VietNamNet Bridge – Police and customs officers received training this week on how to identify threatened reptile species and familiarise themselves with international wildlife protection policies in an effort to combat illegal wildlife trade in the ASEAN region.

The training is part of a project funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund and Japan's Ministry of the Environment, which saw Vietnamese trainers attend a training course for members of the ten ASEAN nations last month in Malaysia.

The Vietnamese delegation of trainers led this week's three-day workshop, teaching dozens of police and customs officers about the wildlife trade in Southeast Asia, international regulations governing the trade, such as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and relevant national laws. Participants were also trained to identify threatened reptile species that are commonly traded in the region during an interactive session at the Sai Gon Zoo.

The project seeks to involve and enhance the capabilities of ASEAN and neighbouring countries in the understanding and application of taxonomic knowledge and wildlife trade regulations.

Viet Nam is the first country in the region to be selected to organise its own courses on species identification and CITES.

Illegal wildlife trade has been identified as one of the greatest threats to the region's biodiversity.

"This training will help equip law enforcers who are working to control the international wildlife trade with skills to more effectively protect and sustainably use our precious natural resources," said Dr Ha Cong Tuan, deputy director of Viet Nam's Directorate of Forestry.

According to Manop Lauprasert, senior officer of the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) Programme Co-ordination Unit, which is supporting the training, criminal networks are taking advantage of limited enforcement capacity at land, sea and airports across the region.

"Training initiatives such as this will help to close these gaps, and prevent wildlife from being smuggled across international borders," said Lauprasert.

There is increasing recognition that wildlife trade, both legal and illegal, is becoming more common at international ports, therefore capacity building for airport and land port staff plays an important role in stopping wildlife trafficking.

The training course, which ended today, Feb 23, was conducted by the Viet Nam CITES Management Authority, the Biodiversity Conservation Agency and the Natural Museum with support from TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Ministry of the Environment of Japan and ASEAN-WEN.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News