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 Vietnam delegation visits Kenya’s ivory burn site.

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.

PV