FG Launches Investigation Into Intercepted Wildlife Species To Vietnam, Hong Kong

LEADERSHIP-The federal government has commenced investigation into alleged trafficking of wildlife species to Vietnam and Hong Kong purported to have originated from Apapa Seaport, Lagos. The Vietnamese Customs Service had intercepted over 2,500 kilograms of pangolin scales and 600 kilograms of Ivory tusks as well as 8,200 kilograms of pangolin scales and 2,000 kilograms of Ivory were also intercepted by Hong Kong Custom Service. The minister of environment,Suleiman Hassan Zarma, stated this in Abuja yesterday while reacting to media reports on the seized items considered as valuable items and used as medicinal ingredients in parts of Asia, especially China. According to him, “The ministry has initiated investigation of the reported illegal trade by communicating officially with the Vietnamese and Hong Kong CITES management authority with a view to providing us with the documents that will be forwarded to the Nigerian Customs Service and INTERPOL for further investigation.” He pointed out that he was disappointed to receive information that Vietnamese Customs discovered concealed containers declared as consigning knocked wood by Vietnamese company, VIC Thanh Binh Import-Export Company Limited with its office address at Lien Hong Commune, Dan Phuong District, Hanoi. Zarma noted that the most worrisome aspect of the information was that it originated from Nigeria despite the tough war against illegal wildlife trade in the West African region. The minister wondered how the pangolin originated from Nigeria when the specie and elephant population was almost extinct in the country saying that such high volume of ivory would not have originated from Nigeria. He lamented that Nigeria is used as a transit route for illegal wildlife trade, a situation that has rubbished the image of the nation globally. The minister recalled that Nigeria had signed and ratified the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1974 and promulgated the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Decree No.11 in 1985 now enacted as Endangered Species Act 2016. While stating that Pangolin and Elephants were highly protected endangered species and listed on Appendix I of (CITES) as well as on Schedule I of the National Endangered Species Act, 2016, he observed that export of wildlife fauna and flora from Nigeria were covered by CITES permit/certificates. Zarma reaffirmed the ministry’s role as focal point of CITES implementation and its commitment to conserve wild species that are almost extinct due to over exploitation, habitat change and illicit trafficking.

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Vietnam launches its first ethical elephant experience

Yok Don National Park is now running ethical elephant tours where tourists can come and observe the park’s four elephants from a distance as they roam freely around the forest. Animals Asia, who work for long-term change in the treatment of animals in China and Vietnam, praised the move saying “exploitation has been replaced with respect.”

The move is a huge step for the park. Until very recently, elephants were kept in chains and being used to bring tourists on rides that could last the entire day. This also prevented them from engaging in their natural behaviour, such as foraging, touching each other or drinking water when they needed to.

In order to facilitate the transition, UK charity Olsen Animal Trust has provided funding to ensure that elephant owners will not lose out on their current livelihoods, with the hope that this more ethical approach will have long-term dividends for locals, the environment and the animals.

Already, there is a positive change in the elephants’ behaviour. Dionne Slagter from Animals Asia explained that “in the wild, elephants spend up to 18 hours a day foraging and this is exactly how Yok Don’s elephants now spend the majority of their time. They all look so much healthier and are increasingly confident in how far they roam.”

As awareness grows about the negative impact of riding elephants, more ethical experiences have replaced the rides in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos but Vietnam has been lagging behind on conservation. As a consequence, their elephant population has been in steep decline and there are estimated to be less than 100 wild elephants left in the country, down from 2000 in 1990. 80 more elephants are estimated to be in captivity, most providing rides for tourists.

The park has signed on to this eco-tourism initiative until April 2023 and Animals Asia hopes that it will become profitable by that time, encouraging other elephant facilities around the country to follow their example. There are believed to be 40 captive elephants in the Dak Lak province where the park is located.

So far, early feedback from the first few tours has been encouraging and will help the park grow and evolve their offering over time.

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USAID project helps Vietnam’s wildlife protection

NDO/VNA – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) launched the USAID Saving Species project in Hanoi on May 11.

The launched was attended by diplomats from embassies of the US, the United Kingdom, and South Africa alongside international organisations and governmental stakeholders.

“USAID Saving Species is not just a commitment between the US and Vietnamese governments, it will also link to the efforts of other organisations, within Vietnam and beyond, who are committed to combating wildlife trafficking,” said US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink.

Elephant and rhino populations across the globe fell sharply and the situation of rhinos in Asia is even worse. The last rhino in Vietnam has died, he noted. “Only by working together can we solve this global issue.”

