UN Environment and Vietnam CITES Management Authority Host Communication Training Workshop to Address the Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Forest Products

This news story was originally posted in Vietnamese at baomoi.com.

From October 9-12 2017, UN Environment and Vietnam CITES Management Authority with support from UN-Redd, hosted a workshop in Hanoi to make use of an Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Forest Products Communication Toolkit.

Illegal wildlife trade is a growing threat in Vietnam. Many native species, including sun bears, pangolins, primates, reptiles, and birds, have felt the consequences of illegal trade in recent years. Vietnamese demand for these species have also put tremendous pressure on their African counterparts. Recognizing the urgency of wildlife decline, Vietnam has made commitments to act against the illegal wildlife trade in which strengthening communication is a priority.

During the 4-day workshop, participants were introduced to the Toolkit and practiced developing a communication plan for wildlife demand reduction. The toolkit will help build the capacity of government agencies to create and implement a national communication strategy to tackle the illegal trade in wildlife and forest products and to meet the commitments they have made at international conferences.

The workshop helped create a handbook and facilitator’s guide to enable countries around the world to develop robust government–led communications strategies and action plans at the national level.  The Toolkit guides stakeholders through the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating a communication campaign and contributes to the development of a national IWT communication strategy. The CITES Management Authority took on a coordination role for an inter-ministry communications network to ensure better coordination across various sectors for communication professionals.