An assessment of the marine turtle products trade in Viet Nam

Shortly after the 2002 conclusion of the TRAFFIC surveys the Viet Nam Government prohibited the use and exploitation of wild marine turtles with Government Decree 48/2002/ND-CP. In 2003 the government undertook an awareness campaign to educate relevant government agencies and souvenir business owners/managers that the sale of marine turtle products was illegal.The Vietnamese Government, with assistance from IUCN, WWF, TRAFFIC and the Danish Government, formulated in 2004 a Marine Turtle Conservation Action Plan to 2010 in Viet Nam (MTCAP) (MoFI, 2004). To address the marine turtle commercial exploitation issue, the MTCAP called for the enforcement of the prohibition on the use of marine turtles and their products under Government Decree 48/2002/NDCP. This study assesses how well the conservation action plan was implemented. In addition, it determines the current status of marine turtle product trade in Viet Nam and assesses trends that have occurred since the 2002TRAFFIC study was made (TRAFFIC, 2004; van Dijk and Shepherd, 2004). The only two species that are involved in regular trade are the Hawksbill and the Green Turtle.