Comments
Mon, 09/14/2020 - 17:01
Growing urban prosperity and increased access to the global marketplace have driven illegal wildlife trade. The biodiversity, culture, economy and location of Vietnam have made it a key producer, consumer and transit point for trafficked wildlife. Consumption of wildlife products remains a routine part of rural Vietnamese life, but has become increasingly urbanised as more people move to cities. Lack of capacity in conservation is a recognised issue both in Southeast Asia in general and in Vietnam in particular. Increasing Vietnam’s capacity to combat wildlife trafficking with efforts typically directed towards front-line activities such as intelligence gathering and law enforcement, is the best practice to end the illegal trade and consumption in this country.
In this project, WildAct and the University of Vinh will work together to deliver the first-ever master’s degree course on Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in Vietnam and in the Southeast Asian region. The city of Vinh in Nghe An province lies within the border with Laos, and has been known as an illegal wildlife trade hub in and out of Vietnam. This project is poised to contribute to the national capacity building to combat illegal wildlife trade in one of the Vietnamese illegal trade hotspots. The purpose of this project is to counter wildlife trafficking in Vietnam by training and empowering a new generation of Vietnamese nationals to address their nation’s substantial responsibilities regarding the illegal wildlife trade. This project is intended to contribute towards conservation of a broad range of species of fauna and flora that are threatened by illegal trade, by addressing the impact of Vietnam’s historically low capacity for countering a trade with which it is profoundly associated.