Posted on November, 21 2022

From September to mid-November 2022, the project organized a series of 12 training sessions on wildlife laws and regulations for more than 500 participants including members from all Community Conservation Groups (CCG) and local partners in Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh, Lam Dong, Quang Nam, and Cat Tien National Park.

Since many local people in targeted areas cannot access up-to-date information on relevant wildlife protection legislation and laws, it is difficult for them to identify wildlife crimes and violations. Building capacity for the CCG members and supporting them to become wildlife guardians is recognized as one of the critical strategies of the Project. The training programs provided with USAID support employ an interactive approach designed to maximize community members’ participation and contribution from their own experience. In addition to acquiring basic information according to the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Viet Nam's national laws, the participants were guided on how to identify relevant behavior as well as measures to take when observing wildlife crime incidents.

With enhanced awareness, CCG members are expected not only to pledge to stop the consumption of wildlife meat but also to spread this knowledge and messages on the importance of wildlife protection within their communities to reduce the wildlife crimes happening outside the forests. This will complement the interventions inside the protected areas led by the forest owners and improve the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation work in the long run.