Education for Nature Vietnam
News Brief (E192, 18th - 24th Nov, 2006)
Sea turtles protected with satellite-tracking technology
Con Dao Island – After a successful trial period, a project to monitor green turtle populations has been officially launched. Under this project, Con Dao National Park tracks the movements of turtles fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters that can be monitored by satellites. Three turtles have already been tracked for a month as a trial run that will include many more turtles in the near future.
For the first time in Vietnam, this modern technology has been used to monitor marine turtles, an important development in protecting nesting beaches and learning more about their movement throughout the year. The new satellite tracking initiative for Con Dao’s turtles is just part of an ongoing project administered by the park with support from WWF and aimed at conserving Vietnam’s marine turtles in the wild.
(Law issue 279 dated november 21, 2006; UNDP Environment Discussion Group dated November 22, 2006)
Organized crime in wildlife trade
Ha Tinh province – On November 19, Ha Tinh provincial police received information that a wildlife shipment on a motorcycle had been organized for that night. The police drove more than 100km to set up an ambush on Highway No.8 and await the arrival of the motorcycle. Upon spotting suspicious motorbikes, police tried unsuccessfully to stop them. After a long chase, the traders stopped and hid in a nearby residential areas, leaving the motorbikes and wildlife behind.
The police found 173 kg of pangolins on the motorbikes and fake registration plates, making it difficult to trace the origin of the bikes. It is probable that the pangolins were smuggled over the border from Laos.
(Police issue 540 dated November 21; Ha Tinh provincial Forest Protection Department)
Photograph of the week
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Open and illegal display of wildlife in Vietnam attracts the concerns of many foreign tourists. This black-cheeked gibbon is being kept in a resort in Can Tho. ENV is actively working with provincial authorities to have the animal confiscated after a visiting tourist contacted the ENV National Wildlife Crimes Hotline |
Links to environmental articles (Vietnamese)
Hoping Vietnam’s forests are protected forever
http://www.monre.gov.vn/monreNet/default.aspx?tabid=209&idmid=&ItemID=18793
“El Nino will wreck our lives, causing damages in the trillions”
http://www.vnmedia.vn/newsdetail.asp?NewsId=72021&CatId=23
Plant protecting chemical trial
http://www.monre.gov.vn/monreNet/default.aspx?tabid=209&idmid=&ItemID=18789
STOP WILDLIFE CRIME
If you see wildlife for sale in restaurants or other business establishments,
contact your local Forest Protection Department or the ENV Wildlife Crime Hotline
1800-1522
YOU can make a difference!
For more information, please contact:
Nguyen Thi Phuong Ngan
Education for Nature - Vietnam (ENV)
No.2/C5 tap the Dai hoc Ngoai Thuong, pho Chua Lang, Ha Noi.
Tel/Fax: 04-775 3685
Email: env@fpt.vn or communication.env@fpt.vn