Vietnam strives to conserve elephants (Hanoi)
Vietnam Plus
August 15, 2022
In Vietnam, elephants are classified as critically endangered in the
Vietnam Red Book, and are included in the group with the highest
conservation status, whose exploitation for commercial purposes is strictly
prohibited.
Since 2012, August 12 has been recognised as World Elephant Day, which has
become an opportunity for people to raise awareness about elephant
protection and seek solutions to reduce conflicts between elephants and
humans, as well as efforts to preserve the species in the wild.
Three species of elephants still exist: the African prairie elephant, the
African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Vietnam is one of 13
countries where Asian elephants still live.
Apart from conservation regulations, the Government of Vietnam has action
plans for conservation activities for each period.
A national action plan on elephant conservation in Vietnam for 2023-2032
with a vision for 2050 is being developed.
The recent efforts of State agencies have also received support from
non-governmental organisations such as WWF, AAF and USAID.
Particularly, the Vietnam Administration of Forestry and Humane Society
International (HSI) has provided support for a project on protecting Asian
elephants in the southern province of Dong Nai through solutions to reduce
and prevent human-elephant conflict sustainably.
The project is currently piloting a Population Monitoring Programme to
identify individual elephants with the support of Dr Pruthu Fernando,
President of the Sri Lanka Elephant Development Center and a member of
IUCN's Asian Elephant Expert Group.
Tham Hong Phuong, Director of HSI in Vietnam, said: “We are working
together with the Vietnam Administration of Forestry and other stakeholders
so that the elephant population in Vietnam can self-recover and develop in
nature."
HSI is working with the General Administration of Forestry to develop a
National Action Plan on elephant conservation in Vietnam from 2023 through
2032 with a vision for 2050.
According to the summary report of the General Department of Forestry, the
number of elephants in Vietnam has reduced by 95%, and the species is in
danger of extinction without proper conservation plans.
In Dak Lak province alone, at least 23 wild elephants died in the period
2009-2016, accounting for about 25% of the total current herd, and in Dong
Nai, about nine wild elephants died before 2014.
According to research by the Center for People and Nature (PanNature), in
the 1990s, the number of wild elephants in Vietnam was about 1,500-2,000
individuals. However, at present, the country has less than 120 wild
elephants.
The causes of the diminishing elephant herd lie in the shrinking habitat of
the animals and the increasing illegal ivory trade and consumption in
Vietnam and some Asian countries.
In Vietnam, 105.72 tonnes of ivory were seized from 2004 to April 2019.
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