2007 FFI, Oryx, 41(4), 544–547 doi:10.1017/S0030605307012148 Printed in the United Kingdom Oryx Vol 41 No 4 October 2007 544 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605307012148 Published online by Cambridge University Press