VZCZCXRO3817
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHHI #1763/01 2820815
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090815Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6482
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3784
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001763 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV SOCI EAGR VM
SUBJECT: "WE EAT EVERYTHING ON FOUR LEGS EXCEPT THE TABLE": 
VIETNAM'S CONSUMPTION OF WILD ANIMAL PRODUCTS 
 
 
HANOI 00001763  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: Domestic consumption and regional exports of wild 
animal products threaten Vietnam's once-abundant wildlife. 
Vietnamese craving for wild meat and animal-based traditional 
medicines seemingly trump conservation concerns.  Lack of high-level 
political will hamstring Government of Vietnam (GVN) enforcement of 
wildlife protection laws, but increasingly strong NGO-funded public 
education campaigns, and a bureaucratic framework of protection 
that's already in place, could help turn the tide.  All agree that 
changing the behavior of Vietnamese consumers is key.  Wildlife 
advocates highlight some successes and continue their efforts to 
protect endangered animals.  End Summary. 
 
Illegal Wildlife Trade Continues to Boom 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.   (SBU) Vietnam is home to roughly 10 percent of the world's 
species, several of which are only found in Vietnam.  However, many 
protected animals end up illegally trafficked for human consumption. 
 GVN and NGO experts agree that wildlife populations continue to 
dwindle rapidly due to illegal trade and consumption.  One local NGO 
estimates 3,000 tons of wildlife are traded in Vietnam every year in 
transactions valued at roughly USD 66.5 million annually, though 
other analysts claim the figures actually are much higher.  Some 
experts believe that approximately half of illegally traded animals 
in Vietnam are exported to China and other ASEAN countries.  Scott 
Roberton, program coordinator for the Vietnam Hunting & Wildlife 
Trade Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society, notes that 
Vietnam is extremely well-integrated into the global wildlife trade 
and serves as a transfer point for animals smuggled from elsewhere 
in Asia to China and beyond.  However, domestic demand takes an 
increasing proportion of the total.  GVN animal protection 
authorities acknowledge that demand continues to increase, even as 
supply seemingly decreases.  Excess demand boosts prices, which 
create additional incentives for wildlife trafficking.  Little is 
known about wildlife smuggling networks, but the Forest Protection 
Department (FPD), tasked with tracking illegal wildlife, believes 
the networks are well-organized and involve large sums of money. 
Anecdotal evidence links some smugglers to cross-border drug and 
counterfeit trading. 
 
Vietnam's Version of PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Vietnamese typically use wild animal products for food, 
traditional medicines and ornamental goods, with government 
officials among the largest consumers of wildlife products. 
Vietnamese take pride in their culinary adventurousness, and a 
recent survey by environmental NGO TRAFFIC Southeast Asia showed 
that nearly half of Hanoi residents use wild animal products, mostly 
for food and in medicines.  Malayan sun bears, pangolins, turtles, 
snakes, lizards, macaques, langurs, leopard cast, tigers, 
porcupines, wild pigs, civets, birds, and deer are among the many 
protected or endangered animals recently found bound for Vietnamese 
tables or tonics.  Many Vietnamese restaurants feature wild meats 
and wines, even though Vietnamese law prohibits such sales.  Demand 
for traditional medicines using ingredients derived from wildlife 
and for exotic pets increases as Vietnam gets wealthier.  TRAFFIC 
Vietnam Coordinator Sulma Warne noted that western medicines, such 
as Viagra, have not replaced the demand for traditional medicines, 
which many Vietnamese see as status symbols and indications of 
prosperity regardless of efficacy. 
 
Increased Awareness Not Translated Into Changed Attitudes 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Growing environmental awareness has had little effect on 
wildlife consumption habits.  Increasing prosperity, better access 
to information, public advocacy campaigns by conservation NGOs, and 
the impacts of industrialization have led some Vietnamese to demand 
action on environmental issues, such as pollution.  Additionally, 
TRAFFIC found that many Vietnamese generally believed in protecting 
wildlife.  However, few people knew of specific laws on wildlife 
protection and many were unaware of the status of some of the most 
heavily consumed animals.   Vietnamese also fail to see any link 
between wild animal products and diseases, despite the recent 
outbreaks of avian flu and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 
(SARS). 
 
Vietnam Has Necessary Laws to Protect Wildlife 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5.  (U) Wildlife conservation NGOs, such as TRAFFIC and Education 
for Nature Vietnam (ENV), acknowledge that the GVN has passed 
important laws and regulations to protect wild animals.  Vietnam 
 
HANOI 00001763  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
became a member of CITES in 1994 and domestic law requires permits 
to import and export threatened wildlife.  FPD's Vietnam 
Conservation Fund Manager Mr. Do Quang Tung highlights broad GVN 
conservation strategies exist within the National Action Plan to 
Strengthen Control of Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora 2010 (adopted in 
2004), the Protective Area Management Strategy 2010 and the 
Biodiversity Action Plan 2020 (just approved by GVN in May 2007). 
On March 30, 2006, the GVN issued Decree No. 32 to tighten control 
over management of rare and endangered plant and animal species. 
This decree limits transport without a license and forbids 
exploitation of endangered flora, illegal hunting, raising, 
slaughtering, transporting, advertising, exporting, and importing 
precious and endangered forest animals.  Article 190 of the Penal 
Code of Vietnam punishes those involved in the illegal wildlife 
trade with up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to 50 million 
dong (approximately USD 3,000). A new inter-agency circular (No. 
19), was issued on March 8, 2007 by MARD outlining how to apply the 
Criminal Code to violations of forest protection and management 
laws. 
 
