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Author: Lainez, Nicolas

Title: Transacted Children and Virginity: Ethnography of Ethnic Vietnamese in Phnom Penh

Summary: The goal of this study is to explore how the Vietnamese populations live and perceive forms of sale of sexual services and persons in Cambodia. Firstly, it is necessary to contextualize the legal and socioeconomic framework deriving from historical events within which the Vietnamese of Cambodia evolve, and that make them particularly vulnerable. Being excluded from Cambodian citizenship and most of them not holding Vietnamese nationality, they are stateless people who live in a legal void. Consequently, they are confronted with several obstacles that prevent them from being fully integrated into Cambodia. Among the causes that motivate the prostitution of young women, family indebtedness figures high. The fieldwork reveals the existence of an endogenous financial sector run by moneylenders who provide loans at high interest rates. Once in debt, borrowers may push their daughters to sell their virginity or to engage in prostitution to alleviate the economic burden. Secondly, two forms of the transfer and selling of sexual services of minors are addressed: the virginity sale and the sale of young children. The sale of virginity is relatively frequent among the elements of our sample. In the case study presented, the mother pushes the family’s economic burden onto her daughters as soon as they are old enough to generate income with their bodies. While according to Confucian precepts parents ought to preserve the virginity of their daughters until marriage, in fact they organize its commodification and monopolize the profits. The sale of a child for adoption has emerged in these communities. Oral tales and news clips give evidence of a market of children for sale for adoption. Informants involved in the trade make a distinction between the “gift of a child” (cho con) and the “sale of a child” (bán con). The gift is made to families for a payment that is lower than the price of a sale. The sale is negotiated for a price between some hundreds and some thousands of US dollars. The motivations, modus operandi and representations utilized by actors try to make morally acceptable what is otherwise a legally forbidden transaction.

Details: Ho Chi Minh City: Alliance Anti-Trafic, 2011. 51p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research Report No. 2: Accessed January 10, 2012 at: ftp://ftp2.allianceantitrafic.org/alliancea/Research_reports/AAT_ResearchReport_02-TransactedKinship.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Child Prostitution (Vietnam)

Shelf Number: 123543


Author: Asia Foundation

Title: Combating Human Trafficking in Vietnam: Lessons Learned and Practical Experiences for Future Program Design and Implementation

Summary: This report has been developed to share the achievements, experiences, best practices, and lessons learned from The Asia Foundation’s sixyear program to prevent and combat human trafficking in Vietnam. The report features an overview culled from The Foundation’s experience in implementing program interventions in collaboration with an expanding network of local and international partners that share our commitment to bettering the lives of trafficking victims and protecting those at-risk of being trafficked. The Foundation implemented a comprehensive program with components designed to be complementary and mutually reinforcing. Those components include: economic empowerment initiatives that target poor women and provide access to credit and vocational training; creating awareness of trafficking risks by implementing artbased communication campaigns on safe migration in schools and communities; enhancing access to justice by offering legal aid support to victims who are reintegrating into Vietnamese communities; supporting victim reintegration by developing innovative new community support group models; and facilitating cross-border cooperation to stop trafficking. The report is divided into three main sections: I) Program Introduction, II) Analysis of the Eight Program Components, and III) Conclusions. Through descriptive analysis, case studies of individuals, program highlights, and detailed lessons learned, the report describes the contributions of the program and the challenges encountered in addressing the multiple facets of the serious and complex human trafficking problem in Vietnam.

Details: Hanoi, Vietnam: The Asia Foundation, 2008. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2012 at: http://asiafoundation.org/publications/pdf/338

Year: 2008

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Human Trafficking (Vietnam)

Shelf Number: 125151


Author: Environmental Investigation Agency

Title: Borderlines: Vietnam's Booming Furniture Industry and Timber Smuggling in the Mekong Region

Summary: EIA/Telapak have been probing the trade in stolen timber in East Asia since the late 1990s. Over the last decade, governments around the world have made a raft of pronouncements regarding the seriousness of illegal logging and their determination to tackle it. Yet the stark reality is 'business as usual' for the organised syndicates looting the remaining precious tropical forests for a quick profit. This report contains new information from field investigations carried out by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and its partner Telapak. It exposes how the rapid growth of Vietnam's wood processing industry is threatening some of the last intact forests in the Mekong region, especially those in neighbouring Laos. Since the mid-1990s, Vietnam has taken steps to conserve its remaining forests, whilst at the same time hugely expanding its wooden furniture production industry. Furniture exports from the country were US$ 2.4 billion in 2007, a startling ten-fold increase since 2000. It is unfortunately inevitable that due to the lack of controls on the global timber trade, illegal timber constitutes a significant component of the imported raw materials supplying Vietnam's furniture factories. Vietnam has an unenviable track record when it comes to dealing in stolen timber. In the late 1990s it was caught importing illegal timber from neighbouring Cambodia. In 2003 EIA/Telapak documented shipments of stolen logs from Indonesia entering Vietnam. As the price of raw timber increases, and some wood producing countries like Indonesia take steps to combat illegal logging, the trade in stolen timber shifts. New evidence from EIA/Telapak reveals that Vietnam is now exploiting the forests of neighbouring Laos to obtain valuable hardwoods for its outdoor furniture industry. This trade is in direct contravention of laws in Laos banning the export of logs and sawn timber. During 2007 EIA/Telapak investigators visited numerous furniture factories and found the majority to be using logs from Laos. In the Vietnamese port of Vinh, EIA/Telapak witnessed piles of huge logs from Laos awaiting sale. At the border crossing of Naphao, 45 trucks laden with logs were seen lining up on the Laos side waiting to cross into Vietnam. EIA/Telapak estimate that at least 500,000 cubic metres of logs move from Laos to Vietnam every year. It is not just Vietnam which is exploiting its neighbour. Traders from Thailand and Singapore are also cashing in. Posing as investors, EIA/Telapak investigators met with one Thai businessman who bragged of paying bribes to senior Laos military officials to secure supplies of timber worth potentially half a billion dollars. The cost of such unfettered greed is borne by poor rural communities in Laos who are dependent on the forests for their traditional livelihoods. They gain virtually no income from this trade: instead, the money goes to corrupt officials in Laos and businesses in Vietnam and Thailand. The ultimate responsibility for this dire state of affairs rests with the consumer markets which import wood products made from stolen timber. To some extent the dynamic growth of Vietnam's furniture industry is driven by the demand of end markets such as the European Union and US. Until these states clean up their act and shut their markets to wood products made from illegal timber, the loss of precious tropical

Details: London: Environmental Investigation Agency; Bogor, Indonesia; Telepak, 2008. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2012 at: http://www.greengrants.org.cn/file/pub/Borderlines[1].pdf

Year: 2008

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Illegal Logging (Vietnam)

Shelf Number: 125268


Author: Hoa, Tran Duc

Title: Behind the Pleasure: Sexual Decision-Making Among High-Risk Men in Urban Vietnam

Summary: Male clients of sex workers are a bridge population linking female sex workers to the general population, but their role in HIV prevention programs has been overlooked in Vietnam. In December 2004, FHI hosted a stakeholder meeting in Hanoi of national and international NGOs and United Nations agencies to discuss ways to increase male involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention. The discussion focused on engaging male clients of sex workers to become active in preventing HIV transmission to themselves and their wives or girlfriends. From April to June 2005, a research team comprised of FHI staff, consultants, representatives of NGOs and national social research agencies conducted a qualitative study of male clients of sex workers and other key informants. Candidates included men at high risk of purchasing sex, married women, and entertainment establishment owners. Researchers facilitated eighteen meetings, six each in Hanoi, Haiphong, and Ho Chi Minh City. In all, 324 candidates were interviewed. This report details the findings of the study and documents: • Behavior Patterns and Group Norms • Process of Sexual Decision Making • Reasons for Frequenting Sex Workers • What Makes a "Real" Man? • Male Responsibility

Details: Durham, NC: FHI 360 (Family Health International), 2006. 84p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 18, 2012 at: http://www.fhi360.org/en/CountryProfiles/Vietnam/res_BehindThePleasure.htm

Year: 2006

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: HIV (Viruses)

Shelf Number: 125665


Author: Environmental Investigation Agency

Title: Vietnam’s Illegal Rhino Horn Trade: Undermining the Effectiveness of CITES

