Have you ever wondered how ENV handles a wildlife crime case from beginning to end? Well, look no further! Our newest film, The Women Fighting Wildlife Crime in Vietnam, highlights exactly how our team turns public reports into prison sentences.
Want to help? You can make a difference for wildlife today https://bit.ly/HelpENVFightWildlifeCrime
Taken from a real ENV case, the film illustrates each team’s role in protecting wildlife. However, not every case is as quickly executed as the one portrayed in this film.
For example the Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) must overcome challenges that arise when authorities are overwhelmed with other cases, and our Crime Officers have to be strong and persistent to demand effective results. With 10 new wildlife crime reports a day, the WCU team finds themselves juggling authorities, investigations, and multiple members of the public at a time. However, they never give up or slow down, and continue to tackle almost 3,000 wildlife crime cases a year!
Just as the WCU team has their challenges, so does the Prosecution Team. While ENV Prosecution has undoubtedly created a reputation as a valuable support system for prosecutors and courts, there are 63 provinces in Vietnam and even more districts and cities. With many different jurisdictions and varying levels of willingness to punish wildlife criminals, the team must be diligent to cultivate a better understanding for wildlife laws in every province, city, and district while influencing prosecutions. Equally, there can be conflicting laws in certain cases or loopholes that the criminal might exploit. Though challenging, ENV’s Prosecution Team has managed to strengthen prosecution proceedings and court decisions across the country.
And finally, we cannot forget our Communications Team. There are almost 100 million people in Vietnam, many of which live outside urban areas (where environmental awareness is more present). To reach as many people as possible, our Communications Team utilizes journalists and media outlets, including national and provincial TV stations and radio programs that reach rural and traveling listeners, to disburse messages to protect wildlife and report wildlife crime. In this regard, the team is in constant communication with hundreds of media contacts to encourage publicization of wildlife trade issues, while creatively developing new ways of expanding the reach of ENV’s message.
Though there are challenges and a long road ahead to end demand and exploitation of wildlife, these efforts are paving the way towards a brighter future for wildlife worldwide.
Thanks for watching our ‘behind-the-scenes’ work that is creating long-term impact on wildlife protection in Vietnam. You are also invited to read and share our current crowdfunding campaign that is aiming to raise $5,000 to support all of ENV’s work in the coming months to ensure we can protect as much wildlife as possible.