Limited Enforcement, Limited Effect 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) GVN enforcement efforts are inconsistent, though ENV and 
TRAFFIC note some improvements over the past two years due to NGO 
pressure and increasing (but not yet widespread) public 
participation.  ENV has documented 154 GVN seizures of illegally 
traded wildlife since January 2005.  However, even with stronger 
efforts, authorities apprehend only about 3 percent of illegally 
traded animals and many working level officials have little 
familiarity with their duties and responsibilities.  FPD's Tung 
credited better resource management for some successes in preventing 
wildlife exploitation, but admitted that the decrease in Vietnam's 
natural resources also has led to fewer animals to exploit. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The FPD, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural 
Development, has primary (but not exclusive) responsibility for the 
protection of Vietnamese flora and fauna.  FPD has 61 provincial 
offices and over 10,000 staff members who administer over 100 
special use forests throughout the country, including all important 
ecosystems.  FPD coordinates with many of the other entities with 
wildlife protection responsibilities, including local police forces, 
the economic and environmental police departments, police Special 
Forces, customs officials, and border guards.  While FPD 
investigates wildlife crimes, it must work with police forces to 
make arrests, some of which, including the newly formed 
environmental police department, do not view wildlife crimes as 
widespread or particularly important.  On February 9, 2007, the head 
of the national FPD established a new mobile crimes unit responsible 
for inspecting, monitoring, and preventing wildlife crimes and 
implementing actions to combat corruption relating to the above. 
Conservation NGOs find this new unit particularly trustworthy, as it 
often acts independently to prevent local authorities from tipping 
off smuggling rings.  For example, ENV staff claimed that the new 
mobile unit led a recent operation in Hanoi that netted the 
carcasses of 4 tigers and body parts from 9 bears, without informing 
local police forces (which took credit in the Hanoi press) or the 
local FPD office. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Despite some progress, Vietnam's enforcement efforts 
cannot succeed without top-level political support.  Instead, 
conservation NGOs state that the GVN maintains a pro-use policy that 
actually encourages the wildlife trade.  Many GVN officials believe 
that extensive animal farms negate the need to protect wild animals. 
 ENV cited a recent incident in which high-level officials allowed 
the "war hero" owner of 19 tigers smuggled from Cambodia to keep the 
tigers in captivity for breeding despite clear violations of CITES 
and Vietnamese law.  When forest rangers do attempt to enforce the 
law, they face many challenges, from a lack of resources and an 
insufficient legal framework to deal with offenders to the very real 
possibility of being shot in the line of duty.  Ambiguous laws 
containing many loopholes, when combined with prosecutors unfamiliar 
with the statutes, lead to fewer prosecutions.  Courts have little 
experience with wildlife cases and treat them like ordinary economic 
violations, such as theft of a motorbike, resulting in small fines 
with little impact.  Vietnamese law currently permits the re-sale of 
confiscated wildlife -- which occurs in almost half of seizures -- 
significantly limiting the deterrent impact of such seizures and 
keeping the market well stocked with wild animal products.  Many 
violators have high-level connections, which cause enforcement 
authorities to shy away from investigations. 
 
Real Men Don't Need Bear Bile: NGO Campaigns 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
HANOI 00001763  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) Local and international NGOs continue to educate Vietnamese 
about the need to protect wildlife, while advocating for increased 
enforcement.  ENV created television and newspaper public service 
announcements featuring celebrities to promote wildlife protection 
and stigmatize consumption of wild animal products.  TRAFFIC's 
survey of public attitudes towards wildlife consumption will allow 
it to better focus its advocacy campaigns and TRAFFIC has assisted 
the GVN with CITES implementation and capacity building.  ENV 
created a wildlife crimes monitoring unit (complete with a 1-800 
line for citizens to report potential violations, which has received 
over 700 tips in the past two years) that investigates allegations 
of illegal wildlife trade and forwards evidence to enforcement 
authorities.  ENV also provides monthly crime bulletins for 
Provincial People's Committees so that the Committees can track 
enforcement efforts. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (U) Vietnamese environmentalists worry about a future of silent 
forests -- flora with no fauna -- which in a country with such a 
huge rich endowment of wildlife, particularly newly discovered 
species, would be a tremendous loss.  However, Vietnam already has 
many of the tools it needs to protect these resources. 
Additionally, USAID biodiversity conservation programs support NGOs 
such as the World Wildlife Fund and Winrock International to build 
GVN environmental protection capacity and strengthen public 
awareness at local levels.  To get the most from these efforts, we 
will continue to urge our GVN contacts to show the necessary 
determination to enforce Vietnamese laws and to act forcefully to 
deter illegal conduct.  We will also support our Washington 
counterparts in their efforts to make these points in multilateral 
fora.  Wildlife hunting will likely remain a leading driver of 
biodiversity loss in Vietnam until the consumption of forest-meat 
specialties and traditional medicines become politically and 
socially intolerable. 
 
ALOISI