As wildlife-related crimes are able to generate profits almost equal to those from the trafficking of drugs, firearms, and human beings, they are quickly becoming increasingly more of a threat to Vietnam, according to an official from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Vietnam.
Illustrative photo (Source: ENV)
Hanoi (VNA) – As wildlife-related crimes are able to generate profits almost equalto those from the trafficking of drugs, firearms, and human beings, they arequickly becoming increasingly more of a threat to Vietnam, according to anofficial from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Vietnam.
Vietnam has beenviewed as an important link in the chain of transnational illegal wildlifetrade, said WCS Country Programme Director Hoang Bich Thuy.
According to a reporton wildlife violations and law enforcement in Vietnam from 2013-2017 conductedby the WCS and the Department of Criminal Justice Statistics and InformationTechnology at the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Vietnam recorded more than 1,500wildlife crimes, seizing over 41,300kg of wildlife specimens and products, fromJanuary 2013 to December 2017.
Some 1,460 peoplehave reportedly violated regulations on wildlife protection, 432 of who werebrought to trial with criminal charges. The country has collected 16 billionVND (692,340 USD) in fines from these violations, according to the report.
Most recently,nearly 10 tonnes of smuggled ivoryand pangolin scales originating from Nigeria were discovered in a plastic wastecontainer at Tien Sa Port in the central city of Da Nang in October. It was oneof the country’s largest wildlife trafficking cases for some time.
Earlier this month, about 800kg of pangolin scales werefounded in three containers imported from Africa at Hai Phong Port in thenorthern city of Hai Phong. The case is under further investigation.
Although the Governmenthas taken various measures to combat wildlife trafficking, the crime remainswidespread in Vietnam as many people still believe consuming wildlife products,such as rhino horns or pangolin scales, is good for their health.
An official fromthe Department of Forest Protection said that we must develop a comprehensiveaction plan to strengthen law enforcement against illegal wildlife tradingbased on organised statistics and analysis on the crime.
It is also vitalto have a governmental body in charge of collecting data on wildlifetrafficking to provide support for related authorities, he added.
The WCS has worked in Vietnam since 2006 with a focus oncombating illegal wildlife trafficking. The organisation works to degrade,disrupt, and dismantle wildlife trafficking networks and reduce poachingpressure on wildlife populations. –VNA
VNA
Related News
Representatives of more than 40 Vietnamese and German companies in Vietnam pledged to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards wildlife crimes at a workshop in Hanoi on June 29.
Vietnam’s illegal online trade of wildlife is occurring on websites that end with “.vn” and “.com” domain names, including social media websites, according to a study released recently by TRAFFIC.
A wildlife trafficker has been sent to prison for 10 years by the People’s Court of Dien Bien district, the northwestern province of Dien Bien.
Vietnam has made great strides in the fight against wildlife crime, said Bui Thi Ha, Deputy Director of Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), a non-governmental organisation on the reservation of nature and the protection of the environment.
The elongated tortoise is one of the most beautiful and rare terrestrial tortoise species, listed in both the Vietnam Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. It typically inhabits tropical and subtropical forests and plays an important role in maintaining ecological balance. However, due to illegal trade and habitat loss, its wild population has been declining sharply.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded technical cooperation project on drainage management for climate resilience in Can Tho aims to improve planning capacity for wastewater collection, enhance operations and management of existing treatment plants, and the city’s ability to run public awareness campaigns.
A series of environmental and marine-related events to held in the central province of Nghe An from June 4-6 will generate a broad social impact, helping transform awareness into action and commitments into concrete results, and contributing to Vietnam’s goals of green growth, circular economy development, net-zero emissions and harmonious coexistence between people and nature.
According to marine experts, the repeated appearance of dolphins near the shore of Cai Chien Island is a positive sign that the local marine environment is well protected.
According to the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection, as of May 12, more than 1,350 communes and wards nationwide were under the highest forest fire warning of Level 5, while 294 others at Level 4.
To support conservation efforts, the national park has invested in a comprehensive system of breeding enclosures, quarantine areas, reproductive research facilities, wastewater treatment systems and surveillance cameras.
The climate resilience and sustainable infrastructure project in Lang Son consists of two main components, focusing on sustainable infrastructure and environmental improvement; and technical assistance and capacity building, with AFD experts expected to train project management officials and local agencies in disaster response and climate adaptation.
Beyond helping Hai Phong tackle environmental issues, Eco Hopia's primary objective is to transfer advanced technologies to Vietnam, enabling local partners to master them and contribute to the sustainable development of the country's agricultural sector.
The number and activity of tropical cyclones and depressions over the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea, and their direct impacts on mainland Vietnam are expected to be comparable to the multi-year average. The long-term average over the East Sea is 5.2 typhoons, with 1.9 making landfall.
Launched in 2021 with funding from the Norwegian people through WWF-Norway and WWF-Vietnam, the “Hue – Plastic Smart City in Central Vietnam” project aims to help Hue protect rivers, wetlands and coastal ecosystems from plastic pollution while building the city into a model plastic-reduced urban area in central Vietnam.
The Bac Lieu Forest Protection Unit under the provincial Forest Protection Sub-Department said that it had completed procedures to transfer and release the animal into its natural habitat.
Initiatives on biodiversity finance, carbon credits, public – private partnerships, nature-based tourism, and private sector investment are creating more opportunities to increase resources for ecosystem conservation and restoration, said an official.
Vietnam has established a network of 180 terrestrial and marine nature reserve covering more than 2.67 million hectares. These sites are being further strengthened to improve ecological connectivity, restore habitats and conserve endangered species. Forest cover remains stable at over 42%, contributing to water protection, climate adaptation and carbon absorption.
The animals included two masked palm civets, four stump-tailed macaques, and seven rhesus macaques. All belong to Group IIB under Circular No. 85/2025/TT-BNNMT issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the management of endangered, precious and rare species, as well as the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The animal was identified as a clouded monitor (Varanus nebulosus), weighing approximately two kilograms and measuring around 70 centimetres in length. The species belongs to Group IB — a category of endangered and rare forest wildlife species given the highest level of protection in Vietnam, with all forms of commercial exploitation and use strictly prohibited.
The stump-tailed macaque, scientifically known as Macaca arctoides, is classified as a rare and endangered species under Group IIB in Vietnam’s regulations on endangered wildlife management.
Ho Chi Minh City aims to push urban green coverage above 1 sq.m per person by 2030, while stepping up greenhouse gas reduction initiatives on the way to Net Zero by 2050.
Designed to process 2,000 tonnes of waste per day and generate 45MW of electricity for the national grid, the project is the first high-tech waste-to-energy plant in southwestern Hanoi, where large-scale solid waste treatment facilities have long been lacking.
The figure includes losses of 6.7 billion VND in Cao Bang province and 3.5 billion VND in Dak Lak province, while Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa provinces have yet to report estimated damages.
The three turtles, each weighing around 1.5 kilogrammes with shells measuring about 25 centimetres long and 20 centimetres wide, are green sea turtles. They were accidentally caught in fishing nets and found drifting at sea near Con Co waters on May 16 by fisherman Bui Dinh Thuy in Cua Viet commune during a fishing trip.