The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Vietnam Nov 22 held a conference in the central highlands city of Dalat to discuss ways to prevent the illegal trade of wild animals and plant species. The World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC (a wildlife trade monitoring network) have worked with concerned agencies to boost law enforcement and improve the public awareness of illegal trafficking of animals and plants, under a specific program that has been carried out since February 2009. Under the program, local authorities uncovered 88 wildlife trafficking violation cases and rescued more than 700 animals from illegal traders, which were subsequently released into the wild forests. Many activities to raise people’s awareness of wild animals and an exhibition on wild animals were also held during the event. Truong Son mountain range in Vietnam is home to many endangered species listed on the global preservation list, like tigers (scientifically known as Panthera tigris), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and the newly-discovered Hooves Sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis). Eating wild animal meats or bushmeat is relatively popular in Vietnam, especially among wealthy people and senior officials because they are believed to be used for greatly medicinal powers. Nearly 200 wildlife species are being offered in the Vietnamese market, including 80 endangered species. Founded in 1995, MRC is the only inter-governmental agency that works directly with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam on their common specific interests-joint management of shared water resources and sustainable development of the Mekong River basin. (Quan Doi Nhan Dan – People’s Army Nov 24 p8, Vietnam News Nov 24)