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan said efforts to intensify the protection of endangered species like rhinos, elephants, tigers and pangolins do not only aim to aid the direct conservation of these animals but also have a symbolic meaning, motivating the protection of all other wildlife species. These efforts are significant to the prevention of natural disasters and the socio-economic development of a country and the world, he added.

To raise public awareness of the issue, the minister stressed the need for coordination between media agencies, the Ministry of Education and Training and foreign partners.

With a budget of approximately US$10 million, USAID Saving Species supports the Government of Vietnam to combat wildlife trafficking through three integrated and mutually reinforcing objectives: harmonising and improving the legal framework for wildlife crime; strengthening and improving law enforcement and prosecution of wildlife crime; and reducing consumer demand for illegal wildlife products.

The project’s focal species are rhinos, elephants, and pangolins. It also focuses geographically on major urban centers like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, where target species are consumed, as well as areas where target species are trafficked, including airports, seaports, and specific land borders. The USAID Saving Species is implemented by Tetra Tech in partnership with Vietnam CITES Management Authority of the MARD. The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network in Vietnam (TRAFFIC Vietnam) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) are also project partners.


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Elephant donated to Dak Lak conservation centre

A tourism company in the central highlands has given an elephant to Dak Lak Province’s Centre for Elephant Conservation.

Director of Dak Lak Centre for Elephant Conservation Huynh Trung Luan confirmed on December 1 that they received a 55-year-old elephant named H’Blu from Phuong Nam Eco-tourism Company.

The female elephant has been given a health check-up before it was donated to the centre.

A centre representative said they also wanted to adopt two other elephants that are being raised by a household in Gia Lai Province and a tourism firm in Khanh Hoa Province.

“There are several individual elephants living in different provinces. We hope the households and firms that are raising those elephants will let us adopt them and give them a better living environment,” Luan said.

The number of elephant in Dak Lak Province has declined greatly. In 1980, the province has 502 elephants. But today has only has 45 elephants left, including H’Blu. About 19 domesticated elephants are over 40 years old and cannot breed anymore.

Elephant preservation work in Dak Lak has faced various difficulties. A domesticated elephant in Dak Lak gave birth to a baby on October 8, but the baby elephant soon died.

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Vietnam's 1st Domesticated Elephant in 30 Years to Be Born This Month

Despite predictions that Vietnam risks losing its entire elephant population within a decade, there is still hope as one elephant is set to give birth around the end of this month.

Ban Nang is the first domesticated elephant to become pregnant in thirty years in Vietnam. According to Dan Tri, owner Y Mu Bkrong announced that during her pregnancy, the 38-year-old elephant has been relieved of her working duties and moved to a quiet forested area to relax. She is likely to give birth naturally in the coming weeks.

Y Mu Bkrong also said that Ban Nang used to be cared for by another female elephant, H’Ban, who was relocated. However, the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) made an arrangement with H’Ban’s new owner, and she has been hired as a nanny of sorts for Ban Nang. Last month, Y Mu Bkrong received US$7,500 to care for the elephants.

Deputy Director of the Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Dong claimed that this is “a positive sign for elephant conservation work.”

The future of Vietnam’s elephant population remains a lingering concern, as both wild and domesticated elephants are on the brink of extinction.

The Vietnam Elephant Initiative reported that only roughly 100 elephants remain in the country, about forty of which are wild spanning five different herds. The remaining sixty or so are held in captivity. “Genetic isolation, deforestation, and human-elephant conflict are serious problems in Vietnam and a continuous threat to the remaining populations of wild elephants.” Due to lack of education, many of the elephants suffer from poor health and dangerous solitary living conditions, as opposed to their natural inclination to live communally.

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Giant electric fence shocks wild elephants away from farmland in southern Vietnam

Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai is looking to end clashes between farmers and elephants by keeping the animals at bay with electric fences.

Government officials in the province, which neighbors Saigon, have installed an electric fence that runs 50 kilometers (31 miles) as a barrier between local farms and residential areas and the elephants.

The fence has been in place for more than a month, and can release an electric charge of between 4.5 and 14 kilovolts, they said.

“The elephants tend to return to the jungle when they encounter the fence,” said Le Viet Dung, deputy chief of Dong Nai’s Forest Management Department.

Dung said the fence only emmits a short charge for a third of the second, which is not enough to harm the animals.

“It only scares the elephants and keeps them away,” he said.

The fence is part of a VND74 billion ($3.25 million) project started in 2013 aimed at protecting the giant beasts and avoiding deadly encounters with farmers.

According to figures from conservation organizations, Vietnam’s wild elephant population has shrunk by 95 percent since 1975 to less than 100. At least 23 wild elephants have died over the past seven years, and nearly 75 percent of them were less than a year old.

