ILLEGAL HUNTING MUST BE STOPPED Never before has Vietnam had to confront the ominous extinction of wild animals so seriously. Following are excerpts of an interview with DAVID HULSE, Chief Representative of the World Wildlife Fund, on the matter. The action plan for preserving the biological diversity of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE) targets 61 projects to be implemented during the next five years to expand wildlife reserves and control illegal sales of forest animals. Could you elaborate on how to undertake these projects successfully? The contents of projects in the action plan have yet to be itemized. For the time being,they provide only framework. Currently, financial sponsors including those from the Netherlands and Denmark have expressed their concern over environmental protection in Vietnam and their will to participate in that task. The 61 projects mentioned choices for foreign supporters to consider. MOSTE, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have recently co-organized an international conference on the action plan to preserve the biological diversity in Vietnam. What was the outcome of the conference? The success of this conference wasn't decided by whether someone said "I' ll choose Project 1" or somebody else said "I'll take Project 2" but it was successful because it fascinated the attendance of the people who show an interest in Vietnam's environmental protection. After having overseen documents, they concluded that "the documents are a good reference and we'll consider them when making decisions." Dutch and Danish embassies made excellent reports in favor of measures to protect the environment applied in Vietnam. What are your comments on the illegal sales of wild animals in Vietnam? All know that rare and precious mammals have gradually disappeared in Vietnam such as elephants, tigers. sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinghensis, a half ox, half goat animal). and mang lon (Megamuntiacus, a kind of large deer). Illegal sales of rare, precious mammals have fostered illegal hunting and pushed it to an alarming level We have a long list of programs to protect important areas where precious mammals live and we have paid special attention to species which need special care. A control project has been implemented in Vu Quang in northern Vietnam -- the habitat of sao la and mang lon. It can be said that we have succeeded in Vu Quang. Cat Tien, Ba Be, as well as many other locations nationwide. We cannot expect success in 'Vietnam unless we're able to consistently protect these sites and support lives of the local people. We've heard of a Government comprehensive protection program. It's fantastic, but its aim is too broad. WWF's viewpoint is that we should focus our efforts on the most important areas including Ba Be, Cuc Phuong, Vu Quang, Cat Tien. York Don, and Con Dao. In what ways will these sites be protected? Suitable methods will be applied to each sire. For example, in Cuc Phuong, locals have been resettled in areas outside the protection belt circled by a buffer zone. The forest is inside. This model isn't applicable to most of the remaining sites since people live sparsely there. We've worked hard to educate the population about environmental protection awareness, particularly those who live next to forests. Environmental protection doesn't mean absolute prohibition of hunting, picking or gathering for the sake of people earning a living. A species existent for thousands of years cannot become extinct overnight. Thus, if an all-out interdiction is imposed, it may be a mistake as it causes tension in the protected areas. The most fretting issue is the massacre of wild animals for commercial purposes. We should focus efforts on controlling this activity. Professional wild animal dealers are really horrifying. Have you visited major wild animal markets in Vietnam? There are such markets in HCM City and Hanoi. I think the Vietnamese Government should take measures to actually outlaw that business and exercise adequately strict controls throughout the country. Reported by NGUYEN TUAN ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- Protecting and Fostering Wild Animals Following are some extracts from Directive No.359/TTg dated May 29, 1996 of Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet on the urgent measures to protect and foster wild animal species. 1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Peoples Committees of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government cooperate with the departments and offices of different levels to tightly direct the inspection, control, and prevention of illegal hunting of scarce, precious wild animals. These Include species of ornamental birds from nature, especially those on the verge of extinction; as well as controlling and preventing the illegal trade, transport, export, and storage of precious, scarce wild animals at domestic markets, border-line markets, traffic routes, seaports, airports and other places. The General Customs Department is responsible for cooperating with forces in charge to control, supervise, and prevent the illegal export of animals and produces originating from scarce, precious wild animals. Organizations and private individuals violating the directive are to be severely prosecuted in accordance with the law, from administrative punishment to criminal prosecution. 2. Scarce, precious wild animals obtained through inspection must be released back to their natural habitats. 3efore their release, their state of health, diseases and ecological characteristics must be carefully examined to ensure they can live and thrive. 3. The Ministry of Interior will cooperate with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promptly guide related authorities to inspect and confiscate military guns. air-compressed guns and other means used to hunt and trap wild animals. The production and use of these means not in accordance with current stipulations of the government are prohibited. 4. Hotels and restaurants are banned from dealing in "specialty" animals; shops are forbidden to display, advertise and sell products related to precious, scarce wild animals caught in nature, except for the cases stipulated in Article 5 of this directive. 5. Presidents of the People s Committees of provinces and cities under the Central Government are liable for inspecting and examining in order to regrant licences to applications for merchandising specialities whose origins are precious, scarce wild animals which have been licensed before. 6. Organizations and private individuals are encouraged to raise and foster species of wild animals including scarce, precious animals for trade and export, but must strictly comply with the regulations of Decree No.18/HDBT dated January 17, 1992 and current stipulations and the CITES international convention. 7. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment cooperates with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Fisheries to strengthen the management of existing natural reserves, boost investigation operations, study and confirm the breed and ecological characteristics of each species or wild animals, especially scarce, precious animals in order to list precious, scarce animals in Vietnam and supplement their names in the CITES Convention The Saigon Times: July 20-26, 1996 p. 14-15.