Endangered Asian Species Trust
Mission statement
EAST was established in 2008 by Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre (UK) and Pingtung Rescue Centre (Taiwan), with a mission of helping to conserve Asia’s endangered wildlife.
Its flagship project is the Dao Tien Endangered Species Centre in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. Here the centre rescues, rehabilitates and releases back into the wild endangered primates’ native to the area, such as golden-cheeked gibbons, pygmy loris and black-shanked douc monkeys.
EAST works with the Vietnamese government and Forestry Protection Department to confiscate primates from the black market trade, and expedite them to the Dao Tien centre to start their rehabilitation. Many primates arrive to the centre malnourished, stressed and in a state of social deprivation. The centre works to prepare them physically and mentally for the wild before they can be released. Luckily some are only recently out of the forest, and can be released relatively quickly. However, others have spent years in captivity, and/or were hunted as babies. For them, it can be many years before they are ready to be released.
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ASAP Species they are working to conserve
ASAP Partner since: 2021
Country focus: Vietnam
ASAP’s Indonesia Programme Coordinator, Cahaya Ramadhani, reflects on her first year in the role and shares the activities and experiences that have stood out most to her, including graduation from the Women in Conservation Leadership Programme.