Vietnam’s Birds Face a Silent Crisis as First Full Threat Assessment Reveals Gaps in Protection

Vietnam is home to more than 900 bird species, yet until now no comprehensive effort had been made to assess their conservation status. A new study published in the journal Nature Conservation has delivered the country’s first full-scale avifaunal threat assessment, combining global Red List evaluations with national legislation and zoo holdings. The findings paint a sobering picture of a biodiversity hotspot where nearly half of native bird species are in decline, where protection laws lag behind scientific evidence, and where the cage bird trade continues to drive species toward extinction. The research also outlines a path forward through the One Plan Approach, integrating in situ and ex situ conservation strategies.

The study identified 803 bird species native to Vietnam, classified across 22 orders and 92 families. Passeriformes dominated with 453 species, followed by Charadriiformes with 77. Among these, ten species are endemic to Vietnam and 17 are near-endemic, meaning they are restricted to Indochina. Of the 803 species, 741 were classified as non-threatened by the IUCN Red List, 43 as threatened, and 19 as non-evaluated or data deficient. The threatened category included 21 Vulnerable, 11 Endangered, and 11 Critically Endangered species. Perhaps most alarmingly, 359 species, or 45.8 percent of those assessed, showed declining population trends.

The research team compiled data from multiple sources including the IUCN Red List, the Vietnam Red Data Book, two national decrees, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). They found significant mismatches between these different protection frameworks. The Vietnam Red Data Book listed 61 species, while CITES covered 87 species and national decrees covered 138. Critically, some highly threatened species fell through the cracks entirely. The threatened endemic species Napothera pasquieri, for instance, was not covered by CITES, nor by any of the national decrees, and was absent from the Red Data Book.

To map where bird species concentrate across Vietnam, the researchers performed spatial richness analyses using IUCN distribution shapefiles overlaid with gridded habitat information at a resolution of approximately 930 by 900 meters per grid cell. The results showed that northern and central Vietnam serve as critical areas for resident and breeding species, with the northwestern mountainous regions and the Truong Son Range supporting up to 221 resident species per grid cell. The Mekong Delta emerged as essential for non-breeding and wintering species, yet it had comparatively low protected area coverage. Vietnam’s protected area network encompasses 175 sites covering roughly 25,000 square kilometers, or 7.58 percent of the country.

The habitat analysis revealed that subtropical and tropical moist lowland forest supported the highest avian species richness with 200 species, followed by moist montane forest with 165 species. These forest types covered 22.74 percent and 8.77 percent of Vietnam’s surface area respectively. Permanent rivers and streams, despite covering only 0.16 percent of the country, harbored 40 species. The researchers noted that eight of the ten endemic species occur in at least two protected areas, with five endemic species concentrated in the closely situated protected areas of Chu Yang Sin, Rung Thong Da Lat, and Bidoup-Nui Ba in the Central Highlands.

The study also examined ex situ populations of Vietnamese birds in zoos worldwide using the Zoological Information Management Software (ZIMS) and the online database Zootierliste. Of the 803 native species, 308 were held in zoos, including 20 threatened species and two threatened endemic species. The Vietnamese Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), listed as Critically Endangered and probably functionally extinct in the wild, was kept by 123 institutions with 452 individuals, representing the largest ex situ population among threatened Vietnamese birds. The Baer’s Pochard (Aythya baeri) followed with 350 individuals across 56 zoos. However, half of the threatened species in zoos consisted of fewer than 50 individuals, and several species were represented by only one individual each.

The researchers identified the cage bird trade as a primary driver of avian declines in Southeast Asia, noting that Vietnam ranks tenth among countries most affected by bird trapping and hunting globally. Birds are captured for their songs, plumage, or perceived rarity, with singing contests fuelling demand. This mostly illegal trade takes place in traditional markets and increasingly on online platforms. A recent short-term study identified 50 species in the Vietnamese songbird trade, 46 of them native to Vietnam, yet only nine were protected by national law. The authors recommend more stringent national legislation covering the entire order Passeriformes, arguing that protecting single species might simply shift trade pressure to unprotected relatives.

Vietnam has already lost several native bird species including the Black-necked Crane, the Chinese Grassbird, and the Giant Ibis, which are now nationally extirpated. Two vulture species, the Slender-billed Vulture and the White-rumped Vulture, are possibly extinct in Vietnam due to veterinary drug use, specifically diclofenac, which has been banned in several South Asian countries. The endemic Edwards’s Pheasant has not been reported from its natural habitat in central Vietnam’s lowland evergreen forest since 2000 despite intensive research, and may already be extinct in the wild. Habitat loss, degradation, and hunting are the primary drivers of its possible extinction.

The study advocates for the One Plan Approach introduced by the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group, which integrates in situ and ex situ strategies under a unified framework. The authors call for improved protection of key areas including the northeastern region, the Mekong Delta, and the Central Highlands, alongside expanded conservation breeding programs and closer cooperation between zoos and local institutions. The EAZA Vietnamazing campaign 2024–2025 is promoting the Vietnamese Pheasant as a flagship species, supporting breeding facilities in Vietnam, field research in protected forest sites, and genetic analyses to identify hybrids in breeding programs. The researchers also recommend involving local communities through birding tourism, raising awareness, and strengthening the capacity of forest rangers and national park staff to control habitat destruction, hunting, and the wild bird trade.

Subject of Research: Threat status assessment of Vietnam's native bird species and implementation of the One Plan Approach to conservation

Article Title: Assessment of the threat status of bird species from Vietnam – Implementation of the One Plan Approach to conservation

Article References: Ginal, P., Hackenbroch, H., Le Manh, H., Nguyen, T. Q., Le, M. D., Rödder, D., & Ziegler, T. (2025). Assessment of the threat status of bird species from Vietnam – Implementation of the One Plan Approach to conservation. Nature Conservation, 60, 49-72. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.60.162832

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.60.162832

Keywords: Vietnam, bird conservation, IUCN Red List, One Plan Approach, cage bird trade, endemic species, protected areas, ex situ conservation, CITES, biodiversity hotspot, Assessment, threat