Conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources

Speaking at the seminar , Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen said conservation and sustainable use of wild animals in the territory of a country depends not only on its policy, but are also governed by international regulations and affected by the policies of other countries.

Therefore, conservation of biodiversity in general and conservation of wild animals in particular need international cooperation as well as efforts at the national level.

Issues tabled for discussion covered the appropriate model in the context of Vietnam; Vietnam can apply what wildlife management models from other nations; Vietnam should prohibit all forms of commercial breeding and priority species for protection.

Some participants also said that wild animal breeding farms for commercial purposes is growing drastically in terms of volume. So whether this will support conservation or increase the pressure on wild animals remains to be seen.

They also proposed preventing farms from raising protected species and globally threatened animals named in the Red Book, duly punishing farm owners who violate regulations on wildlife protection.

Farms must be responsible for the documents proving the origin of the breed rather than the law enforcement agencies, they added.

Earlier, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) collaborated with the Vietnam Forest Ranger Department to conduct a survey on 78 breeding farms with a view to promoting conservation of natural populations.

Results showed that 22 species are currently bred at farms, including 12 nationally threatened species, 6 globally threatened, 4 nationally protected and 5 named on the red list of globally endangered animals.