Summary: The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), along with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), filed a petition on December 21, 2012 with the U.S. Secretary of the Department of the Interior under the Pelly Amendment, which enables the U.S. President to impose trade sanctions against countries engaged in trade that diminishes the effectiveness of any international program in force with respect to the United States for the conservation of endangered or threatened species. This briefing summarizes the key points from the Petition to certify Vietnam as diminishing the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for trade in rhino products. Rhinoceros populations have been decimated in both Africa and Asia, with three subspecies already extinct and most species and subspecies now critically endangered. To curb the international trade in rhino horn and other parts and derivatives that has led to diminished rhino populations, the CITES Parties have placed all but two populations of rhinos in Appendix I to prohibit international trade for commercial purposes. Populations of the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) in South Africa and Swaziland are included in Appendix II with an annotation limiting trade to hunting trophies and live rhinos to appropriate and acceptable destinations. These efforts helped stabilize and in some cases, increase, rhino populations. However, despite these efforts, rhino populations are again under threat, largely due to rising demand in Vietnam and the failure of Vietnam to implement its CITES obligations. Vietnam is currently the largest market for rhino horn from both legally hunted rhinos in South Africa, whose horns are then illegally traded, and poached rhinos in South Africa and elsewhere. In some cases, Vietnam has refused to implement the recommendations of the CITES Parties or even respond to requests for information from the Parties. In fact, Vietnamese CITES officials continue to deny the role of Vietnam and its nationals in the illegal rhino horn trade, statements that defy all evidence to the contrary. With Vietnamese nationals at the center of the illegal trade, Vietnam is believed to be driving the “rapacious illegal trade in rhino horn.”

Details: Washington, DC: EIA, 2013. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Acccessed March 21, 2013 at: http://www.eia-global.org/PDF/SpeciesRhinoCITES.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Animal Poaching

Shelf Number: 128066


Author: Human Rights Watch

Title: Public Insecurity: Deaths in Custody and Police Brutality in Vietnam

Summary: Police brutality, including deaths in police custody, is a regular source of public concern in Vietnam. The problem is so pervasive that even the heavily controlled state media frequently publishes reports about police abuse. Yet extensive government censorship has prevented more in-depth analysis about the problem and its causes, which include a culture of impunity for police officers and their superiors. Public Insecurity explores a large number of illustrative cases of officially acknowledged killings, alleged suicides, unexplained custodial deaths, torture, and beatings in police custody. Many victims are people merely accused of petty crimes, domestic disputes, and traffic violations. Factors contributing to Vietnam's epidemic of police brutality include the politicization of Vietnam's security services, inadequate professional training, particularly of the Commune Police, the absence of a strong legal system or independent judiciary, and insufficient freedom for the local and national media to act as an effective check against official misdeeds. One positive development is the rise of increasingly independent bloggers and citizen journalists who report on police abuses, making it impossible for the authorities to hide this problem from the public and, on occasion, leading to prosecution of police officers. Public Insecurity offers a series of common-sense recommendations to address the prevalence of police abuse in Vietnam. These include: - the establishment of an independent police complaints commission, - high-level support for prompt and impartial investigations and prosecutions of police abuse and misconduct, - adoption of a zero tolerance policy within the police for abuse, - enhancement of the role of legal counsel for suspects and detainees, - better training for police at all levels, particularly for commune police, - installation of cameras in interrogation and detention facilities, and - freedom of expression for journalists and on the Internet.

Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 104p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/vietnam0914_ForUpload_0.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Deaths in Custody (Vietnam)

Shelf Number: 133368


Author: International Labor Rights Forum

Title: Vietnam's Forced Labor Centers

Summary: The victims are alleged drug addicts who are held for periods of two to four years without ever receiving a hearing or a trial in a court of law. Drug center detainees are forced to work under harsh conditions for little or no pay doing a range of repetitive tasks, like sewing t-shirts or mosquito bed nets, painting stone trinkets, and processing cashews, often for private companies. As punishment for refusing to work, violating center rules, or simply not filling a daily quota, detainees report being beaten with wooden truncheons, shocked with electrical batons, or placed in solitary confinement. Vietnam's use of forced labor as drug treatment clearly violates international law, including ILO Convention 29, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The detention centers are also an ineffective form of drug treatment: it is estimated that over 90 percent of former detainees return to using drugs shortly after release. In 2012, twelve UN agencies, including the ILO, World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), issued a joint public statement calling for the closure of compulsory drug detention centers, citing the use of forced labor and the lack of evidence-based drug treatment. Goods made by detainees' forced labor have made their way into global supply chains: in 2011, Columbia Sportswear acknowledged that one of its Vietnamese contractors had subcontracted the production of jacket liners to a detention center near Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam is the top supplier of cashew nuts to the United States and there is little doubt that some portion of the cashews sold to U.S. consumers are processed by forced labor in the detention centers.

Details: Washington, DC: ILRF, 2014. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 24, 2014 at: http://www.laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/VN_Forced_Labor_Centers_wr.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Drug Offenders

Shelf Number: 133809


Author: Dinh, Ngan

Title: Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia: Results from a Pilot Project in Vietnam

Summary: Human trafficking is one of the most widely spread and fastest growing crimes in the world. However, despite the scope of the problem, the important human rights issues at stake and the professed intent of governments around the world to put an end to "modern day slavery", there is very little that is actually known about the nature of human trafficking and those most at risk as potential victims. This is due in large part to the difficulty in collecting reliable and statistically useful data. In this paper we present the results of a pilot study run in rural Vietnam with the aim of overcoming these data issues. Rather than attempt to identify victims themselves, we rely on the form rural migration often takes in urbanizing developing countries to instead identify households that were sources of trafficking victims. This allows us to construct a viable sampling frame, on which we conduct a survey using novel techniques such as anchoring vignettes, indirect sampling, list randomization and social network analysis to construct a series of empirically valid estimates that can begin to shed light on the problem of human trafficking.

Details: Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2014. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource: IZA DP No. 8686: Accessed February 4, 2015 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp8686.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Human Trafficking (Vietnam)

Shelf Number: 134541


Author: Wyatt, Tanya

Title: Corruption and wildlife trafficking

Summary: Wildlife trafficking is a growing global concern. It takes place in all regions of the world with those nations with high biodiversity being the source and the consumers of the wildlife as well as transit areas and hubs for smuggled wildlife. It is a significant contributor to biodiversity loss and species extinction. Many if not most developing nations are rich in biodiversity and therefore must contend with wildlife trafficking. It is a critical concern for these nations' environment and economies. It has been documented that corruption is an essential component in the facilitation and perpetration of the illegal wildlife trade, but a comprehensive study into the scale, scope and structure has yet to be undertaken. This U4 Issue paper conducts a meta-study regarding corruption's role in wildlife trafficking from the available literature, interviews with experts and a case study of Vietnam in an attempt to highlight concerns for bilateral donors in regards to conservation, environment and law enforcement programmes.

Details: Bergen, NO: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute, 2015. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: U4 Issue no. 11: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: http://www.u4.no/publications/corruption-and-wildlife-trafficking/

Year: 2015

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Bribery

Shelf Number: 136038


Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Criminal Justice Responses to the Illegal Trade in Timber in Vietnam

