Environment police officers from 28 provinces in the central and southern regions are participating in a 3-day training course held by the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

In Vietnam, perhaps only zoos have rhinos.

The training course, opening on April 14, aims to sharpen environment police officers’ ability in combating wildlife-related crimes. The course is part of the project named “Changing behaviour, reducing consumption of wildlife products in Hanoi”.

The first course was organised in Hanoi in June 2008 for 30 environment policemen from 16 northern provinces.

Since the Environment Police Agency was established in 2007, environmental police have helped prevent wildlife trafficking activities in Vietnam. They have uncovered many big cases, for instance the smuggling of two tonnes of wild animals in Hanoi in January 2009, the largest case detected so far in the capital.

The training course funded by TRAFFIC will provide environment police with knowledge about the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which was approved by 175 countries to supervise wildlife trafficking and smuggling, and updated information about the wildlife trafficking and the smuggling situation in Vietnam and in the region.

The course will also provide police officers with related legal documents of Vietnam about wildlife protection. Trainees will pay a visit to a tiger camp in Thanh Hoa.

According to Nguyen Dao Ngoc Van, from TRAFFIC’s sub-Mekong region, officers who were trained at last year’s course have become officials in charge of CITES at provincial Environment Police Departments.

The second phase of the project to change behaviour and reduce the consumption of wildlife products in Hanoi will focus on groups of consumers in Hanoi: state employees and businessmen.

Vinh Giang