The Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Office and the USAID Wildlife Asia organized a scientific dialogue on Vietnam’s laws and policies on wildlife protection in Hanoi on July 26, state media reported. Mr. Peter Collier, Chief of Party, USAID Wildlife Asia, acknowledged the Asian governments’ efforts in wildlife protection. However, wildlife trade remains rampant. He affirmed that USAID Wildlife Asia is committed to supporting the implementation of laws and policies on wildlife protection in Vietnam. Ms. Sarah Ferguson, head of TRAFFIC’s Vietnam Office, lauded Vietnam’s programs in the work, improvements in the legal framework, and heavier fines on wildlife traffickers, thus raising the public awareness of wildlife protection. Participants acknowledged that Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. However, in recent years, the local biodiversity has shown signs of depletion due to impacts of climate change and human activities. They stressed the urgent need of wildlife protection. Mr. Pham Dinh Toan, deputy head of the NA Office, stated that Vietnam expects to receive further support from countries’ governments and international organizations in the work in Vietnam and in the world. Reports from a workshop in Danang City last week showed that Vietnam is currently home to 322 types of animals, 397 types of reptiles, 181 types of amphibians, 950 types of birds, and 120,000 types of insects. Between January 2018 and May 2019, forest rangers across the country dealt with 560 violations in forest animal protection. Of which, the forces began criminal proceedings against suspects in 41 cases with 945 individuals and 15.76 tons of forest animals. Meanwhile, the forces imposed fines of VND4.2 billion on violators in 519 cases, seized 6,151 individuals and 11.2 tons of animals. (TinTuc, Bao Chinh Phu)
