Mekong - U.S. Partnership
In preparation for World Rhino Day, members of the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) coalition created a short film calling on the public to stop purchasing rhino horn and to support wildlife protection efforts. Rhino poaching has reached a crisis point. They are now extinct in Vietnam and are being poached faster than they can reproduce in remaining populations, especially in South Africa. Educate for Nature Vietnam (ENV) organized an interactive wildlife trade exhibition in Hanoi on September 28, which featured the USAID ARREST World Rhino Day short film.
EVN also used its own public service announcements and footage from a recent delegation in South Africa that gathered ENV conservationists and Vietnamese celebrities to raise awareness of how consumption of rhino horn in Vietnam impacts wild rhino populations. The increased use of innovative media both at public events and online continues to improve public awareness levels and engagement in key wildlife trafficking issues.
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
