Hanoi, 6 October 2009 - Over 150 restaurants in Hanoi have pledged to be ‘Green Restaurants’ or restaurants who act responsibly by not serving illegal and endangered wildlife. The ‘Green Restaurant’ campaign is part of the matter of attitude: Reducing consumption of wildlife products in Hanoi, Vietnam’s project that WWF and TRAFFIC are conducting to reduce the widespread consumption of illegal wildlife products in Hanoi, with funding by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).
The restaurants have signed official pledges and have agreed not to serve wildlife products that are protected under Vietnamese law and to provide consumers with up to date information on conservation efforts in Vietnam, to help keep the public informed and engaged in these important issues.
WWF and TRAFFIC highly appreciate the support of the restaurants and are working to promote responsible restaurant culture as far as possible. WWF is promoting these restaurants through our website, via Internet, and wide connection with governmental and non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.
WWF is also pleased to announce that popular tourist companies, Buffalo Tours and I-Travel, will encourage their customers to give priority to ‘Green Restaurants’ when making decisions over a meal by linking the list of restaurants to their websites. WWF is also receiving support from Intrepid, another tourism company, who will help to spread the word and encourage more restaurants to participate.
More than 30 volunteers have joined the campaign by going to different restaurants in 6 districts in Hanoi to introduce about the campaign, the situation of endangered wildlife in Vietnam and also instructs restaurant managers how to participate in this campaign. The volunteers are all students from high schools and universities based in Hanoi.
The webpage of the campaign will have information about commonly traded species that are currently under threat of extinction in Vietnam, and more information about Vietnamese laws and conservation efforts to protect them. The page will also have information as to what to do if you witness wildlife crime.
The campaign coordinator, Julianne Becker, said that, In Vietnam, and especially in Hanoi, the illegal and unsustainable consumption of wildlife is unfortunately still common, but when we see this many local restaurants not participating in the demand, we are really observing a shift in perspective of what the average Hanoian thinks is important in a meal. The up and coming youth especially care about protecting their natural heritage.
The widespread participation in the restaurant campaign also reflects that more customers, from across the entire capital, are interested in protecting Vietnam’s natural heritage by not taking part in the unsustainable and illegal consumption of wildlife. With campaigns like this it is hoped that the local market will continue to take into account environmental concern when making decisions on what and what not to consume.
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