VN, South Africa ink biodiversity action plan

Viet Nam hopes to work with South Africa to preserve rhinos - Illustration photo

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan and South African Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Rejoice Mabudafhasi signed the document on May 6 in Pretoria , South Africa.

The plan prioritises improving management capacity, biodiversity protection and conservation, and law enforcement in the field in line with each country’s law and international conventions, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The plan will take effect immediately until 2017.

Under the terms of the plan, both sides will promote information exchanges, set up a gene bank, and step up communication campaigns to raise the public’s awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation.

Viet Nam, said Deputy MARD Minister Tuan wants to reinforce comprehensive cooperation with South Africa, particular in biodiversity conservation to prevent the poaching of endangered animals, especially rhinos./.

By Kim Loan