HANOI, July 22, 2015 – Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) and its supporting partners, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Freeland, awarded the winners of the Action for Wildlife National Artwork Competition today for their art featuring endangered species such as rhinos, tigers and pangolins. A panel of judges included representatives from the Department of Nature Conservation (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the U.S Embassy in Hanoi, Freeland, Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts and ENV chose 14 winners out of the 155,000 entries.

"The huge number of entries is a demonstration of public support, inspiring all members of society to take action to save Vietnam’s wildlife," said environment unit chief at the U.S. Embassy, Douglas O’Neill. "The war against the illegal wildlife trade cannot be won without the strong support and active involvement of the public. The U.S. Government is taking far-reaching measures to combat the global wildlife trade in partnership with the Vietnamese government and NGOs."

Vietnam’s biodiversity is under serious threat from the illegal hunting and trade of wildlife, driven by consumer demand for wildlife products. The country’s last Javan rhino was killed for its horn in 2010, and with the current rate of hunting and trade, tigers are likely to be the next victims to vanish. According to conservationists, there may be as few as 30 tigers left in the wild in Vietnam.

ENV launched the “Action for Wildlife” competition in November. Participants focused on encouraging the public not to consume wildlife, including rhino horn and tiger products, and to take action to stop the illegal wildlife trade. In the space of three months, ENV received more than 155,000 entries from 58 provinces and 1,983 schools and art clubs across the country.

"The screening and selection process was very challenging but rewarding," said Ninh Phuong Thao, head of ENV’s Demand Reduction Campaign. "Although only 14 entries won prizes, ENV will use many of the other outstanding pieces of artwork at public events and in printed and viral communications during the coming months and years, urging the public not to consume endangered wildlife."

The Vietnamese public has taken an increasingly active role in stopping the illegal wildlife trade. Since 2005, ENV has documented nearly 8,500 cases of wildlife crime, many of these cases were reported by the public through the ENV Wildlife Crime hotline.

The art competition was part of the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking Program, an alliance of non-governmental organizations and other agencies, including ENV and Freeland, working together across Southeast Asia and China to stop wildlife trafficking.                                                                                                            

View the gallery at: http://www.envietnam.org/index.php/news-resources/action-for-wildlife-art-competition