Vinh Phuc (VNA) – A refreshercourse for journalists on reporting about the conservation and rescue of wildanimals began in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on May 21.

The two-day event aims to popularise thereality of and reasons for wildlife trafficking, as well as share experiencesof reporters and experts and expand the network of journalists reporting on theissue.

It is organised by PanNature, a Vietnamesenon-profit organisation dedicated to protecting and conserving diversity oflife.

According to the World Wildlife Fund(WWF), over the years, Vietnam has become a “hotspot” of wildlife poaching andtrafficking. The country is home to various endangered animals, including morethan 400 species being listed in Vietnam’s Red Book.

Vietnam should set up policiesprotecting wildlife creatures, said Nguyen Van Thai from Save Vietnam’sWildlife.

He said the country should work toenhance international cooperation, learn from conversation programmes, arrangetraining courses to improve human resources capacity, and enhance monitoringafter returning species back to nature.

Tran Thi Kim Thanh from the Ministryof Public Security’s Environment Police Department said that 995 cases ofwildlife trafficking were discovered from 2014-2018. Notably, in March,authorities seized 9.1 tonnes of elephant tusks in Tien Sa port of the centralcity of Da Nang, the largest quantity in the country so far.

The press plays a key role linkingpeople in Vietnam and the world with Vietnamese security forces to collect andprovide information helpful to police’s activities against wildlife criminals,she said.

At the workshop, investigativejournalists and conversation and wildlife rescue experts shared experiences andskills as network building, international cooperation and informationverification.

Participants also discussed obstacles and necessary skills in investigation ofwildlife crimes, along with journalistic methods to detect links betweencorruption and wildlife trading, and more. -VNA