Project launched to boost ties in threatened species conservation

ABO/VNA – The Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) and the World Bank (WB) launched on September 10 a project on strengthening the partnership in the conservation of endangered species in Vietnam.

A pygmy slow loris at the Hon Me wildlife rescue centre in the southern province of Kien Giang (Photo: VNA)

This project is part of a global partnership programme on wildlife conservation and crime prevention for sustainable development funded by the Global Environment Fund through the WB.

The project will be carried out by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment from 2019 to 2022 to protect endangered species by reducing threats posed by illegal exploitation, trade and consumption through multilateral cooperation. It will engage joint efforts by domestic and foreign agencies and organisations, including non-governmental and social organisations and the private sector.

Data of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) show that over the last 25 years, the rate of species becoming extinct has reached 10 percent. Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund pointed out that the population of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish fell 60 percent between 1970 and 2014.

According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, at least 1 million species, equivalent to one-eighth of the known species on earth, will disappear within this century if human do not promptly take appropriate actions.

Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, deputy head of the VEA’s department for nature and biodiversity conservation, said Vietnam has taken part in many international and regional initiatives and commitments such as the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, the London and Kasane declarations on illegal wildlife trade, the East Asia and APEC summits’ statements on enhancing cooperation in fighting wildlife trafficking and consumption demand.

The country has boosted bilateral and multilateral cooperation with many countries in the work, she noted, adding that it has also fine-tuned the legal system and stepped up wildlife conservation, law enforcement and awareness raising communication.

However, Nhan admitted, such efforts are still not enough to reverse the downward trend in the species number.

Statistics indicate that the number of wild species and their populations in Vietnam are declining sharply. In the IUCN Red List updated in July 2019, the number of species classified as “near threatened” and above in Vietnam is 700. Surveys in 2016 also proposed 1,211 species, including 600 plant and fungus species and 611 animal species, be included in the Red Data Book, much higher than the 2007 assessment.

(Source: VNA)