Directive No. 03/CT-TTG On Strengthening Guidance and Implementation of Measures to Control and Conserve Endangered, Precious, and Rare Wild Animal Species

DIRECTIVE

ON ENFORCING MEASURES TO CONTROL AND CONSERVE ENDANGERED, RARE, AND VALUABLE WILD ANIMAL SPECIES

Recently, the situation of illegal trading, transportation, export, import, and use of endangered, rare, and valuable wild animal species, including those from foreign sources such as rhinoceros horns, African elephant tusks, pangolins, tigers..., has become complex, negatively impacting natural resources. Illegal trade in wild animals reduces economic, social, and environmental benefits, generates illegal revenue, destabilizes national security, poses risks of new infectious diseases emerging and spreading, and adversely affects Vietnam's image in implementing international conventions to which it is a party, affecting cooperation with some countries and many international organizations.

To prevent and combat violations of Vietnamese laws and international conventions to which Vietnam is a member, the Prime Minister requests ministries, sectors, and localities to effectively implement the following tasks:

1. Ministries of Public Security, Industry and Trade, Finance, Defense, Agriculture and Rural Development shall direct functional forces to strengthen preventive work, combat, and dismantle organized transnational criminal networks involved in illegal trading, transportation, export, import, re-export, temporary import for re-export, advertising, and consumption of endangered, rare, and valuable wild animal specimens, particularly rhino and African elephant specimens; enhance inspection and control at air, sea, and land border ports, especially informal border crossings; focus on detecting and thoroughly resolving illegal trading points of wild animal specimens, including fake specimens, in border areas and domestic markets; strictly enforce legal regulations during investigation and handling of violators; increase propaganda efforts to raise public and civil servant awareness in this field.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to study and propose improvements to legal provisions related to violations of wildlife protection regulations, ensuring that all violations in this area are handled according to legal requirements.

3. It is proposed that the Supreme People's Procuracy and the Supreme People's Court instruct subordinate agencies to closely cooperate with investigative agencies to intensify investigations, prosecutions, and trials of individuals violating criminal laws in the trading and transporting of rhino and elephant specimens and other endangered, rare, and valuable wild animal specimens.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall direct overseas Vietnamese representative offices to strengthen educational, promotional activities regarding host country wildlife conservation laws and international conventions for Vietnamese communities abroad engaged in business, living, or tourism; encourage these communities not to participate in illegal hunting, trading, and transporting of wild animal specimens in host countries.

5. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall strengthen measures to block and handle actions exploiting internet and online information services for illegal advertising, promotion, and trading of wild animal specimens; intensify propaganda, education, and dissemination of legal regulations on managing and conserving endangered, rare, and valuable wild animals so that the public understands and complies with them.

6. Mass media agencies shall strengthen propaganda on exemplary cases of wildlife conservation and trade control; provide objective information to ensure national interests; actively identify and strongly condemn actions violating Vietnamese laws and international conventions on protecting endangered, rare, and valuable wild animals; actively participate in legal dissemination, education, and propaganda activities; propose management solutions to competent authorities.

7. People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall direct agencies and units under their jurisdiction to strictly comply with state and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulations on international trade in endangered wild animals and plants; regularly organize propaganda, education, and dissemination of legal regulations on managing and conserving wild animals; organize inspections, prevention, detection, and strict handling of organizations and individuals violating regulations on hunting, capturing, buying, selling, transporting, breeding, slaughtering, trading, storing, exporting, importing, and re-exporting endangered wild animals and products illegally and in violation of CITES; direct inter-sectoral forces at border gates to strengthen inspections and controls to prevent illegal transportation of wild animal specimens across borders.

8. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and provincial people's committees to urge, inspect, and guide the strict implementation of this Directive; propose improvements to policies on managing, conserving, and controlling trade in endangered, rare, and valuable wild animals; promptly address issues arising during implementation; monitor and report annually to the Prime Minister on the implementation status and results of this Directive.

9. Ministries, sectors, and related agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, organizations, units, and individuals within their assigned functions and tasks shall be responsible for implementing this Directive; they shall report annually on the organization and implementation of this Directive to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development before December 15 each year for consolidation and reporting to the Government Prime Minister; promptly notify the CITES Management Authority of Vietnam about violations involving specimens listed in the Appendices of CITES and the results of handling; transfer or provide samples of confiscated wild animal specimens listed in the Appendices of CITES for international identification, preservation, and exchange with relevant member countries and the CITES Secretariat at the request of the CITES Management Authority of Vietnam./.