VietNamNet Bridge – An inter-agency delegation from Vietnam last week
paid a visit to a site where the Kenyan government destroyed its own
stockpiles of elephant ivory as the Vietnamese government is preparing a
proposal on the future of their own stockpiles of seized wildlife
products.
Over the last three years, more than 10 countries have destroyed their
ivory stockpiles. Over 40 tons of ivory have now been burnt or crushed
as a sign of their commitment to combat this illicit trade.
Following the recommendations by the Convention on the International
Trade in Endangered Species, the Vietnam Administration of Forestry
(VNFOREST) is currently preparing a proposal to the Prime Minister that
will result in the centralization, inventory and marking of protected
species seized in law enforcement operations followed by the destruction
of those stockpiles.
“Managing Vietnam’s stockpiles of seized protected species is our first
priority to minimize leakage as well as raising public awareness,
secondly we must maximize the scientific and intelligence value of these
stockpiles. We hope this unique meeting of a transit/destination country
with a source country develops into a fruitful collaboration for
wildlife conservation,” said Do Quang Tung, CITES Management Authority
Director.
The Vietnamese delegation consisting of the Supreme People’s Procuracy,
the Customs National Anti-smuggling Unit, the Africa Relations
Department of the Ministry of Public Security (Interpol NCB), the CITES
Management Authority, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Kenya
as part of a bilateral dialogue mission to strengthen enforcement
cooperation between the two countries.
The delegation met with Kenyan representatives from the Ministry of
Environment, Water and Natural Resources and different enforcement
agencies including Kenya Wildlife Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Public Prosecutions to understand the key issues and wildlife
trafficking networks operating between the two nations. The delegation
shared experiences on transcontinental trade and individual national
responses to the issue.
The meeting concluded with an agreement on development of a memorandum
of understanding that outlines a series of actions that will strengthen
enforcement cooperation between Vietnam and Kenya against wildlife
trafficking, including the drafting of a mutual legal assistance treaty
and standard operating procedures for information-sharing between
related agencies from both countries.