14:04:97

VIETNAM: VIETNAM - THE CALL FROM THE WILD IS "HELP!"

By Minh Duong

Many rare Vietnamese animal and bird species are now on the
verge of extinction. In an effort to protect and preserve
its diverse wildlife, Vietnam needs a big hand from relevant
international organizations.

Animal diversity is one of Vietnam's most valuable natural
resources. It is calculated that this country is home for
12,000 species of animals of which some 7,000 species have
already been named, including 2,470 species of fish, 800
species of birds, 275 species of animals, 180 species of
reptiles, and 80 species of amphibians, accounting for
around 10 percent of the world's total. The number of
species of birds and mammals here is higher than in the
Philippines, which has an area similar to that of Vietnam.
In particular, Vietnam also boasts the highest ratio of
endemic species in the sub-Indochina region. Of the total 21
species of monkeys in this region, Vietnam has 15, of which
7 are endemic species. Of the 49 species of birds across the
region, Vietnam houses 33, of which 11 are endemic species
(while regional countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and
Cambodia each has no more than 2 endemic species). This
diversity, as scientists put it, stems from Vietnam's
geographical location running past various parallels with
diversified types of soil and climates.

Numerous sectors of Vietnam's economy such as food
processing, pharmaceuticals, and material production have
benefited from natural resources, and animal diversity.
Nevertheless, during the past several years, Vietnam's wild
animals have become seriously endangered.

The impending extinction:

To date, up to 175 .species and sub-species of rare animals
have been listed in Vietnam's Red Book, according to the
Institute of Forestry Survey and Planning under the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development. Of them, two species
of two-horned rhinoceros and Tatirus indicus have become
completely extinct, while two others, spotted deer and
Hylobates lar have also been stamped out. In addition, about
35 others are now endangered as the number of each species
is less than 250 each, and they exist in only a small area.
Statistics compiled through interviews with hunters
conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development during the past 5 years show that there are now
8 species that are less than 250 in number. Worse still,
there are only 80-100 wild bulls and Trachypithecus
francoisi each, Hai Nam ape 40-60, and only 3-4 rhinoceros.
Vietnamese elephants are also facing extinction. The number
of elephants dropped sharply by 85-90 percent, with almost
1,500 - 2,000 elephants in 1990, to just 200-300 five years
later. The species of Rhinopithecus avunculus, which ranks
first among those listed in the Red Book, suffers no better
a fate. There are now approximately 300 of them living in
Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai and Bac Can provinces. The extinction
of various species now appears to be only a matter of time,
owing to poachers, rare animal smuggling, forest and
environment destruction, for which the alarm bell is ringing
off the wall.

Once wild animals become marketable goods:

In a recent survey, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development made it known that, the number of hunted animals
and birds was increasing. If only 18 endangered species are
taken into account, there were 8,964 animals and birds that
have been shot down during the last five years for money. As
a matter of fact, this number should be many fold since a
mere 660 questionnaires are delivered each year to hunters
throughout the country. The best game during the 1991-1995
period include: 1,364 Pygathrix nemaecus, 1,174 musk-deer;
1,145 monkeys of all kinds; 963 pangolins; 853 apes; 608
Trachypithecus francoisi; 619 white pheasants; 70 tigers;
and 96 bulls.

