VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam still doesn’t know what it should do to prevent harmful exotic species which have penetrated into the country through different channels, harming the biodiversity and threatening the national food security.

Yellow snails, red ear turtles and Phuc Loc Tho fish (Lepisosteus Oculatus Winchell) – the harmful exotic species – have been selling everywhere. Some species are very expensive of up to millions of dong per individual.

The most serious problem is that not only Vietnamese people don’t have necessary knowledge about exotic species, but state management agencies also don’t have information about the species and don’t do anything to prevent them.

According to Nguyen The Dong, Deputy Head of the Environment General Directorate, problems still exist in the identification and prevention against the risks, which is to blame on the state management agencies.

“We have to pay a heavy price for the invasion of yellow snails, but we still have not learnt the lesson from this. More exotic harmful species still have been penetrating into Vietnam,” Dong said.

Mai Hong Quan from the Biodiversity Conservation Agency, exotic species have caused damages to the irrigation systems, affected the cultivation and husbandry, led to the farm produce output reductions and reduced the productivity.

Quan said the globalization which facilitates the increase in the trade, tourism and goods transportation activities has created favorable conditions for the invasion of exotic species to Vietnam.

A report showed that 94 exotic species have been imported to Vietnam. There are 48 exotic aquatic animals existing in Vietnam, including 24 potentially harmful species and 14 harmful species.

Quan said exotic species have been penetrating into Vietnam mainly through three ways. They can land in Vietnam together with the wind, current stream or typhoon. They can also be carried accidentally to Vietnam through trade and transportation. And finally, they can be brought purposely to Vietnam through trade activities.

Also according to Quan, all the exotic species discovered in Vietnam so far are the ones founded in the list of the world’s 100 exotic hazardous species. However, despite the existence of the diversified information channels, the state agencies, from central to local, still find it difficult to identify and prevent exotic species from entering Vietnam.

A recent survey conducted by the Biodiversity Conservation Agency has found that 90 percent of central and 90 percent of local officials think the state agencies are not capable enough to control exotic species.

It is because the agencies don’t have the officers qualified enough in the field, or because the agencies don’t have deep knowledge enough to deal with the issue, or simply because the agencies don’t have technical and financial capability for this.

In principle, customs agencies take the responsibility of controlling the import of exotic species. However, 50 percent of surveyed customs officers could not identify harmful exotic species.

Deputy Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment Tran Van Khuong also noted that despite the existence of many legal documents, competent agencies still cannot identify and handle with exotic species. He expressed the worry that if the existing problems cannot be settled, more harmful exotic species would penetrate into Vietnam and cause immeasurable consequences.

Thien Nhien