Summary: A third of South East Asia is covered by forests and Asia as a whole accounts for 18 per cent of total global forested areas. This substantial resource has attracted considerable attention from national and international institutions, civil society and analysts, all concerned by the rate at which the forest is legally and illegally felled. Most discussions have focused on these threats from an ecological standpoint while, until recently, less attention has being given to assessing this depletion as a result of criminal activity. There is however growing evidence that sophisticated criminal operations are contributing to a significant degree to forest exploitation. As more laws and regulatory frameworks are applied to manage the remaining forests in a sustainable way, and in the context of the on-going demand for timber, this is a challenge which is likely to grow rather than diminish. The objective of this study therefore is to determine what role criminal justice system in Viet Nam is playing in the struggle against the illegal trade in timber. It is based on a series of field visits to the country, a review of the available primary and secondary data, as well as interviews with key interlocutors. Interviews were mainly conducted with key players of the criminal justice system such as prosecutors, police, customs and environment/forestry officials involved in law enforcement. Whenever possible interviews were conducted at the level of officers in charge of investigations. In parallel, interviews were conducted with representatives of International Organizations and Civil Society. The results of the study were presented to the Government of Viet Nam during the workshop Good Governance and the threats of Transnational Organized Crime in the forestry sector, organized by UNODC in Hanoi on 14 October 2013. This report is primarily concerned with the illicit exploitation of timber within forest areas and its movement and then trafficking across borders for profit. These activities often exist in the grey area between clandestine and legitimate business activities. For the purposes of this report then the broad term "illegal timber trade" will be used to refer to the illicit movements (often transboundary) of illegal and quasi-legal timber and wood products. When used in the report, the term "forest crime" refers to a broader set of criminal activities against flora and fauna in forest areas. In this formulation, the illegal trade in timber is a subset of forest crime. For the purpose of this study no specific analysis has been conducted to identify a common and internationally acceptable notion of "illegal timber". This study has simply analyzed the framework of responses to crime as defined by national laws. The political commitment to use criminal justice resources to target the illegal exploitation and trade in timber is one of the starting points of the country analysis. The criminal justice system deals with multiple crimes and face considerable public and political pressure on a range of issues. Prioritising interventions is in practice the mechanism that criminal justice actors use to meet large demands with limited resources. The issue of political will is of great relevance too given on-going accusations of level corruption and the protection of illicit logging by those, including political leaders and senior officials, who profit from it. While criminal justice systems are designed in theory to respond to all crimes, the purpose of this report is to map out as far as possible the processes in which forest crimes are detected, investigated and prosecuted - and by whom. The latter question is critical: the crime of timber exploitation and trafficking falls in the purview of multiple departments and effective coordination between them is crucial for success. Examining the different inter-linkages between the agencies involved, the report aims at stimulating a wider debate as to how the system may be assisted by external actors. The recommendations of the report are aimed at national policy makers, but also at generating a wider discussion as to how criminal justice interventions could play a more effective role in curbing the illegal exploitation and trafficking of timber. The opening section of the report introduces briefly the extent of the illicit timber trade in South East Asia and some of the challenges that have been associated with controlling it. It then provides a short overview of the key issues and mechanisms through which the criminal justice system could play a more important role in the response to the illicit timber trade. The main body of the report is constituted by the country study. This is followed by a series of concluding recommendations.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 3, 2015 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific//Publications/wildlife/CJS_Response_-_VIETNAM_01_13_Dec_201.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Forests

Shelf Number: 136297


Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Support to strengthening of immigration control capacity at the international border gates and international cooperation to prevent and control migrant smuggling and human trafficking

Summary: This report is the independent final evaluation (FE) of the project "Support to Strengthening of Immigration Control Capacity at the International Border Gates and International Cooperation to Prevent and Control Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking", implemented by the UNODC Office in Ha Noi, Viet Nam (refer nr VNMS79). Implementation commenced in February 2010 with a duration of 3 years and 6 months, with a budget of USD 1,078,540 (both after project revision). In supporting the Government of Viet Nam to combat the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of people, VNMS79 was designed with a focus on building capacities at land-, air- and seaports through the strengthening of law enforcement and immigration methods (e.g. detection of document and passport fraud, information and trend analysis) in order to better identify and investigate cases of trafficking and smuggling. The objective of VNMS79 is defined as 'To strengthen the capacity of immigration control at the border gates and improved skills of investigation, detection and information processing on migrant smuggling and human trafficking in line with the requirements of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its Protocols Against Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants'. It is supported by two outcomes: (1) 'Improved capacities at selected border gates to prevent, detect and investigate human trafficking and migrant smuggling', further aided through six outputs, and (2) 'Enhance international cooperation to prevent and control migrant smuggling and trafficking', supported by two outputs. The outputs include delivery of training, supporting equipment and the provision of legal assistance in setting up legal frameworks and cooperation mechanisms.

Details: New York: UNODC, 2013. 61p.

Source: Internet Resource: VNMS79: Accessed August 28, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/evaluation/Independent_Project_Evaluations/2014/VNMS79_Final_Evaluation_Report_2014.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Border Security

Shelf Number: 136613


Author: Thi Phuong Hoa, Nguyen

Title: Drug-Related Crimes Under Vietnamese Criminal Law: Sentencing and Clemency in Law and Practice

Summary: Although drug abuse has a long history, Vietnam has recently escalated its fight against drug-related crimes. This paper first discusses the elements of drug-related crimes under the Criminal Code of Vietnam 1999 (as amended in 2009) and calls for a series of reforms. It then analyses sentencing under the Vietnamese criminal law in general, with particular focus on drug-related crimes and the granting of clemency.

Details: Melbourne, AUS: Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society and Asian Law Centre, 2014. 52p.

Source: Internet Resource: CILIS Policy Paper 8; ALC Briefing Paper 2: Accessed July 23, 2016 at: http://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1547093/ALC-CILISPolicyPaper_Hoa_finalwobleed3.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Clemency

Shelf Number: 139814


Author: Dao The Duc

Title: 'Teach the wife when she first arrives': Trajectories and pathways into violence and non-violent masculinities in Hue Citiy and Phu Xuyen district, Viet Nam

Summary: This life history qualitative study explores men's trajectories and pathways into gendered beliefs, attitudes and practices in Viet Nam, and how this relates to men's perceptions and practices of violence.

Details: Hanoi: Partners for Prevention, 2012. 63p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2016 at: http://www.partners4prevention.org/sites/default/files/resources/qualitative_study_on_masculinities_gbv_eng.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Abusive Men

Shelf Number: 130034


Author: Anh, Cao Ngoc

Title: Timber Trafficking and its Impacts on Human Security in Vietnam

Summary: As with other forms of green crime, timber trafficking is frequently overlooked by traditional criminology. This research is an exploratory investigation into the problem of timber trafficking in Vietnam, which aims to obtain a detailed understanding of the typology of, victimisation from, and key factors driving this crime. To achieve this aim, 41 semi-structured interviews with seven different cohorts (environmental police, investigative police, forest protection officers, commune authorities, forest-based inhabitants, timber traders, and green NGO staff) were conducted. Over one hundred pages of official documents (criminal case records, operational reports, and conference papers), and more than two hundred relevant newspapers were collected and analysed to enhance and triangulate the primary data. This research reveals a multifaceted typology of timber trafficking in Vietnam, comprising five different components: harvesting, transporting, trading, supporting, and processing. Each of these components is further constituted by distinctive, parallel forms of illicit operation. There are, for example, three parallel forms of illegal timber harvesting, termed small-scale, medium-scale and large-scale (SSITH, MSITH and LSITH). While having certain overlaps, in general SSITH, MSITH and LSITH are fundamentally distinctive not only in terms of the volumes of illicit timber they produce and the methods of illegally felling trees they employ, as typically identified in the previous studies, but more importantly in terms of the harvesters' attributes, their motivations, and the sophistication and security implications of the criminal operations. It is thus argued that the typology of illegal timber harvesting in this research challenges the typical classification in the existing literature, and offers an alternative way of understanding more comprehensively the dynamic of illegal logging. Regarding the victimisation from timber trafficking, due to the employment of a broad conceptual framework of human security, it is revealed that timber trafficking has substantial harmful impacts on all seven elements of human security: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political. These impacts are closely interconnected, but vary between different groups of victims. These findings culminate in the proposal that there are three main typical characteristics of green victimisation: suffering hierarchy, victim-offender overlap, and multidimensionality. Additionally, the employment of a human security paradigm in this research leads to another proposal that it is highly achievable and productive to integrate perspectives from the field of security studies into the discipline of green criminology, for the purpose of systematically examining green victimisation. Finally, this research offers five solutions to control timber trafficking in the context of Vietnam, by refining the current policy framework of forest governance and improving the efficiency of law enforcement.

Details: Newcastle, UK: University of Northumbria at Newcastle, 2016. 310p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 6, 2016 at: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/27316/

