About Us
CRES, a leading environmental research and training centre in Vietnam, was founded in November 1985. CRES’s mission is to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development in the country through research, training, and collaboration.
ASAP Species That We Work On
What We Do
The Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES) focuses on applying the latest technologies to biodiversity and conservation in Vietnam and neighbouring countries. Members of CRES actively participate in both field and laboratory research. The results of our field surveys have had strong conservation implications. Status of several newly described species has been assessed and listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List. In addition, camera trap studies have helped to identify priority areas for conservation of threatened primate and other mammal species and confirm distribution of elusive birds and mammals. Species distribution modelling has been employed to investigate potential ranges of a number of poorly known species with a focus on reptiles and mammals to prioritize future field surveys. In addition, distribution of some targeted species has been modelled to evaluate the influence of different climate change scenarios on the targeted species.
CRES has utilized molecular techniques to address research and conservation issues. Neutral markers, including mitochondrial and nuclear genes, have been sequenced for several vertebrate taxonomic groups to recover phylogenetic relationships and infer patterns and processes that form the current level of biodiversity in the region. Moreover, these markers are particularly helpful in uncovering cryptic diversity in morphologically similar species complexes. Other fast-evolving and selected molecular markers, e.g., microsatellites, have been generated to study changes at the population level. Molecular approaches have also been applied to combating wildlife trade by identifying species and determining geographic provenances from confiscated wildlife products. To facilitate the use of the techniques in research and conservation in region, a number of training courses have been organized for scientists, protected area staff, government officials, law enforcement personnel from Indochina.
Where We Work
Vietnam and Laos
Photo Credits
A.T. Nguyen.