Experts said that plantations near their natural habitats are the biggest threat to their survival. The same problem has been reported in Yok Don Park in the Central Highlands, which is home to the largest group of wild elephants in Vietnam.

Van Ngoc Thinh, director of WWF Vietnam, said in a statement in December: “The big animals need a giant habitat, but theirs has become narrow and unsafe.”

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Starving elephants go on rampage

Lack of food has caused wild elephants in Nghe An Province to trample through a number of villages recently.

Nghe An is one of three provinces with the largest population of wild elephants in Vietnam. Still, the species is on the brink of extinction, with only about 17 elephants in the province.

In 2011, a small herd of elephants killed a villager in Luc Da Commune when the man tried to chase them away. In 2013, the elephants destroyed crops in Phuc Son Commune and killed a villager who crossed their path. In March six elephants were foraging in Cao Veu 3 Village and destroyed 10ha of sugarcane and other crops.

Local people said more and more elephants have stampeded because forestland is decreasing, causing food shortages.

Nguyen Huu Minh, chairman of Phuc Son Commune People’s Committee said, “We have transferred 4,000 ha of forestland to a company for a rubber plantation. This area had bamboo and banana trees, which provide food of the elephants. Without a food source, the elephants are beginning to come into villages.”

The elephants are also threatened by poachers. There are now three herds living in Nghe An Province. According to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources’ reports on elephants in Pu Mat National Park, since 1995 at least nine elephants were shot or killed by dynamite.

The people of Phuc Son used dynamite to kill three elephants when they stampede the village in 1996. A few years later, two elephants were found dead without their tusks. Another elephant was killed for its tusks in 2011. The director of Pu Mat National Park said the elephants are still reproducing, but without proper protection mature elephants will continue to be killed.

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Measures proposed to conserve wild elephants in Dong Nai

There are 14 elephants living in an area of some 53,000 hectares in Vinh Cuu, Dinh Quan and Tan Phu districts, according to the province’s forest protection division.

Le Viet Dung, deputy head of the division, suggested two plans to prevent consanguineous mating among the elephants. The first is to ask for the Vietnam Administration of Forestry’s permission to bring some elephants in other localities to Dong Nai to mate with local ones.

The other plan is promoting international cooperation in the work, he said, elaborating that Dong Nai can mate its elephants with others in regional countries.

The elephant herd in Dong Nai was seen most recently in Thanh Son commune of Dinh Quan district in late March.

Local residents said the animals often come to their farms to find food, destroying a large area of fruit trees such as mango, cashew, banana and sugar cane.

The forest protection division is carrying out an emergency elephant conservation project with a total cost of 85 billion VND (3.75 million USD).

Accordingly, about 50km of electric fence will be built in Tan Phu, Dinh Quan and Vinh Cuu districts to prevent the conflict between elephants and human.

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Wild elephants spotted in Quang Nam

Tran Van Sang, Chairman of Nong Son District’s Que Lam People’s Committee, said that many people in Cam La Village saw the elephants near their fields after the Tet holiday. They shot a short video clip and took photos of the elephants to report their presence to local authorities.

The herd, which includes a small elephant, has been seen in Cam La Village’s forest area many times, worrying people.

Sang said that the commune warned local people not to bother the elephants.

They are also provided with some skills to safely drive the elephants away.

According to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, Nong Son District is one of 15 areas in the country that still have populations of wild elephants. Earlier, Quang Nam Province submitted a proposal to the administration to establish an elephant conservation site in the district, aiming to help conserve the wild population and reduce human-elephant conflicts.

The Vietnam Administration of Forestry’s Environment Conservation Department said that wild elephant population in Vietnam has been on the fall because of loss of habitat and poaching.

In natural forests, there is not enough food for them to survive and so they have to move to the surrounding cultivated areas to forage for food, sparking off conflicts with humans, he said.

The department estimates that there are around 100 wild elephants in the country.

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Vietnam seeks ways to protect elephants

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is estimated to have 120 wild elephants and 45 domesticated ones, which are feared to disappear one day from the country without timely conservation action.

As wild elephants in Vietnam are on the verge of extinction, the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam, better known as WWF Vietnam, and Yok Don National Park (YDNP) have pledged to embark on an emergency action plan until 2020 to protect elephants in the area.

WWF Vietnam said in a press release that the aim is to enhance law enforcement and minimize human-elephant conflict by taking into account the seasonal migration patterns of elephants and forest-reliant livelihoods for locals.

In fact, the launch of an elephant conservation program in Vietnam is an urgent step, as local authorities have seized tons of ivory smuggled into Vietnam. This had raised public concerns that smugglers will turn to domestic ivory supplies to meet their demand.

