Through travel, we can experience and marvel at the rich and diverse cultures, environments and species that share our world. We come to appreciate that this is the only world we have, and everything is interconnected.
What we do (or don’t do) in one place, can have impacts on the other side of the world, in all sorts of ways.
It is a sobering thought that the simple act of shopping somewhere, can be causing horrendous slaughters somewhere else.
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From this. .
. It is a sobering thought that the simple act of shopping somewhere, can be causing horrendous slaughters somewhere else.
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To this. . .
September 22 is World Rhino Day
In Vietnam, the Javan
rhino now survives only on a postage stamp. . .
Sadly, Vietnam no longer has any rhinos. The last one was illegally killed for its horn. Only very rich people can afford rhino horn. They may believe the myth of medicinal benefits, or that it gives them social status. Actually, it’s just keratin, like finger nails.
Vietnam and China are two of the main markets for rhino horn, and this consumer demand means that in Africa the killing of rhinos goes on, with thousands of these magnificent animals being poached towards extinction.
ENV (Education for Nature-Vietnam) and TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring group) are successfully conducting a “rhino horn demand reduction campaign”
in Vietnam, because when the buying stops the killing can too.
This campaign features Vietnamese cultural concepts of “Chí” (“Strength of Will”) and “Vượng từ Chí, Lụi vì sừng” (“Gain prosperity through inner strength – Invite hardship using rhino horn”) to change habits and false perceptions. Success, masculinity and good fortune come from inner strength of character, not externally from rhino horn.
This campaign features Vietnamese cultural concepts of “Chí” (“Strength of Will”) and “Vượng từ Chí, Lụi vì sừng” (“Gain prosperity through inner strength – Invite hardship using rhino horn”) to change habits and false perceptions. Success, masculinity and good fortune come from inner strength of character, not externally from rhino horn.
Wealthy
business people and high profile local celebrities are being encouraged to genuinely
enhance their status by becoming leaders in corporate social responsibility and
wildlife protection. The
message has so far reached millions in the Vietnamese community. The good
news is that it is now showing measurable success, with rhino horn consumption
rates in Vietnam falling.
The
behaviour change impact of the campaign was evaluated at the end of 2015 and
shows promising results: 15% of
the target audience consumed rhino horn in the last 6 months, but 73% last
consumed rhino horn over 12 months ago. 18% more rhino horn users (from 46% in
2014, to 68% in December) now recommend their friends not to consume rhino
horn. This is positive, although more work still needs to be done.
Unfortunately,
the news out of Africa is not so positive.
Although it is encouraging to see South Africa’s poaching levels fall slightly, poaching losses are still extremely high. 1,175 rhinos were poached in South Africa during 2015, a slight decrease on the previous year when a record 1,215 rhinos were illegally killed.
Worryingly,
the crisis has spread to neighbouring countries in southern Africa, with
Namibia and Zimbabwe experiencing an exponential increase in poaching. During
2015, Namibia lost 80 rhinos to poaching, up from 25 in 2014 and just two in
2012. In Zimbabwe, it is reported that at least 50 rhinos were poached last
year, more than double the previous year.
For
Africa as a whole, the total number of rhinos poached during 2015 was the
highest in two decades. Obviously, much more work needs to be done to
raise awareness and compassion, and to enforce the laws against wildlife crime.
Bruce McPhie
September 17, 2016
Learn more:
Bring an End to the Killing of Rhinos
Education for Nature-Vietnam's campaign to bring an end to the killing
of rhinos:
TRAFFIC’s Chi Phase II: “Vượng từ Chí, Lụi vì sừng”
Save the Rhino - Poaching
statistics
Watch the short video
with Hong Nhung (1:17)
Wildlife Consumer Behaviour Change Toolkit
From
practical experience, TRAFFIC knows that this approach is working to change the
consumption behaviour of wildlife consumers. To extend their expertise to other
species, TRAFFIC has developed the Wildlife Consumer Behaviour Change Toolkit,
a knowledge bank where tools/information can be found for behaviour change to
reduce consumption of endangered wildlife: http://www.changewildlifeconsumers.org/
TRAFFIC Wildlife Witness
TRAFFIC
has partnered with Taronga Zoo, Singapore to create the first global community
action smart phone app in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. This
app allows tourists and locals to easily report wildlife trade by taking a
photo, pinning the exact location of an incident and sending these important
details to TRAFFIC. 
If you observe wildlife or products made from wildlife in
restaurants, markets, hotels, or elsewhere in Vietnam, let us know immediately.
Call our toll-free hotline number -
1800 1522
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If you are in Hanoi on
September 23 and 24,
you are welcome to attend the
World Rhino Day events:
you are welcome to attend the
World Rhino Day events:
September 23
& 24, 9:00am -
5:00pm:
Contemporary
art exhibition, “Art & Your Social Status”.
September 23, 7:00pm - 9:00pm:
Award-winning
rhino movies. Discussion with curator, director and film crew.
3rd Floor, Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Center, 50 Dao
Duy Tu.
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