Year: 2016

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Forests

Shelf Number: 140025


Author: Vigne, Lucy

Title: Vietnam's Illegal Ivory Trade Threatens Africa's Elephants

Summary: - The Vietnamese illegal ivory trade is now one of the largest in the world. - Of all the ivory industries in Asia, Vietnamese carvers have multiplied in number and increased their production of illegal ivory items the most rapidly since 2008. - Tusks are smuggled into Vietnam, nearly all from Africa, with only a few nowadays from domesticated and wild elephants in Laos and Vietnam. - In early 2015 the largest proportion of tusks was seized officially in Haiphong; this changed to Danang in the latter half of 2015. - Wholesale prices for raw tusks in Vietnam were about the same in 2015 as in mainland China, around USD 1,100/kg for a 1-3-kg tusk. - Historically ivory carving was an insignificant art form in Vietnam. - While Vietnamese ivory carvers have increased greatly in number, we did not hear of any foreigners working ivory in Vietnam. - Ivory artisans earn on average USD 260 a month, considerably less than in mainland China. - We talked to ivory carvers in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), in Buon Ma Thuot and in three northern villages who were optimistic about their business. - Legislation prohibiting the ivory trade in Vietnam remains unclear. A loophole in the law allows worked ivory crafted before 1992 to be legally sold in Vietnam, although with the current weak law enforcement, nobody mentioned this to us, nor did hardly any vendor mention to us that exports were illegal. - We saw no posters or other public notices in Vietnam publicizing that the trade in ivory is illegal. - In HCMC, Hanoi, one town and village in the Central Highlands, and two villages in the north we counted 242 open outlets with 16,099 ivory items on display, for retail sale. - Of these items, 9,893 (or 61%) were in one northern village that had not been counted before in a survey. - Nearly all the ivory items for sale in Vietnam are new or recently carved and illegal. - Vietnam has one of the largest number of newly worked illegal ivory items openly offered for retail sale in the world. - Most objects are pendants and other small items, usually jewellery. - There were few ivory antiques, the majority being in HCMC, popular with Chinese customers. - Hardly any expensive ivory items for retail sale were seen. The most expensive new item was a 17-cm human figure for USD 2,500 in HCMC. The most expensive old items were a carved tusk and a large urn for USD 20,000 each in an antique shop in HCMC. - The cheapest ivory item was USD 2 for a thin ring in one northern Vietnam village. - Retail ivory prices for common comparable items were three times more in Beijing and Shanghai than in HCMC and Hanoi and seven times more than in a village selling the most worked ivory seen in Vietnam. This is due to cheaper labour in Vietnam, fewer overheads, and nearly all illegal items for sale that require no expensive paperwork. - There appears to be little law enforcement within Vietnam against the illegal ivory workshops and retail shops, especially in the smaller locations that few Western foreigners visit. - Nearly all the customers we saw shopping for ivory were from mainland China; they particularly like to visit Vietnam's northern villages to buy ivory items, both wholesale and retail, as the prices are considerably lower than elsewhere in the country. - The chances of Chinese being arrested for carrying illegal ivory items crossing the border from Vietnam into China are extremely small due to ineffective law enforcement. - A growing online illegal ivory trade is expanding among Vietnamese and mainland Chinese. - Other elephant products are sold wholesale and retail in Vietnam, especially in the western region nearer to Cambodia and Laos. Products include bones, feet, hairs, meat, molars, skin and tails. - We saw no raw mammoth ivory and only one item for sale: a pendant. - In 2008 a detailed survey of Vietnam counted 2,444 ivory items on view for sale. In 2015 our survey found this number had risen by 6.6 times. A main reason was the expansion of ivory carving and sales in one particular village in the north to meet demand from mainland Chinese, and an increase in ivory items for sale in the Central Highlands area of Buon Ma Thuot to meet demand for the growing number of Asian tourists going there. - While the illegal rhino horn trade in Vietnam has been heavily criticized, its recently booming ivory trade has been largely overlooked due to a lack of information about it. - Corruption and mismanagement in Vietnam have abetted this expanding and flourishing illegal ivory trade, allowing retail displays to remain wide open and enabling smuggling of the many Vietnamese-carved illegal new ivory items into mainland China.

Details: Nairobi, Kenya: Save the Elephants, 2016. 88p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: http://savetheelephants.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016_VietnamReportFINAL_0.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Elephants

Shelf Number: 145603


Author: Willcox, Daniel

Title: An Assessment of Trade In Bear Bile and Gall Bladder in Viet Nam

Summary: TRAFFIC's research finds the illegal market for bears, bear parts and derivatives in Viet Nam is still strong, with only a moderate decline in open availability following the introduction of legislation to ban their sale in 2006. Released in the margins of the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade, An assessment of trade in bear bile and gall bladder in Viet Nam (PDF, 6 MB), analysed data from surveys of shops in six cities across Viet Nam in 2012 and 2016. It followed a 2010–2011 TRAFFIC investigation into the bear bile trade across 13 countries and territories in Asia. In the 1990s, bear bile farms were established throughout Viet Nam to address increasing consumer demands. In 2005, the Vietnamese government made it illegal to extract bile from bears but not to keep them, and without a government-backed plan to deal with the thousands of bears then held in captivity, many bear farms kept their animals under the guise of wildlife refuges although owners were required to microchip and register their animals. Under legislation introduced in Viet Nam in 2006, it is illegal to hunt, transport, keep, advertise, sell, purchase and consume bear species or their parts and derivatives.

Details: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia: TRAFFIC, 2016. 46p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2016 at: http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/157301/27336117/1479316776523/VN-Bears-Report.pdf?token=mJZIA3Ls2YKqsDGj5YavWfX2%2Fo8%3D

Year: 2016

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Bears

Shelf Number: 147850


Author: Huong, Vu Thi Thanh

Title: Understanding Children's Experiences of Violence in Viet Nam: Evidence from Young Lives

Summary: This paper explores children’s accounts of violence at home in Viet Nam, and the ways in which factors at the individual, family, community and society levels affect their experiences of violence. The paper analyses cross-sectional survey data and qualitative data gathered from Young Lives; it explores what children know about violence, how they experience it, what they think drives violence at home, what they perceive the consequences to be, and finally, the support they find effective in addressing violence. High proportions of children experience violence (mostly physical punishment and emotional abuse). The paper contributes to knowledge about the nature and experience of violence affecting children in resource-poor settings, and concludes with some suggestions for policy, programming and practice.

Details: Florence, Italy: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Office of Research, (Innocenti) 2016. 51p.

Source: Internet Resource: Innocenti Working Papers, IWP_2016_26: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_26.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect

Shelf Number: 146786


Author: Nguyen, Thi Thu Hang

Title: School Violence: Evidence from Young Lives in Vietnam

Summary: The issue of school violence in Vietnam has previously been addressed in some papers, but only with reference to a specific locality or combined with other issues under the broader theme of child abuse. However, news about school violence is now appearing in Vietnam's national daily media at an increased frequency and intensity, and attracting general public attention. Despite the existence of legal regulations related to child protection in general and prohibiting school violence in particular, cases of school violence still appear regularly in the media. This raises questions about the enforcement of current legislation and whether the key causes of violence have been properly addressed. There is no generally applicable definition of school violence but the term "school violence" used in this paper includes both acts of violence and bullying among students and those performed by teachers on students within the school grounds. In terms of physical violence, quantitative evidence from the Young Lives study shows a higher level of fighting reported by 8-year-olds in 2009, as compared with children of the same age in 2002. Such incidents were common among students in the sample, regardless of their economic status. The data from Young Lives also allow us to track changes in the rate of physical violence as the same group of children grow up (so picking up differences by child age). The rate of children beaten by other children more than tripled between Rounds 1 and 2 (when the Older Cohort were aged 8 and 12). In contrast, cases where teachers beat students dropped from 3.84 per cent in Round 1 to an insignificant level in Round 2. However, when comparing 8-year-old children at two different times (2002 and 2009), we see an increasing trend in physical violence across the board. Analysis of emotional violence was more difficult because the data recorded both answers by caregivers and by students themselves. It is interesting that students reported a lower rate of peer bullying (19.7 per cent) than that reported by caregivers (24.8 per cent). Results from the qualitative data collected from interviews with 36 of the Young Lives children uncovered the long-term impact of school violence as well as its causes. Causes of violence among students vary greatly, and sometimes there is no explicit reason. Therefore, more weight should be given to preventative measures such as improving children?s life skills or raising their awareness about the impacts of school violence. Responses from parents and school to violence among students are very important. The ways in which violence is addressed and disputes are settled can have long-term, even lifelong, impacts on children's futures. The right intervention, therefore, requires effort and closer co-operation between families and schools. Key policy implications of this paper include closer cooperation between the school, family, community and police, accompanied by the introduction of life skills for children into the school curriculum, training in positive discipline for teachers and better data collection.

Details: Oxford, UK: Young Lives, 2013. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Young Lives Vietnam Policy Paper 1: Accessed March 29, 2017 at: http://www.younglives.org.uk/sites/www.younglives.org.uk/files/YL-Vietnam-PP1.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Child Protection

Shelf Number: 144624


Author: Hanley, Nick

Title: The Allure of the Illegal: Choice Modelling of Rhino Horn Demand in Vietnam

Summary: Demand for rhino horn products is the main driver of illegal hunting of African rhinos. Using choice modelling we identify the main drivers of demand and estimate consumer willingness to pay for rhino horn attributes of high policy relevance among Vietnamese users and potential users. We find that wild or semi-wild sourced horn, harvested humanly from least rare species is the most valued among Vietnamese consumers. Furthermore, consumers are willing to pay more for illegally-traded horn, indicating that the international ban on the trade has generated a premium for illegal horn.

Details: Fife, Scotland; University at St. Andrews, 2017. 18p.

Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper in Environmental Economics; Paper 2017-05: Accessed May 4, 2017 at: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/dept-of-geography-and-sustainable-development/pdf-s/DP%202017-05.%20Hanley%20et%20al.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Animal Poaching

Shelf Number: 145306


Author: Luong, Hai Thanh

Title: Transnational Narcotics Trafficking and Law Enforcement: A Vietnam Perspective

Summary: Close proximity to the major production zones, porous borderlands, mountainous frontiers and long coastlines offer advantageous conditions for trafficking narcotics. The illicit drug situation has become much more complex in Vietnam with the growth in amphetaminetype stimulants production and trade. Even so, empirical research and analysis of the organization and operation of transnational narcotics trafficking (TransNT) remains limited. The purpose of this thesis is to present the first detailed inquiry into the nature of TransNT across the border between Lao PDR and Vietnam using an exploratory approach which draws upon qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, the thesis presents findings from case studies of cross-border trafficking between Vietnam and Lao PDR in the period of 2003-2013 combined with interview and survey data from criminal investigation police and drug-related crimes officers (CIPDRC) from six border provinces who are directly and indirectly involved in investigating these cases. The findings of this study indicate that drug markets in Vietnam are not controlled by monopolistic, hierarchical organizations or 'cartels'. The structures of TransNT entities operating across the Lao-Vietnam border are small, based on family ties and fellow-countrymen relations, are fluid and loosely organized. They are very adaptable and sophisticated with diverse modus operandi and multiple divisions of labour. This presents particular challenges to law enforcement agencies (LAEs). This thesis questions to capacity of Vietnam's police to enforce the government's zero-tolerance anti-narcotics policy. The study highlights practical problems and specific barriers in combating TransNT. LEAs in Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) operate without effective mechanisms to cooperate and share information. It is also the case that traffickers often have more sophisticated equipment at their disposal to help them avoid arrest. Police forces work within national structures and yet are faced with the task of combatting transnational crime. This reality affects law enforcement capacity at a national as well as regional level, but Association of the Southeast Asian Nations member states have yet to establish effective structures for dealing with this non-traditional security challenge. Based on these findings, therefore, the thesis proposes recommendations to enhancing the effectiveness of LEAs in dealing with TransNT across Vietnam's border with Lao PDR.

Details: Melbourne, AUS: School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, College of Design and Social Context, RMIT University, 2017. 417p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 16, 2017 at: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162002/Luong.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Border Security

Shelf Number: 145478


Author: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

Title: Repeat Offender: Vietnam's Persistent Trade in Illegal Timber

Summary: Despite growing global attention to the problem of illegal logging over the past 15 years, Vietnam continues to rely on imports of illicit timber to supply its burgeoning wood processing sector, especially from the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia. Since 2007, EIA has repeatedly documented flows of illegal logs across the land border between Laos and Vietnam, and more recently from Cambodia. Vietnam has made strenuous efforts to increase its own forest cover, including strict controls on the logging of natural forests. In 2016, a total ban on logging natural forests was announced. By 2015, the country's forest cover had increased to 14.7 million hectares (44.6 per cent of total land area), compared with nine million hectares in 1990. At the same time, the Vietnamese Government has promoted the rapid expansion of an export-oriented wood processing sector, which has become the sixth largest in the world. In 2017, the country's exports of wood products are predicted to be worth $8 billion, compared with $7.3 billion in 2016. Vietnam's wood processing industry is heavily reliant on imports for the supply of raw materials, principally round logs and sawn timber. Imports have been growing at about 10 per cent a year, reaching 4.79 million m3 in 2015. While timber imports come from over 100 countries, the biggest source region is Asia, especially Laos and Cambodia. Overall, Vietnam relies of imports for at least 80 per cent of the raw materials consumed by its factories. Analysis of Vietnam's imports by source country indicates that in 2013, 18 per cent were judged to have a high risk of illegality. It is neighbouring countries which have borne the brunt of this illicit trade. Until 2015, Laos - which has a log export ban - was the largest single supplier of timber to Vietnam by value. Due to stronger political will in the country to curb illegal logging, it has now been supplanted by Cambodia, another neighbouring country which bans the export of raw timber. In 2015, Vietnam imported timber worth $386 million from Cambodia, a 52 per cent increase on the previous year, and $360 million from Laos. Combined, the two countries provided Vietnam with illicit timber worth almost three quarters of a billion dollars in a single year. This shift in sourcing has been driven solely by supply-side measures. Rather than improve its regulatory controls over imports of illicit timber, Vietnam has actually introduced measures to ease the flow of timber from Cambodia, once again showing flagrant disregard for the forest laws of its neighbouring countries.

Details: London: EIA, 2017. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 21, 2017 at: https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Repeat-Offender.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Deforestation

Shelf Number: 146336


Author: Stiles, Daniel

Title: An Assessment of the Illegal Ivory Trade in Viet Nam

Summary: Viet Nam acceded to CITES on 20 April 1994. A series of government laws and decrees prohibit the hunting of elephants and other listed wild species (Prime Minister's directive 134/TTg, 1960; Council of Minister's decree 39/CP, 1963) and the use, trade and transport of products derived from them (Ministry of Forestry decision number 276/QD, 1989; Council of Minister's decree 18/ HDBT, 1992; Prime Minister's directive 359/TTg, 1996; Government Decree No. 48/2002/ND-CP, 2002; Government Decree 82/2006/ND-CP, 2006). The elephant is classed in category IB, patterned after CITES Appendix I, which means there is a complete ban on all trade of the species' products. In July 2000 the Revised Criminal Code set out regulations for the prosecution of cases of illegal exploitation of rare and precious wild species, including elephants. Since 1999, TRAFFIC has been carrying out country surveys of trade in ivory, along with trade in live elephants in some cases. TRAFFIC carried out an investigation of Viet Nam's role in elephant and elephant product trade in 2000 (Anon., 2002). In 2008, TRAFFIC set out to compile existing and new information on the trade specifically in elephant ivory in Viet Nam in consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders. The following locations were surveyed between 4 April and 4 May, 2008: Ho Chi Minh City Vung Tau Phu Quoc island Ha Tien Nha Trang Hue Ha Noi Ha Long City The main findings of this survey were: - A total of 669 retail outlets were surveyed in the eight localities. Of these, 73 (11%) were selling ivory, totalling 2 444 items. - Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) had the most outlets (49) and ivory items (1 776) with Ha Noi second with 10 outlets and 407 pieces. Hue was a distant third with eight outlets selling a total of 141 items. - At least 17 craftsmen work ivory in Viet Nam in the places surveyed, with the highest number in and around Ha Noi, followed by HCMC and Hue. - Most of the raw ivory used in 2008 was said to originate in Laos, with small amounts coming from Viet Nam and Cambodia. Mammoth ivory from Russia is also used in small quantities. No African raw ivory was found. - Raw ivory prices were extremely high, possibly the highest in the world in 2008. Tusks weighing 1-3 kg sold for USD500-1 242/kg, with verbal reports of up to USD1 500/kg. Small, solid cut pieces and tusk tips weighing less than 1 kg were even more expensive, ranging from USD769/kg to USD1 863/kg. - The cause of the great ivory price rise seen in 2008 is continued demand for ivory from local and foreign consumers coupled with a restriction of supply. Seizures made in Viet Nam and elsewhere in recent years of African and Asian ivory suggest that most raw ivory supply is directed towards China. - Worked ivory prices were commensurately high. - The main buyers of ivory were visiting Chinese (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Thais, local Vietnamese, American-Vietnamese and Europeans, in that order. - The scale of the ivory market is smaller than in 1990, based on the number of craftsmen working ivory and the number of outlets selling ivory, but there are signs that demand is increasing. - African ivory was being illegally imported and used from the late 1990s to at least 2004. No evidence of African ivory being smuggled into Viet Nam was identified during the 2008 survey. The absence of African ivory imports is placing increased pressure on Asian elephants in Viet Nam and neighbouring countries to satisfy demand. - Fewer ivory items were seen in HCMC and Ha Noi shops in 2008 than in 2001, 2 182 compared to 3 039, but worked ivory is increasingly being sold directly to buyers through middlemen or on the Internet, bypassing retail outlets. - The average size and weight of worked ivory items is decreasing over time, with a higher proportion of <5 cm pieces seen in 2008 than in 2001. - Viet Nam has complied with recommendations in CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP14) to control the ivory industry by enacting legislation that prohibits all possession and dealing in raw and worked ivory. A major loophole in enforcing this legislation is that retail outlets are allowed to sell ivory in stock at the time of the prohibition (1992). This allows some shopowners to restock illegally with recently made worked ivory. - Viet Nam has also fulfilled its obligations to the CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme by setting up a monitoring site (Cat Tien National Park) and establishing the baseline data. - Viet Nam has unfortunately not implemented certain of the recommendations contained in CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP14). Its reporting record to ETIS has been extremely erratic and incomplete and it has not established a nationwide procedure, particularly in retail outlets, informing tourists and other non-nationals that ivory is illegal to purchase and it is illegal for them to export ivory and import it into their home countries. - Overall assessment - The scale of the Viet Nam ivory market remains modest on a global scale. Although there were 28% fewer worked pieces seen for sale in HCMC and Ha Noi in 2008 than in 2001, the great increase in prices of raw and worked ivory, the larger number of outlets selling ivory, and the observed upsurge in activity of craftsmen working ivory between 2001 and 2008 all strongly suggest that demand for ivory is rising, though a restriction of supply between 2001 and 2008 also contributed to the price rise. Less ivory on the shelves of outlets may in fact be the result of increased sales coupled with decreased availability of raw material to enable replacement. A contributing factor to fewer pieces seen in shops could be the fact that more buyers order items directly from craftsmen through middlemen, or commission items on the Internet, so the ivory never enters a retail outlet. Viet Nam has not complied with some important recommendations of CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP14) and there are weaknesses in national legislation that allow the continued trading in illegal ivory.

