Media Release

Vietnamese wildlife trade campaigner wins recognition at prestigious UK conservation awards

Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, only 26, last night won a runner up prize at the UK’s top conservation awards ceremony, The Whitley Awards, for her commitment to protecting Vietnam’s rare and endangered wildlife from illegal trade.  Dung received £10,000 in recognition of her work, which will allow her to extend the reach of her national campaign to bring an end to the illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam.

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the greatest threats facing wildlife in Vietnam.   It has driven many animal species to the verge of extinction in the wild, and severely threatens populations of bears, cats, primates, pangolins and other species. Demand for exotic species skins and parts continues to grow throughout the country as more consumers seek expensive wildlife foods and traditional medicines. Vietnam is literally becoming a consumer state as animals are served in restaurants and openly traded in the markets of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh cities.  

As the country's economy grows, infrastructure developments link previously remote areas to outside markets, fuelling an alarming international trade with neighbouring China, Laos and Cambodia for use in traditional medicine, foods, and as souvenirs and pets.  Within Vietnam, domestic demand for wildlife products is also increasing. Populations of the highest-value species, such as turtles and bears, are undergoing disastrous declines. Limited resources and manpower capacity among enforcement agencies mean that this overexploitation goes on largely unregulated.

Incentives to hunt these species are often high for rural people and many target species have been reduced to such low levels that many traders now acquire wildlife and wildlife products from neighbouring countries.

One Vietnamese woman, Nguyen Phuong Dung, has been tireless in her efforts to stop these extinctions. Environment for Nature was set up six years ago and is Vietnam’s first environment education focused NGO. Led by Nguyen, ENV’s wildlife trade department works to raise people’s awareness of just how unsustainable the wildlife trade is.

Dung has developed unique campaigning methods to raise awareness of illegal trade. ENV’s launch last year of a wildlife trade programme on national radio was the first of its kind. Ninety-seven percent of Vietnamese people have access to national or provincial radio. ENV’s ‘Voice of Vietnam’ show has been a marked success, and is an effective and innovative way of distributing information to communities and promoting public involvement in wildlife protection. 

Dung and her team also launched an innovative telephone hotline last year that now provides members of the general public with the opportunity to report illegal trade.  The information is then passed on to the enforcement agencies.  In just one year, monitoring has shown fewer endangered species being sold in Hanoi’s main markets. 

Although tens of thousands of animals are confiscated this is still a drop in the ocean. Manpower and resources simply don’t exist to monitor the trade. Persuading people to report wildlife trade to the authorities is an important part of her work. Dung now intends to build on the successes seen so far through expansion of the radio show and hotline to provincial radio stations and development of a pilot monitoring system in Hanoi to assess wildlife trade at markets and restaurants.

Since 1994 the Whitley Awards have been awarded annually. They are worth £30,000 each and are one of the largest nature conservation awards available. The Awards are designed to recognise outstanding work by leading local conservationists whose work is based on sound science, pragmatism, and which fully involves local communities.

Former Head of the BBC Natural History Unit and Series Producer of the recently launched Planet Earth series, Alistair Fothergill, who hosted the evening, said:

“The threats to the world’s wild species and spaces are becomingly increasingly complex and we do not know the effects of these losses. Many small countries with mega-diversity, growing populations and a large national debt maintain need all the help they can get. The winners of these awards demonstrate how to fight to maintain that biodiversity, engage local communities and contribute to the greater understanding of these irreplaceable assets.”

Edward Whitley, Founder and Chairman of the Whitley Fund for Nature said:

“Nguyen’s dedication and hard work has meant that there are now fewer endangered species being sold in Hanoi’s main markets.  We are delighted to award Dung a Runner-up prize at the Whitley Awards, and hope this funding will give her the support and publicity she needs in order to capitalise on her existing achievements in Vietnam.”
 
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Editors Notes:

1. For media enquiries, please contact Cherry Farrow 07739 573932 

2. For photographs of species, winners receiving their Award from HRH The Princess Royal, locations and maps, please contact Annabel Lea on 020 7602 3443 or mobile 07958 342 527.

3. Please also contact Annabel to arrange an interview with a Whitley Award Winner (available from 8th May – 13th May). 

4. The Whitley Fund for Nature – the charity behind the Whitley Awards – is a UK based conservation charity that supports science based conservation work that benefits local communities

5. The Whitley Awards are worth £30,000 each and are one of the largest nature conservation awards available. Of the Award winners selected each year, one recipient goes on to win the Gold Award worth an additional £30,000. Hosted by Whitley patron HRH Princess Royal, the awards ceremony is held annually at the Royal Geographical Society in London.  

6. www.whitleyaward.org