Early this year, there were 48 tamed elephants in Daklak Province, but three have died. Meanwhile, the number of wild elephants is estimated at some 120, with around 70 in YDNP alone, said the national steering committee of the elephant conservation.

The country’s herd of wild elephants has declined by a sharp 95% in 40 years from 1975 to 2015. In Daklak alone, at least 23 wild elephants have been found dead in the 2009-2016 period, accounting for 25% of the total, of which nearly 75% are less-than-12-month ones, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Central Highlands is home to the largest forest elephant population in Vietnam, making up 70% of the total. Therefore, the protection of the elephants in the area will be the most effective conservation solution to Vietnam’s Asian wild elephants.

Van Ngoc Thinh, country director of WWF Vietnam, said elephants require large-scale and seamless wildlife habitats to live and develop. Their living environment and migration corridors have been increasingly narrow and unsafe.

To protect elephants, WWF Vietnam will apply the spatial monitoring and reporting tool (SMART) to measure data, monitor elephant herds and relevant conservation activities at the park.

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Vietnam to build sanctuary to protect elephants in central region

The number of elephants in Vietnam fell to around 160 in 2015 from 2,000 in 1980.

The central province of Quang Nam will build an elephant sanctuary between now and 2030, with an investment of nearly VND130 billion ($5.7 million), a provincial official said Thursday.

The reserve, which covers an area of 44,000 hectares (109,000 acres), is expected to protect elephants and expand their herd as well as other wildlife resources in Vietnam, said Le Chi Thanh, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, the local government.

“In the future we will develop eco tours and other tourist sites” at the area to help raise incomes for local people, he added.

Funding is expected from the state budget and contributions of businesses and international organizations.

Last December, the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and nature authorities kicked off an emergency project to prevent elephants in Vietnam from extinction.

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Experts emphasize elephant conservation

VietNamNet Bridge – Only around 100 wild elephants, and an additional 60 in captivity, remain in Viet Nam, with most living in Dak Lak, Dong Nai and Nghe An provinces, a conference on elephant conservation heard on Wednesday.

At the three-day event in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak, which ends on Friday, the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry said elephants in the country face a high risk of extinction. According to the agency, the natural habitat for elephants is diminishing; resulting in an increased number of clashes between the animals and humans, while the poaching of elephants for their tusks continues. The domesticated elephants are aging and not a single one has reproduced over the last few years.

To address the situation, the Vietnamese Government has issued several policies aimed at preserving the domestic elephant herd, including a master plan for 2013-2020.

Deputy Director General of the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry, Cao Chi Cong, said he hoped managers and experts would share their experiences and propose solutions to protect and develop the elephant population in Viet Nam.

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Vietnam's Elephants on the Brink of Extinction

A conservation center in Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands may be Vietnam's last hope to save its elephants.

AFP reports on the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, which aims to create a small herd of elephants in order to build a sustainable population.

According to the news source, the country's elephant population is an extremely precarious position. Fewer than 100 animals remain in the wild, while around 80 are in captivity. In 1980, up to 2,000 elephants roamed the country, National Geographic shares.

Tuan Bendixsen, director of Animals Asia Vietnam, tells AFP that "at the rate they're going now, within a generation or so we'll probably lose the elephants."

He goes on: "As the number gets smaller and smaller, it's going to be harder and harder for the elephants to hang on."

Human development has cut off breeding routes for the wild pachyderms, severely hurting their ability to reproduce, the news source reports, while poaching and habitat loss have wiped out most of the population. Even captive elephants struggle to breed since they spend their days chained up waiting to serve tourists.

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Dutch vet seeks to save near-extinct elephants in Vietnam

A seasoned veterinarian from the Netherlands has been a lifelong ally of the shrinking herd of elephants in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

Dr. Willem Schaftenarr, 63, has been a household name among elephant conservationists, mahouts, and the pachyderms themselves in Ban Don (Don Village), which is nestled in the namesake district in Dak Lak Province.

Ban Don is now a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists because of its elephant population, often used as a means of transport in some tour packages, as well as raced during traditional festivals.

Data shows that the domestic elephant population of Dak Lak experienced a sharp decline from 500 in 1980 to just 43 in March 2016.

Among these, only 16 out of 25 females are under 40 years old, an age when elephants typically stop reproducing.

Dr. Schaftenarr has visited the village three times over the past few years to help local caretakers and doctors treat diseases and injuries on the last tame elephants in an effort to prevent them from dying out altogether.

He has also passed on his knowledge and experience to his Vietnamese colleagues at the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center. It is their job to safeguard and repopulate the dwindling domestic herd, overcoming the threat of rampant poaching and poor fertility in the female animals.

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