Details: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia: TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, 2008. 37p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2018 at: http://www.trafficj.org/publication/08_Assessment_illegal_ivory_trade_VietNam.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Elephants

Shelf Number: 114838


Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit: Report of UNODC Mission to Viet Nam

Summary: Wildlife and forest crime (WLFC) is a growing threat globally. Criminal networks benefit from illegal fishing, logging and poaching, and illicit trafficking in endangered species. WLFC often funds other crime types and is linked to corruption and money laundering. Organised crime groups exploit natural resources leading to a devastating impact on biodiversity, security, the livelihood of communities and economies. Viet Nam is a biodiverse country, home to some of the most iconic and endangered species of fauna and flora. Viet Nam has recognised WLFC as a serious and growing threat. There is commitment from the highest level of government to respond with coordinated and concerted effort. The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) developed the Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit (the Toolkit) to provide a framework to enable and support countries to undertake national analysis to better understand the current situation and main challenges in relation to wildlife and forest crime. The government of Viet Nam therefore requested ICCWC support for such an analysis to further their work in this area. The Government-led process was carried out with the participation of relevant stakeholder agencies in the country. In support of the Toolkit process in Viet Nam, representatives from UNODC, WCS and CITES undertook a fact finding mission from 26 January to 10 February, 2015 to various parts of the country; ranging from border crossings, national parks, sea and airports and markets, to the two major cities and many provinces. Consultations were held with representatives and officials from central, provincial and local government, donor countries and civil society groups, including NGO representatives, judges, prosecutors, customs officials, police, border guard officers, and forest and park rangers. An additional fact finding mission was made to the Lao Bao border gate in Quang Tri province in August 2015. As this report highlights, there needs to be timely and reliable information and actionable intelligence sharing, coupled with the necessary technical skills and advanced capabilities to identify, target and arrest criminals. There is room for improvement across all sections of the legal framework, and there are some serious deficiencies that are having a paralysing effect on successful prosecutions, particularly in relation to wildlife. Viet Nam must also look beyond seizures and administrative sanctions as a measure of success in combating WLFC. Seizures made in the absence of arrests, particularly of the organisers and financers of WLFC, have no impact on the trade, and there is a strong argument that seizures on their own merely perpetuate more WLFC. The findings and recommendations of the analysis described in this report reflect both strengths and weaknesses of Viet Nam's capacity and capabilities to tackle WLFC, and have been used to design a detailed programme for national capacity building and technical assistance delivery in Viet Nam.

Details: Bangkok: UNODC, 2015. 140p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2018 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/wildlife/Vietnam_Toolkit_Report_EN_-_final.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Forests

Shelf Number: 148893


Author: Thomas-Walters, Laura A.

Title: Mapping Motivation: Combatting consumption of illegal wildlife in Viet Nam

Summary: This report summarizes the results of research regarding the motivations of consumers of endangered wildlife in Viet Nam, with a focus on rhinos, elephants, and pangolins. The desk-based research that forms the basis of this report focused on previous consumer and other market studies with an aim of guiding the development and implementation of demand reduction and behaviour change initiatives. The synthesis of the findings lays the foundation for new Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) initiatives geared towards the reduction of demand for rhino horn, elephant ivory, and pangolin products in Viet Nam - initiatives that are designed from the perspective of a Vietnamese consumer. The findings do not aim to quantify the level of consumption of each commodity; rather, the aim is to use data to develop frameworks of product use. The results are represented in motivational cluster diagrams. In the literature concerning the consumption of wildlife products, a Western and/or conservation perspective is often taken - a perspective that does not always accurately articulate the motivational clusters in wildlife conservation in a Vietnamese, or an Asian, context. It is necessary to understand the perspectives and motivations of the consumers of rhino, elephant, and pangolin products, and to engage and influence this group of people in order to change their practices and reduce demand for these wildlife products.

Details: Ha Noi, Viet Nam: TRAFFIC, 2017. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 1, 2018 at: http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/157301/27818857/1517476002770/Understanding-motivations-summary-FINAL-web.pdf?token=eUw5Gp4NvKCy3x6JSnriozlVtIA%3D

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Endangered Species

Shelf Number: 148956


Author: Stoner, Sarah

Title: Black Business:Illegal Rhino Horn Trade Dynamics in NHI Khe, Viet Nam From a Criminal Perspective: A Case Study

Summary: It is not looking good for Rhinoceros. It is calculated that over 500,000 of these gentle giants roamed in the wild across Africa and Asia at the beginning of the 20th century; estimates done at the end of 2015 brought the figure down to only 30,000 individuals left. There are five species of rhinoceros (two African and three Asian): white rhino, greater one-horned rhino, black rhino, Javan rhino and Sumatran rhino. The latest three are critically endangered. Rhinos are poached for their horns. The demand for rhino horn products in Asia has increased over the past few years, resulting in a staggering and unsustainable impact upon poaching of the species, despite the ban imposed by CITES in 1977 on the international commercial trade of rhino horn. It is estimated that a rhino is killed for its horn every 8 hours. Investigators from the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) witness the illegal trade of 'raw' rhino horn and 'worked' products every day. During our undercover investigation in Nhi Khe (Vietnam) over a period of 12 months, our teams directly observed rhino horns and products estimated to equate to 579 rhinos, with an estimated street value of USD 42 million.

Details: s.l.: Wildlife Justice Commission, 2017. 23p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2018 at: https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Black-Business-FINALpdf.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Environmental Crime

Shelf Number: 149130


Author: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

Title: Serial Offender: Vietnam's continued imports of illegal Cambodian timber

Summary: In Repeat Offender, EIA detailed how Vietnam's Gai Lai Provincial Government, mandated by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade - a division of the Central Government in Hanoi - had in 2016 issued quotas for the import of 300,000m of logs from Cambodia in blatant disregard of Cambodia's log export ban. These quotas facilitated and incentivised large-scale illegal logging in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia's Ratanakiri Province at a time when the Cambodian Government was publicly demanding an end to all timber trade with Vietnam. EIA also exposed how the quotas themselves may have been incentivised with corrupt payments of $45 per m to Vietnamese officials, including, as alleged by traders, the Chairman of Gia Lai Province's People's Committee, customs and border army (military) personnel - potentially amounting to $13.5 million in corrupt payments on the 300,000m of quotas. Quotas in hand, Vietnamese companies and their Cambodian counterparts organised hundreds of loggers to enter protected areas in Cambodia and the forests swiftly filled with the noise of chainsaws. Having likely bought off Cambodian provincial government officials and members of the Cambodian Armed Forces, loggers enjoyed their protection as roads were closed to outsiders and timber convoys escorted by vehicles bearing Cambodian Armed Forces license plates. Hundreds of 'arevs' - basic trucks capable of carrying up to 20m of logs along jungle tracks - ferried illegally harvested logs to timber depots inside Vietnamese Border Army compounds located just inside Vietnam. These arevs avoided official border gates and Cambodian customs officials, crossing instead into areas controlled by the Vietnamese Border Army. At these depots, logs were measured, taxed, and 'legalised' into the Vietnamese economy by members of the Vietnamese customs and forest departments before being loaded onto large trucks and sent to factories and wood processing hubs in Gai Lai, Ho Chi Minh, Quy Nhon and beyond. Just three days after the publication of Repeat Offender, Vietnam initialled a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union, a trade agreement that includes the provision for Vietnam to pass and implement legislation to address its significant imports of illegally harvested or traded timber in return for timber exports to the EU being deemed to comply with the requirements of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). With the formal signing and ratification of this agreement expected in the second half of 2018, EIA returned to the region during the 2017-18 dry season to investigate whether the illegal trade in Cambodian timber - and Vietnam's role in it as a repeat offender - had ceased. This report details how investigators found that while the nature of the illicit trade had changed, there are still huge volumes of illegally logged and traded Cambodian timber flowing across the border to Vietnam, despite Vietnam's preparations for the VPA. Vietnamese importers declared imports of 178,000m of logs and sawn timber worth nearly $76 million between October 2017 and March 2018, a vast majority (if not all) of which is illegal. As detailed below, the actual volume of this trade may be significantly higher as there are reasons to believe not all imports are being registered with Vietnam Customs or being aggregated in its statistics.

