Ha Noi and Cat Ba, June 18-20, 2024, Wildlife Conservation Society, Viet Nam Office (WCS Viet Nam) collaborated with Law of the Sea and International Maritime Law Center (SimLaw Center), University of Law, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-UL) organized a student training on “Countering illegal trade and transport of wildlife by sea route”.
Participants attended the training, Ha Noi, June 2024
More than 40 participants who are undergraduate and master students from VNU-UL attended the event. During the training course, with the guidance of VNU-UL trainers, Viet Nam Maritime University (VMU) trainers and WCS Viet Nam, students were shared and updated the situation of illegal trade and transport of wildlife from other countries to Viet Nam by the sea route; overview of international and Vietnamese law on wildlife protection; international and national legal framework on wildlife protection, and handling wildlife-related and crimes. Particularly, though practical exercises and group discussions, the students were also guided to detect sign of risks related to illegal trade and transport of wildlife as well as the role and participation of relevant stakeholders in preventing and combating illegal trade and transport of wildlife by sea route.
Students discussed group exercises, Ha Noi, June 2024
After two-day in-class training at the VNU-UL, students and trainers had the opportunity to learn about wildlife conservation activities in Cat Ba National Park through a field trip to Cat Ba Island.
Participants in the field trip to Cat Ba Island, Hai Phong, June 2024
This training program was also an opportunity for WCS Viet Nam to pre-test the training materials on “Legislation for countering illegal trade and transport of wildlife by sea route” that was developed by WCS Viet Nam in collaboration with VMU in 2023. This will be a useful reference for undergraduate and master students in law and maritime to explore in-depth knowledge and international experiences in preventing and combating illegal trade and transport of wildlife by sea route.
The activity was conducted in the framework of the project “Combating Wildlife Trafficking in Viet Nam” funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), United States Department of State, and implemented by WCS Viet Nam.