20 Sep
2006 - Hanoi, Vietnam – As part of an awareness-raising
campaign to address unsustainable wildlife consumption,
WWF and TRAFFIC have launched an exhibition on
wildlife trade for schools in Vietnam.
The travelling exhibition —
consisting of a variety of interactive and audio
visual displays that educates students about the
impacts of the illegal trade in plants and animals
and the importance of wildlife conservation and
the sustainable use of natural resources — will
tour over 45 secondary schools in the Vietnamese
capital, Hanoi, until March 2007.
“This exhibition is a unique
and exciting experience that will change the way
children think in relation to the consumption
of wildlife and wildlife products,” said TRAFFIC
Indochina Representative Sulma Warne. “As the
young generation of today represents the future
of tomorrow, the shaping of their attitudes towards
sustainable consumption of wildlife is very important.”
In addition to land clearance
and degradation, the illegal trade and consumption
of wildlife and wildlife products are increasingly
being recognized as one the most significant threats
to biodiversity, not only in Vietnam, but the
wider region as well. It is estimated that the
international trade in wild species of fauna and
flora is worth billions of dollars a year, involving
a diverse range of plants and animals.
In Vietnam, local demand for
wildlife and wildlife products for food and traditional
medicines — especially derived from rare species
such as tigers, rhinos, pangolins, primates, bears,
marine turtles, freshwater turtles and orchids
— is growing.
Results of a recent TRAFFIC
survey on wildlife consumption in Hanoi showed
that nearly 50 per cent of the city’s residents
have used products derived from wild animals.
Food accounts for 82 per cent of the consumption,
followed by 50 per cent for traditional medicines.
“Rapid economic development
in Vietnam has translated itself into increased
levels of personal wealth and with it a growing
demand for natural resources, including wildlife
and wildlife products,” Warne said.
“The survey has shown that many
people in Hanoi are not only unaware that the
consumption of threatened species is illegal in
Vietnam, but that it is also detrimental to the
country’s biodiversity.”
Concerned about the rapid disappearance
of many of Vietnam’s plants and animals species,
TRAFFIC, WWF and the Vietnamese government have
implement a project — A matter of attitude: Reducing
consumption of wildlife products in Hanoi, Vietnam
— aimed at helping to reduce consumption of wildlife
products in the country, as well as changing the
attitudes of consumers of wildlife and wildlife
products.
“The wildlife exhibition is
an important part of this project,” added Eric
Coull, WWF’s Greater Mekong Representative. “An
exhibit like this should circulate to each and
every school throughout the country as an extremely
effective means of educating the youth of today
about the importance of safeguarding Vietnam’s
natural resource base for future generations.”
In addition to school education,
other project activities include the production
and broadcasting of public service announcements
for television, a media awareness campaign and
the establishment of a hotline for reporting wildlife
trade crimes in Hanoi.
END NOTES:
• TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade
monitoring network, is a joint programme of WWF
and IUCN-the World Conservation Union.
• The WWF-TRAFFIC project —
A matter of attitude: Reducing consumption of
wildlife products in Hanoi, Vietnam — is supported
by the government of Vietnam and funded by the
Danish International Development Agency.
Hoang Thi Minh Hong, Communications Manager