Details: London: EIA, 2018. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 31, 2018 at: https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/eia-serial-offender-web.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Deforestation

Shelf Number: 150420


Author: Indenbaum, Rosa A.

Title: Viet Nam Online: A rapid assessment of e-commerce wildlife trade in Viet Nam 2017

Summary: The study, titled Viet Nam Online: A rapid assessment of e-commerce wildlife trade in Viet Nam in 2017, monitored 13 websites ending in .vn using keyword searches for products ranging from elephants, leopards, pangolins, rhinos, Saiga Antelopes, marine turtles, and tigers. Of the websites surveyed, 30% were found to have advertisements for the targeted wildlife species parts. A total of 14 such advertisements in all offered 1,072 selected wildlife products, 90% of them in just one advertisement over the period of March-October 2017. All but six of the advertised products were made from elephant ivory, with the remainder coming from tigers. This is in contrast to similar surveys previously conducted of Viet Nam's online wildlife trade that have included .com domain names, including social media websites, that discovered many more advertisements for wildlife products. They include a 2017 TRAFFIC survey that found 1,095 tiger products offered for sale in 187 advertisements from 85 unique sellers on four e-commerce websites and two social media websites over a period of 25 days. The majority of the advertisements (95%) were found on a single social media site. The same site also accounted for 89% of the individual items (excluding items measured by weight). Online trade in Viet Nam is regulated by Law No 51/2005/QH11 on Electronic Transactions and Decree 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce, which prohibits the online trade of certain goods, including wildlife where applicable. People who break this law may be punished with the same severity as those that sell illegal wildlife products in a physical marketplace. However, collecting evidence and prosecuting online crime can be very difficult. "Defeating online trade will require diligence, both from enforcement officers and website companies. This study indicates that, at the moment,.com sites, including social media, are where monitoring and enforcement efforts should be concentrated." The report recommends the Vietnamese government adapt and apply the existing framework to ensure effective law enforcement across online channels. Likewise, the government is encouraged to form a specialised team to focus on online monitoring of wildlife trade. The study also urges law enforcement personnel and members of the public to report online wildlife crime. This can be done using the Wildlife Witness mobile application, Viet Nam's Environmental Police Online Reporting Platform, or through Education for Nature-Vietnam's hotline (18001522).

Details: Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC, 2018. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 9, 2018 at: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/10509/viet-nam-online-ecommerce-assessment-en-vfinal-web.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Environmental Crime

Shelf Number: 151090


Author: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

Title: Repeat Offender: Vietnam's persistent trade in illegal timber

Summary: This month, Vietnam and the European Union (EU) will initial an agreement to ensure only legally harvested and traded timber flows through Vietnam to the EU and beyond. But as both parties meet to secure commitments, Government officials and security force personnel in Vietnam will continue to pocket millions of dollars in illicit cash payments from major timber smugglers in return for allowing hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of logs stolen in Cambodia's national parks to be laundered into Vietnam's timber economy. Between November 2016 and March 2017, EIA investigations uncovered illegal logging on unprecedented scales in Community Protected Areas (CPAs) in Virachey and Ou Ya Dev national parks and in Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary, in Cambodia's Ratanakiri province. All of the wood is being smuggled with impunity to Vietnam as logs - in violation of both Cambodia's log export ban and a total closure of the border with Vietnam to timber, instituted in early 2016 by a Coalition Committee for Forest Crime Prevention. Much of the smuggled wood was logged illegally in protected areas funded by the EU. The devastation of Ratanakiri's protected areas is not permitted by the Government of Cambodia - or, in many cases, by local indigenous people - but is enabled by corrupt Cambodian officials and security force personnel in the pay of Vietnamese timber traders. Rather than rejecting this illegal wood, Vietnamese state and security officials have issued and administered formal quotas to give it lawful status in Vietnam's economy. These quotas have incentivised and facilitated massive illegal logging in neighbouring Cambodia, precisely at a time when that country is publicly seeking to stop all timber trade with Vietnam. During undercover meetings in Vietnam in February 2017 with companies benefiting from those quotas, EIA investigators learned how Vietnamese traders pay millions of dollars in bribes to Cambodian officials to open up logging areas and smuggling routes in Cambodia. Traders also disclosed the need to pay bribes of as much as $45 per cubic metre to Vietnamese officials, including the Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, customs and border army personnel, in return for the provision and administration of quotas allowing them to import into Vietnam. With about 300,000m3 of logs having been smuggled out of Cambodia and legitimised in Vietnam under these quotas, such kickbacks are likely to have amounted to more than $13 million since the beginning of November 2016. Not only are Vietnamese officials corruptly profiting, but so too is the Vietnamese state, formally taxing the illegal traffic of logs and so effectively taking a cut of the illegal businesses it has sanctioned. The looting of Cambodia's forests is merely the latest phase in Vietnam's long and continuing history of wilful timber theft. Until 2015, Laos was Vietnam's biggest timber supplier and hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of logs flowed into Vietnam each year in violation of Laos' log export ban. That traffic only stopped in 2016 because Laos' new Prime Minister banned all raw timber exports, not due to any respect in Vietnam for Laos' laws or sovereignty. State involvement in multi-million dollar transnational organised timber crime cannot be accepted by the international community and must not be ignored by the EU.

Details: London: EIA, 2018. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2018 at: https://www.illegal-logging.info/sites/files/chlogging/Repeat-OffenderEIA.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Environmental Crime

Shelf Number: 151113


Author: Environemtnal Investigation Agency, Inc. (US)

Title: Exposing the Hydra: The Growing Role of Vietnamese Syndicates in Ivory Trafficking

Summary: Despite being the focus of numerous investigations and exposes regarding the countrys role in the international illegal wildlife trade, Vietnam continues to be a primary hub for ivory trafficking. Research and analysis by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reveals that since 2009, 56 tonnes of ivory have been seized in Vietnam and a further 20 tonnes linked to Vietnam seized in other countries. This is equivalent to ivory sourced from approximately 11,414 elephants. Failure to take any meaningful action against identified networks and individuals has led to the present situation where international Vietnamese syndicates are operating with impunity across Africa and into Vietnam and its neighbouring countries. Illegal ivory, rhino horn and pangolins are entering Vietnam at alarming rates, accelerating further declines in already-besieged populations of elephants, rhinos and pangolins. Over the course of two years, EIA conducted an investigation into the modus operandi of some of these criminal networks. What emerged was an international landscape plagued by a significant number of organised Vietnamese syndicates. We have highlighted only a handful of individuals here, but there are many more involved and too many to include in this report. Key findings are that there are a number of major criminal syndicates operating in Mozambique and other African countries trafficking wildlife into and through Vietnam. They are loosely structured with distinct and hierarchical roles, but with flexibility within the groups to co-operate or switch affiliation. Unlike the Chinese criminal groups EIA has previously investigated, the Vietnamese are prepared to be more 'hands-on.' Sophisticated methods of concealment have been developed and deployed and specialist transporters are used to move the goods along multiple routes. Corruption is a feature all along the trade chain and most syndicates deal in a variety of contraband wildlife, often shipping mixed cargo. EIA estimates that since 2015 the ivory traffickers identified during the course of this investigation have been linked to seizures totaling 6.3 tonnes of ivory and 299kg of rhino horn, including the recent record seizure of 50 rhino horns in Malaysia in August 2018. Detailed conversations between EIA investigators and syndicate members identified in this report also reveal that between January 2016 and November 2017 there were at least 22 successful shipments of ivory from Africa, with an estimated weight of 19 tonnes and potential revenue of $14 million. Vietnam has also made repeated promises, including under the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), to tackle ivory and rhino horn trafficking - promises that remain unfulfilled. This is not a lost cause and there are examples of where things have been turned around. Improved enforcement efforts in Tanzania since 2015, for example, have led to a significant improvement, with syndicate members cautioning against working in Tanzania. The illegal traders EIA encountered also raised concerns about working in China because of enforcement efforts there. The activities detailed in this report are serious criminal offences under the laws of Mozambique, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and some of the key countries featured. Actionable information from this investigation has been shared with the relevant enforcement authorities.

