USAID works on effective wildlife conservation through demand reduction

USAID works on effective wildlife conservation through demand reduction

On July 26, the USAID, through the USAID Wildlife Asia activity, in partnership with the Office of the National Assembly, brought together top government leaders and relevant stakeholders for a featured dialogue aimed at evaluating the country’s communication work on endangered species conservation.

Participants attending the event exchanged views and insights on a wide range of wildlife-related topics, including achievements and shortcomings on current wildlife management, the advantages and disadvantages of demand reduction campaigns, as well as solutions for reinforcing impactful and long-term demand reduction strategies.

The Vietnamese government’s efforts to promote government-led social behaviour change communication campaigns are recognised and appreciated. The event included top-level discussions on how to translate political will into specific and effective actions fostering a change of practices against illegal ownership, purchasing, and consumption of wildlife products in the country. This effort confirms USAID’s intention to build upon Vietnam’s successes in this field and to continue mobilising resources to conserve the country’s wealth of wildlife species.

Pham Dinh Toan (on the right) and Sarah Fergusson, head of TRAFFIC’s Vietnam office

Pham Dinh Toan, vice chairman of Office of the National Assembly Session XIV and vice chaiman of National Assembly Office said, “The Vietnamese Party and government have realised the urgent need to address demand for illegal wildlife products. As the highest organ of state, the National Assembly has a strong will to reduce the overexploitation of natural resources and to drive down consumption demand for illegally traded wildlife products.”

“Solutions identified during the event will be valuable in strengthening existing achievements and guiding future action. We continue to seek international partnerships together with an improved national cooperation mechanism to ultimately defeat one of the most serious transnational crimes in the world,” Toan said.

The dialogue facilitated discussion between high-level government figures and experts with different perspectives on comprehensive and high-quality strategies to bring the consumption of protected wildlife species to an end.

The event affirms the active role of the National Assembly in addressing the problem. Output from the event will be documented for the parliamentarians’ reference and is expected to be added to the National Assembly’s next meeting agenda.