Hanoi, August 10, 2023 – Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV) has released the CWT (combatting wildlife trafficking) Responsiveness and Performance Report 2022, an independent evaluation of the performance of law enforcement agencies in dealing with publicly reported wildlife crime in Vietnam.
Launched in 2009 by ENV, the CWT Responsiveness and Performance Ranking System was developed as a tool for provincial leadership to assess the performance of subordinate agencies that are responsible for wildlife conservation and enforcement. Performance indicators for the rating by province include the overall success rate in dealing with wildlife crime cases reported to authorities, the success rate for cases involving live animals, and a measure of how responsive provincial authorities are in dealing with cases that are publicly reported.
On a national level, results of the 63 provinces where crimes were reported by the public through ENV indicate improvements in the rates across all evaluation categories in 2022 (overall case success rate, live animal success rate, and responsiveness rate) compared to the 2021 results.
“Since the start of the CWT Responsiveness and Performance Ranking System, ENV has seen a steady improvement in law enforcement responses to publicly reported wildlife crimes,” says Ms. Bui Thi Ha, Vice Director.
However, Ms. Ha points out that while responsiveness on a national scale has remained fixed at about 97.7%, the overall success rate in 2022 was 32.7%, while the live animal success rate was 34.8%. Both success indexes represent minor increases over success rates in 2021, but remain lower than that achieved in 2019 and 2020.
Quang Nam province holds the honor of achieving the best overall performance (first in each category), with the highest overall success rate nationally at 84.6% in 2022 and a live animal success rate of 94.1%. Due to the quick response of the authorities, with a 100% responsiveness rate, numerous wildlife products were successfully seized, menu violations advertising wildlife were removed, and 1,172 live animals were confiscated and transferred in 2022. ENV congratulates Quang Nam police, Forest Protection Departments, and other relevant agencies that worked efficiently to achieve this success in 2022.
In addition, Thanh Hoa and Dong Nai provinces are commended for also ranking among the best-performing provinces in 2022. The two provinces responded to 100% of wildlife crimes reported by the public and achieved high success rates both overall and in live animal cases.
Notably, Dong Nai, Gia Lai, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Binh Duong, and Can Tho each achieved responsiveness rates of 100%. However, as evidenced by the exemplary achievements by authorities in Quang Nam, Dong Nai, and Thanh Hoa, a high responsiveness rate is most significant when it yields a successful outcome.
The report also shows the results of provinces with the largest number of publicly reported crimes. Ba Ria Vung Tau, Dong Nai, and Dak Lak authorities are commended for their efforts to safeguard wildlife and for achieving tangible results.
Regrettably, major cities Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – also the two cities with the highest number of publicly reported wildlife crimes nationally, and therefore the highest caseloads – registered poor results in both successful outcomes and live animal cases. Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City achieved an overall success rate of 16.9% and a live animal success rate of 18.1% in 2022, while these rates for Hanoi were 28.3% and 32.8% respectively.
Ms. Bui Thi Ha stated: “ENV wishes to thank the authorities in provinces whose responsiveness rate, overall success rate, and live animal success rate are higher than the national average, particularly those with outstanding results. However, we urge all provinces in Vietnam to concentrate more efforts and strive to reach a 60% national success rate for handling publicly reported wildlife crime in 2023.” Ms. Ha further emphasized the need to “build on this initial success and to implement the law consistently, and firmly, in order to eliminate wildlife crime in Vietnam.”
ENV expresses our gratitude to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (U.S. Department of State) for their support in producing the report, as well as to the Saving Threatened Wildlife (STW) project. The Saving Threatened Wildlife project, supported by USAID, is implemented by the Management Board for Forestry Projects (MBFP)/Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), WWF, TRAFFIC, and ENV.