Details: London, 2018. 13p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2018 at: https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/EIA-report-exposing-the-hydra.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Elephant Poaching

Shelf Number: 151605


Author: Nguyen, Minh D.T.

Title: From Tusk to Trinket: Persistent illegal ivory markets in Viet Nam

Summary: The physical market availability of ivory has been well documented in Viet Nam, but online market availability less so. Recently, there has been evidence of the emerging use of online channels to sell illegal wildlife products, particularly ivory. However, Viet Nam's ability to enforce a ban on ivory sale, whether physical or online, is hampered in its effectiveness by an unclear regulatory framework. This report provides an update on the ivory market in Viet Nam (including prices, volumes, and locations), explores changes in market availability in physical locations at two different points in time, and further investigates online trade in ivory and its relation to the physical market. A total of three surveys were conducted (two physical market surveys and one online survey) between November 2016 and June 2017. Ivory was found for sale at all 13 of the physical locations surveyed: Ban Don, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Nang, Ha Long, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Hue, Mong Cai, Nhi Khe, Lak, Nha Trang, and Vinh. Ivory was also found on all three kinds of online platforms surveyed: social media websites, e-commerce websites, and online forums. In total, 852 physical outlets and 17 online platforms were surveyed, and a minimum of 10,549 ivory items and a maximum of 13,460 ivory items were observed for sale (6,186-9,097 in physical outlets and 4,363 items from online sellers). These findings demonstrate that both physical and online ivory markets persist throughout Viet Nam, likely due to demand from both domestic and international consumers. Physical outlets in Ho Chi Minh City and Buon Ma Thuot had the highest number of items for sale. However, two villages (Ban Don and Lak) represented a disproportionately high number of items when compared to the number of outlets selling ivory. Amongst the online platforms, social media websites had the highest number of ivory posts and items for sale. Clear links between physical markets and online outlets were found in this survey. In eight instances online sellers were either linked to physical stores or physical stores were also selling their items online. Eight different types of ivory items were observed, but ivory jewellery items accounted for over 90% of all the items found online and in physical outlets. Prices for ivory products varied widely, from USD7 to USD2,637, but only 154 items were priced over USD200. Although sellers consistently reported Viet Nam as the origin of the ivory for sale, the population of wild elephants in Viet Nam is estimated at fewer than 100 individuals. Thus, it is highly likely the ivory originates from elsewhere, noting that most of the ivory seized in Viet Nam in the last few years has arrived from range countries of the African Elephant Loxodonta africana. The involvement of China and Chinese nationals in the Vietnamese ivory trade remains particularly noteworthy. Ivory market availability linked to tourism was observed in the following locations: Ha Long, Mong Cai, Ban Don, and Lak. The price of some ivory items was quoted in foreign currencies, such as Chinese Yuan and United States Dollars. Chinese nationals were reported as buyers by multiple sellers, and sellers in the physical outlets offered to send items directly to China. As in previous surveys, sellers know that selling ivory is illegal, but this knowledge does not deter them from offering it openly for sale in Viet Nam. The poor regulatory framework, such as the legal grey area stemming from Decree 18/1992/HDBT and the 2 kg minimum threshold required to trigger the amended Penal Code 100/2015/QH13, hampers the ability of Vietnamese law enforcement agencies to regulate the open sale of ivory in physical and online markets effectively. The following recommendations stem from the findings and analysis of the research.

Details: Ha Noi, Viet Nam: TRAFFIC, 2018. 61p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2019 at: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11494/traps-tusk-to-trinket.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Animal Poaching

Shelf Number: 154540


Author: GlobeScan

Title: Research Study on Consumer Demand for Elephant, Rhino and Pangolin Parts and Products in Vietnam

Summary: Research Study on Consumer Demand for Rhino, Elephant, and Pangolin Products in Vietnam is a comprehensive large-scale, multi-species consumer research study, with key findings on attitudes, values, motivations, and behaviours of buyers, users, and intending consumers of the three species in Viet Nam. According to the research, 13% of respondents reported purchasing elephant products in the past year, while 6% reported buying rhino products, and another 6% reported purchasing pangolin products. Buyers of all three species' products were found to have greater incomes on average than the general public and were more likely to travel outside of Viet Nam, often on business. They tended to buy the illegal products more often through private individuals than all other kinds of vendors. The main reason for purchasing was reported as gift giving. Among previous buyers, the intent to re-purchase was high. The average age of rhino horn buyers was found to be 35-38 years old, slightly younger than previous TRAFFIC research on the subject. Pangolin buyers are the same age on average, however, rhino horn buyers were found to be mostly male (63%), while the split was far more even among pangolin buyers (51% female). Elephant ivory buyers more closely followed the age demographics of the cities being surveyed but had significantly higher-than-average incomes. Some geographical variation was apparent among buyers. Among purchases made within the past year, compared with the average, more respondents from Can Tho reported buying rhino horn (9%), more Ho Chi Minh City residents reported buying elephant products (17%), and Da Nang had higher-than-average results for pangolin buyers (9%). The research employed was both qualitative, in the form of focus group discussions, and quantitative, via mobile phone interviews with 1,400 respondents in five key cities in Viet Nam (Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Can Tho). The research findings show the purchase incidence of parts and/or products for species surveyed, purchase channels and intentions, analysis of product forms, consumers' attitudes and knowledge on the products purchased. The report builds upon previous data collected on illegal wildlife consumers and identifies gaps in current messaging on consumption reduction, as well as the potential target audiences and their habits for the creation of better persuasive behaviour change interventions. The data collected are being used to design and implement social behaviour change communications interventions and to monitor their effectiveness. The study was supported by USAID through the USS project. USS is USAID/Vietnam's flagship implementation vehicle for combating wildlife trafficking and is implemented by Tetra Tech in partnership with the Viet Nam CITES Management Authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. TRAFFIC and the Wildlife Conservation Society are also project partners. USS is working to reduce consumer demand for and consumption of illegal wildlife and wildlife products, strengthen wildlife law enforcement and prosecution and improve and harmonise the legal framework for wildlife crime.

Details: USAID Vietnam, 2018. 149p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2019 at: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11703/ussv-quant-report-saving-elephants-pangolins-and-rhinos-20181105.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Consumer Attitudes

Shelf Number: 154541


Author: Saunders, Jade

Title: Trade in Illegal Timber: The Response in Vietnam

Summary: This paper is part of a broader Chatham House study which assesses illegal logging and the associated trade. The Vietnamese government has made some progress towards tackling illegal logging and the associated trade. It has negotiated a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) with the EU, a process that has prompted a review of relevant legislation and improved the governments engagement with civil society. In addition, it has signed agreements with Lao PDR and Cambodia in which it has committed to coordination on forest management and trade. However, there has been little progress in policy reform, and there is still no legislation regulating illegal timber imports. There is a high level of awareness of illegal logging and associated trade within the private sector: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody (CoC) certification has increased rapidly, particularly in the furniture sector. But efforts are hampered by poor access to third-party verified raw material. Both trade data discrepancies and analysis of trade flows indicate that illegal trade remains a serious problem. The volume of imports of wood-based products at a high risk of illegality is estimated to have increased since 2000, while its share in the volume of total imports of wood-based products gradually declined until 2009 and then increased slightly: they are estimated to have comprised 18 per cent of the total by volume in 2013. In order to build on its response to illegal logging and related trade, the government should establish a legal responsibility for Vietnamese importers to ensure that their timber sources are legal. Furthermore, to increase domestic demand for legal products, it should establish a public procurement policy requiring the use of verified legal products. Within the framework of the VPA, broad and effective multi-stakeholder engagement will be vital to ensure that a robust timber legality assurance system is developed. In addition, proactive partnerships should be forged with high-risk supply countries to establish legality criteria and indicators that reflect the full scope of the relevant legislation in those countries.

Details: London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House, 2014. 27p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 16, 2019 at: https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/research/20141210IllegalTimberVietnamSaunders.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Vietnam

Keywords: Environmental Crimes

Shelf Number: 156860