First held in 2013 from the Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV)’s initiative with support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the biennial event aims to honour outstanding law enforcement officers and journalists who have contributed greatly to wildlife protection in Vietnam.
Van received the award for her outstanding series of articles calling for the protection of wildlife in recent years.
In 2012, she was at the forefront of the fight to defend the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in northern VinhPhuc province’s Tam Dao National Park, which was in danger of shutting down and displacing hundreds of bears at that time.
Her persistence received support from colleagues as well as public assistance. Finally, her quest to save the bear sanctuary, which lasted for almost a year and a half, paid off as the Prime Minister issued a directive formally safeguarding the centre.
Along with Van, journalist Do Doan Hoang from Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper was also among the awardees as his articles and contributions helped functional forces seize 10 tonnes of dead highly endangered sea turtles - the largest seizure in history - in Khanh Hoa in 2014.
The honour also went to customs officer at Tan Son Nhat international airport Huynh Quoc Thang, forest ranger Nguyen Huu Hoa from central Thua Thien-Hue, and environmental policemen Nguyen Duy Toai from northern Bac Kan province, Nguyen Trong Khoi from southern Dong Nai province and Tran Huu Hong from central Nghe An province.
They are among outstanding law enforcement officers who have dismantled criminal lines as well as preventing unauthorised transfers of wildlife across Vietnam over the last two years.
Seven animal rights activists who are law enforcement officers and journalists honoured at the award ceremony. (Image credit: NDO/Nghiem Trung)
Nominations for the awards started in November 2014 with a judging panel consisting of representatives from ENV, Freeland Foundation, International Union for Conservation of Nature in Vietnam, Centre for Humans and Nature, and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia-Greater Mekong Programme.
Addressing the event, ENV director Vu Thi Quyen said that contributions by the seven animal rights activists would set an example for their colleagues and the community to follow, positively impacting the nation’s ecological conservation.
According to director of the Biodiversity Conservation Agency Dr Pham Anh Cuong, Vietnam has rich biodiversity and is home to about 10% of the species around the world, although its total area accounts for less than 1% of land worldwide.
However, Vietnam’s diverse ecosystem has been threatened by rampant poaching and smuggling at home and abroad.
From 2014 to the end of August 2015, ENV recorded 12 illegal trading cases involving rhino horns and 34 others in ivories. In August only, 10 tonnes of these banned goods had been seized. In 2010, the last local Java rhino in Vietnam was killed for its horn.
At the ceremony, organisers also honoured contributions by media partners, businesses, NGOs and communities in the protection of wildlife species in Vietnam.
The awards were implemented within the framework of the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) Programme to combat wildlife trafficking in Asia.
