Director of the Endangered Wildlife Conservation Project under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Đỗ Quang Tùng. — Photo nongnghiep.vn

Việt Nam remains a global hub of illegal wildlife trade and is a major destination, origin, and transit country in the illegal supply chain. A series of action plans to combat the smuggling of wild animals and their products have been implemented such as improving regulations, raising public awareness, and strengthening law enforcement. Director of the Endangered Wildlife Conservation Project under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Đỗ Quang Tùng spoke with Vietnam News Agency about the issue.

How do you evaluate the handling of wildlife animal smuggling in Việt Nam?

The legal framework on management and control of wild animal breeding, processing and trading activities is complete, comprehensive and suitable to practical requirements. The Forestry Law 2017 and related legal documents clearly stipulate the management and protection of wild animals and prohibited acts, including hunting, catching, raising, storing, transporting, trading wild animals, collecting specimens of forest plant and animal species, as well as sanctions for violations.

Education and dissemination of the law and the coordination between ministries, branches and localities in law enforcement have been carried out regularly. Many violations have been detected and strictly handled in accordance with the law. People's awareness has been enhanced and changed, leading to the remarkable reduction of demand for wild animals and wildlife products for food, pharmaceuticals, jewellery, or for displays.

Officers and soldiers of Long Bình Border Gate Border Guard in An Giang Province discovered 94 iguanas and turtles illegal trafficked last September. — VNA/VNS Photo

Statistics from the Forest Protection Department showed that the number of violations in the period of 2018-2022 on average decreased by 147 cases per year compared to the period of 2013-2017.

However, illegal trading, transportation and consumption of wild animals still take place in more sophisticated ways.

In some cases, the valuation of material evidence is extremely difficult because there is no price in the market. The assessment and identification of species, specimens, parts, products and derivatives of wild animals is still limited, affecting the handling of violations. Therefore, in the future, the authorities need to study specifically the valuation of evidences and improve the capacity of species identification, specimen assessment.

Could you tell us about the project focusing on protecting species at risk from international trafficking into Việt Nam and how it can help Việt Nam control the illegal wildlife trade?

The illegal wildlife animal trade across borders is complicated, requiring enhanced coordination between the nations in the region and in the world. In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the US Agency for International Development launched a project to protect endangered wildlife with a duration of five years.

The project aims to improve and harmonise the legal system related to wildlife protection, strengthen law enforcement and prosecution of wildlife crimes, and reduce demand and illegal consumption of wildlife animals.

The successful implementation of the project will contribute to global efforts in conserving biodiversity and natural resources, which are severely dwindling, and mitigate the impacts of climate change as well as prevent serious consequences to people’s health and life.

Wildlife smuggling and consumption will be deterred and detected more effectively thanks to close coordination among relevant ministries, sectors, and agencies. Law enforcement agencies from central to local levels will boost cooperation to address three problems of illegal wildlife trade: hunting, trafficking and consuming wild animals.

Public awareness will be raised, the conservation of biodiversity and fight against crime and violations of the law on biodiversity will be enhanced. The project will focus on promoting the participation of socio-political organisations, and civil society organisations in the dissemination of information on wildlife protection.

Illegal online advertisements for wildlife trade in Việt Nam can be found on websites, forums and social media networks. What measures should be taken to stop this?

People who advertise illegal wild animals for sale can be fined between VNĐ1-1.5 million (US$42-63) depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation according to the Government’s Decree No. 35 issued on April 25, 2019.

To deal with the increasing trade on online platforms, the project will coordinate with the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, the Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) to develop measures to prevent wildlife-related contents on social media platforms.

The project will help raise awareness for people and businesses about risks related to illegal wildlife trade; assist businesses in building technical barriers and implementing specific actions on each platform and website to prevent the crime.

It will list illegal wildlife trade on prohibited contents; encourage users to report such contents; train content moderators to detect illegally trafficked wildlife; enhance automatic detection of illegal wildlife advertising and listings; and strengthen cooperation in combating illegal wildlife trade and law enforcement. — VNS