To give some sorts of an explanation for the decreasing
number of elephants, an expert from the Institute of
Forestry Survey and Planning reveals: "Hunters seem to have
set up their mafia-clone chain. They make contact with local
hunters so as soon as an elephant is killed, they will go to
the site to cut his tusks, leaving behind the dead body of
the animal". By so doing, 6 elephants were killed in Quy Hop
district (Nghe An province) in 1995 and 1996. Even Pseudoryx
nghetinhnensis and Megamuntiacus vuquangnensis, 2 out of the
6 species recently discovered in Vietnam are now on the
hunt. Special interest in these two species by rare animal
collectors and hunters seems to have resulted from rumor of
these two animals' economic value. Local hunters have also
become aware of their value, and hunting scenes appear more
and more. This cruelty has also been encountered by
tigers-the king of forests. Before the 1960s, the number of
tigers' existing in Vietnam was estimated at a few thousand,
distributed throughout forests and mountainous areas. from
the North to the South. They sometimes even threatened
people's lives back then. A number of localities has become
well-known, associated with being tigers den such as Doc Cun
(Hoa Binh province), Quang Ba (Ha Giang), Ba Che (Quang
Ninh), Ba To (Binh Dinh), Muong Nhe (Lai Chau), and Sa Thay
(Kon Tum). The people were also scared whenever they had to
go through these places. Now, however, quite the reverse is
true. Whenever there is information regarding the appearance
of a tiger, all the hunters will rush to that place to track
the animal down. As a consequence, there are less than 300
tigers in Vietnam nowadays, and they are always being
hunted, scientists warn.

Wild animals have rapidly emerged as a popular kind of
goods, especially when they promise a high export value.
There was a wild run to export pangolins, turtles, snakes
and iguanas to Hong Kong, Thailand and China in particular
in 1996 inspite of warnings related to the environment and
epidemics etc. Hanoi is also one of the markets of these
animals, as well as a destination where smugglers gather up
their "goods" before they are transported to the northern
border. No record is kept of these numbers, yet it appears
to be quite large. Most of these animals are often hurt as
they have been trapped, trafficked, purchased and
repurchased during a rather long period of time without
care. In 1996, tens of thousands of smuggled animals were
seized by authorized competent agencies, and since they were
usually in bad condition, Hanoi alone had to invest billions
of dong in the construction of a center to deal with their
wounds before they are released to the forest, Hanoi
Forestry Control Department's statistics show.

Apart from this, forest destruction for plywood and
firewood, together with the habit of shifting cultivation
have seriously affected animals' habitats. Vietnam's area of
forest coverage fell from 69 percent in 1943 to just 29
percent in 1991 vs its total areas, according to World
Bank's statistics. This is one of the reasons that cause the
process of extinction to accelerate.

Prime priority is attached to wild animal protection

Vietnam has applied various measures to roll back this
danger. In the first step, Vietnam's fauna and flora are
re-examined, and a list of endangered species of animals and
plants has been produced accordingly. A concrete realization
of this step is reflected through the publication of the
Vietnam Red Book in 1992. Besides, as much as 1.1 million ha
of land (equal to 3 percent of the total area) has been
designated to be used for various preservation zones.
Nevertheless, as this area is divided into 87 different
conservation zones, each becomes a little too small to house
all animals and plants that need protection. Thus, more than
a few species of endangered animals are still left outside
the conservation zones. Hence, the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development is planning to widen the area reserved
for all conservation zones and national parks to over 2
million ha by the year 2000. The Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment has too mapped out a plan of
investing over VND300 billion to funnel to 61 major
preservation projects from now until 2000. The National
Assembly will later consider the plan, and approve of
expenditures for relevant activities worth 1 percent of the
GDP. The most critical issue today, as it seems, is the
method to attain firm cooperation between the people and the
Government in an aim to effectively managing conservation
zones. To help the people stop hunting as well as slash and
burn cultivation habits, it if imperative to do away with
their hunger and poverty, and at the same time to create
jobs for local people so as to reduce the pressure on
conservation zones.

Alongside with aforesaid measures, Vietnam has also
promulgated several legal documents concerning the issue
such as the Forestry Protection and Development Law, and
Decree No.18/HDBT defining the list of rare animals subject
to be protected. In implementing its wild animal protection
plans and strategy, Vietnam has received much help from
different international organizations such as the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCNNR), and World Wild Life Fund in terms of
finance, experience and equipment. It is hopeful that in the
future, Vietnam will be able to take a good care of it
natural resources.

Copyright 1997 Vietnam Economic News.

(c) 1995 Chamber World Network International Ltd. SOURCES
ASIA INTELLIGENCE WIRE

VIETNAM ECONOMIC NEWS 2713195