Vietnam is currently focussing on law enforcement and awareness raisingcampaigns to reduce the illegal trade and consumption of wildlife, asenior official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmentsaid.

Speaking at an APEC workshop on the reduction of illegalwildlife consumption in Hanoi on October 21, Nguyen Ba Ngai, DeputyDirector General of the ministry’s Forestry Department, highlighted thedramatic extent of the illegal trade in wildlife which is now a seriousissue in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. Wildlifetrade causes significant economic losses for governments, as well asdamaging ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.

He gave anoverview of the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to address the issue,such as the special decree issued by the Prime Minister in February 2014instructing all ministries and sectors to undertake maximum efforts totackle the trade.

In addition, Vietnam launched a number of conservation programmes for rare species, such as domestic elephants and tigers.

Furthermore, the government is in the process of amending laws to increase fines for wildlife crimes, he added.

Vietnam’sCITES Management Authority and the US Department of State jointlyhosted the workshop, which aimed to exchange knowledge and experience,and devise plans to address the issue in a bid to boost APEC’s rolein the field of wildlife conservation.

CITES, the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is aninternational agreement between governments that aims to monitor theinternational trade of specimens to ensure the survival of animals andplants in the wild.-VNA