Interpol helps Vietnam protect tiger

A press conference on a project entitled Predator to support countries fighting crimes against wild animals including the tiger, which are in danger of extinction in Vietnam was held in Hanoi by Interpol on November 2.

David Higgin, Director of the Interpol Environmental Crime Division, said the project will provide a good opportunity for an exchange of information and experience in preventing the illegal hunting and trafficking of wild animals.

Higgin confirmed that major international organisations such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank (WB) and the Smithsonian Institution will join hands to improve law enforcement and create education programmes to raise public awareness in those countries.

Interpol encourages Vietnam to become more involved in the project and pledges to provide the nation with a number of support programmes.

The sharing of information among the member countries will enable Interpol to establish effective solutions to the issue, he added.

The Interpol official praised the role of the law enforcement agencies in Vietnam in the fight against environmental crimes.

Major-General Vu Hung Vuong, Deputy Head of the General Department for Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security said Vietnam always pays due attention to the protection of the environment and wild animals. Along with bolstering legislation to combine the preservation of forest and tiger, the country will continue to work on programs aimed at reducing poverty and raising public awareness of environmental protection.

Vietnam also needs support and cooperation from Interpol and other countries especially their neighbors, he added.

There are only 113 individual tigers in Vietnam and most of them are being raised in captivity. Thus, the development and preservation of the species faces extraordinary challenges. Increased participation by Vietnam in the project is expected to help solve the problems.

Asia-Pacific nations discuss water resources security

Experts from the Asia-Pacific region are gathering in Vietnam to discuss ways to ensure security for water resources – a pressing global issue that now affects many regions.

 

The discussion forms part of the first session of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Study Group on Water Resources Security, which began in Hanoi on March 22.

Experts were due to assess the factual utilisation and management of water resources in the region and examine security impacts of the work in various spheres in concerned countries.

At the two-day session, they are scheduled to listen to legal specialists’ opinions on international legal foundations and the building of international mechanisms on the utilisation and management of water resources.

They are expected to put forward concrete proposals to promote regional countries’ cooperation to ensure water resources security, which requires joint, proactive solutions from both developed and developing countries around the world.

In Southeast Asia – which houses the world’s largest rice granaries, the majority of the population depends largely on water resources taken from rivers and lakes, many of which have been seriously damaged by nature as well as human activity.

The damage has not only threatened water resources security but also created complex security concerns for nations that are directly concerned and challenged the future of sustainable development in Southeast Asia.

The next sessions of the study group – which was set up by CSCAP under Vietnam’s initiative – are expected to take place in Cambodia, Thailand and Japan in 2011 and 2012.

At the meetings, study groups will discuss concrete measures to promote regional cooperation and compile the group’s Memorandum of Understanding to be presented to official diplomatic channels for approval.

PT_Source: en.vietnamplus.vn