กรุงเทพฯ--23 มิ.ย.--LEEO-WEN
More than 70 law enforcement officers from different ministries and central agencies in Vietnam and staff from protected areas and national parks, took part in a training workshop for WildScan, a mobile phone application to support ongoing efforts to stop the trade of illegal wildlife.
WildScan is a comprehensive species identification and response mobile application designed to combat wildlife trafficking. The application provides an effective tool for front-line enforcement agencies, wildlife conservation officers, and the general public to correctly identify, report and handle marine, freshwater and terrestrial animals caught in the illegal wildlife trade. After a pilot phase to test the application in Vietnam, the application has been upgraded to include nearly 40 additional species under Vietnam's list of endangered, rare and precious animals prioritized for protection, based on feedback and suggestions from relevant agencies. WildScan is a product of the Regional Wildlife Enforcement Network through which law enforcement officials share information and work together to combat transnational wildlife crime, said Vatanarak Suranartyuth, Director of LEEO-WEN.
The WildScan application training workshop was organized by the Biodiversity Conservation Agency (BCA) under the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). The development of WildScan and the workshop was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), LEEO and Freeland as part of the Asia's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) program.
"Applying new technology to combat illegal wildlife trade is a practical and effective method to protect wildlife" Dr. Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, BCA Deputy Director General said. "Through this training workshop, we hope the WildScan application will be used widely and become a useful tool to link law enforcement agencies and the whole society in biodiversity conservation, and to combat wildlife extinction".