The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched a new “Green Restaurant” Campaign in the northern province of Nam Dinh, which aims to persuade at least 150 restaurants not to serve wildlife foods. This campaign comes to Nam Dinh after the success of the similar program in Hanoi last year. Implemented in February and July-August in the capital city, the campaign attracted the participation of 160 restaurants, which committed to not supply products sourced from wildlife. This program is a part of the second phase of a project to change the behavior and reduce the use of products from wildlife in Hanoi, performed by the WWF in the Greater Mekong Sub region and TRAFFIC and funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). After the success in Hanoi, the campaign spreads to Nam Dinh province, implemented by the Blue and Green Environment Club, under the assistance of the Nam Dinh Department of Natural Resources and Environment and consultancy of the WWF.
Pham Dinh Ngoc from the Blue and Green Environment Club, which was set up in Nam Dinh in 2009 with ten members and 30 volunteers, said: “We decided to launch this campaign in Nam Dinh because we see many local people favor wildlife products. We hope this campaign will partly contribute to change their awareness of protecting the wildlife. The club has mobilized 40 volunteer for the campaign”.
The Green Restaurant has been carried out in Hanoi and Nam Dinh only. The WWF hopes that this campaign will be implemented in many other provinces in the country and even on an international scale.
