Posted on 23 June 2025

Illegal ivory trade is the main cause of the severe decline in the African elephant population, pushing this species to the brink of extinction. The African elephant population is estimated to have declined from 1,300,000 in 1979 to around 415,000 in 2016 (1). Vietnam is known as a “transit hub” for ivory from Africa to major consumer markets such as China, Cambodia and Laos (2). 

According to data from the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) from 2009 to 2019, authorities seized more than 70 tons of ivory illegally transported into Viet Nam, mainly by sea. Although Viet Nam has joined the CITES Convention and has strict punishments for ivory-related crimes, enforcement remains limited. In addition, many international tourists to Viet Nam, especially Chinese tourists, have incorrect knowledge about the legality of ivory in Viet Nam and are even encouraged to purchase ivory products by local tour guides (3). Dismantling the ivory supply chain in Viet Nam requires a comprehensive, transnational, and multi-sectoral approach with the coordination of law enforcement agencies and the tourism industry both domestically and internationally. 

WWF-Viet Nam had coordinated the implementation of the "Reducing the demand for ivory" project in Viet Nam with the CITES Management Authority of Viet Nam, with funding from the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) through WWF-Germany since 2023. The project aimed to reduce poaching pressure on elephants by reducing the supply and demand for ivory in Asian markets. To achieve this goal, the project activities focused on the following 3 components: 
(1) Improving law enforcement capacity on preventing and combating wildlife trafficking in general and ivory in particular for the Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (Forest Protection, Police, Border Guards, Customs, Market Surveillance); 
(2) Improving legal knowledge on preventing and combating wildlife trafficking in general and ivory in particular for tour guides, travel agencies and tourists; 
(3) Research activities and workshops to share experiences with relevant parties to improve the effectiveness of wildlife management in general and ivory in particular. 

After nearly 03 years of implementation, the project has been completed and a final assessment was conducted to summarize the achieved results and shortcomings, including the organization and coordination between stakeholders during the project implementation, the strengths and weaknesses of the project. From there, the report summarizes the lessons learned and proposes initiatives/solutions for future programs or projects. 

Sources: 
(1): C.R. Thouless, H.T. Dublin, J.J. Blanc, D.P. Skinner, T.E. Daniel, R.D. Taylor, F. Maisels, H. L. Frederick and P. Bouché (2016). African Elephant Status Report 2016: an update from the African Elephant Database. Occasional Paper Series of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, No. 60 IUCN / SSC Africa Elephant Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 
(2): Nguyen, M. D. T., Indenbaum, R. A., & Willemsen, M. (2018). From Tusk to Trinket: Persistent illegal ivory markets in Viet Nam. TRAFFIC, Ha Noi, Viet Nam 
(3): GlobeScan. (2020). Beyond the Ivory Ban - Research on Chinese Travelers While in Vietnam.