On 16 July 2026, in Ha Noi, Wildlife Conservation Society, Viet Nam Program (WCS Viet Nam), in collaboration with the Viet Nam Institute of Animal and Veterinary Sciences (VIAVS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), organized a prioritization workshop on the Legal Diagnostic Tools (LDTs).
Participants at the consultation workshop, Ha Noi, July 2026
The workshop brought together 22 participants representing the relevant departments/divisions and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Justice, research and academic institutions, representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Viet Nam, and representatives from international organizations, non-governmental organizations including FAO, CIRAD and WCS Viet Nam.
In the opening remarks of the workshop, representatives from the VIAVS, FAO, and WCS Viet Nam emphasized the importance of reviewing and improving the policy and legal framework in line with development orientations in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and environment in Viet Nam following the One Health approach.
At the workshop, participants were introduced to an overview of the project "Reducing zoonotic risks in Viet Nam through rural community-driven sustainable wildlife management and a One Health approach" (SWM), the Legal Hub, and the SWM Legal Diagnostic Tools (LDTs) – a set of 18 sector-specific questionnaires developed by FAO to support cross-sectoral policy and legal analysis in topics relevant to wildlife management, agriculture, forestry, and environment, incorporating One Health and community-based approaches. The workshop also provided an update on Viet Nam’s current legal framework for agriculture, forest and wildlife resource management, particularly recent changes in relevant legal provisions.
Participants spoke during the discussion, Ha Noi, July 2026.
Through plenary discussions, participants reviewed the 18 LDTs, exchanged views, and selected priority areas most closely aligned with the orientation of developing and improving policies and laws at the national level and ministry level, especially related to agriculture, forestry, health and environment. Participants came into an agreement of selected 7 priority areas out of the 18 LDTs. WCS Viet Nam also shared the next steps for WCS Viet Nam and FAO are to further analyze legal documents serving these 7 priority areas, host consultations to validate and deliver recommendations to improve policies and laws in selected fields, in line with Viet Nam’s priorities for policy and legal development in the coming time.
The workshop was organized under the project "Reducing zoonotic risks in Viet Nam through rural community-driven Sustainable Wildlife Management and a One Health approach" was funded by the European Union, with co-funding from French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and French Development Agency (AFD), implemented in collaboration with the VIAVS, FAO, and WCS Viet Nam.