Anti-poaching (AP) teams are hired and funded under Save Vietnam's Wildlife, and approved by protected area managers where they sign a joint contract between the two. They undergo approximately one month of training in Vietnamese forestry law, species identification, self-defense, field training, first aid, and using SMART. 

AP patrols stay with forest rangers for 15-20 days of patrolling at various ranger stations each month, and an assigned Data Manager typically processes, cleans, analyzes and reports SMART data for all patrols to the park director and SVW coordinators. At the beginning of each month, a SMART report is generated by the data manager; based on the intelligence from this report, a patrol plan will be discussed with the ranger and anti-poaching members, and then submitted to the protected area director for approval; mobile units are on standby and led by forest rangers to rapidly respond to any emergencies, locations outside of planned patrol areas, or situations accessible by road.

Rangers were trained to use SMART mobile through vertical knowledge transfer in the field, and by the end of 2020, 100% of the forest rangers (73 people) were all effectively using SMART, increasing patrol data coverage across the entire protected area (Figure 1).

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife aims to ensure that our rescue centre serves as a role model for other centres within Vietnam in wildlife rescue management and welfare standards. We lead the way for other organisations across Vietnam and overseas in pangolin rehabilitation by demonstrating the highest animal care standards and providing other facilities with technical advice and training. We have used the development of SVW and our improved outreach capabilities to directly work with other rescue centres in Vietnam. SVW has provided expertise, staff training, and logistical and financial support to help improve animal welfare standards and the capacity of the keepers in several government rescue centres in Vietnam. We have also employed dedicated animal keepers and veterinary staff and improved animal husbandry practices and quarantine procedures.

We co-established a rescue and breeding centre with Cuc Phuong National Park called the “Carnivore & Pangolin Conservation Program” inside the Cuc Phuong NP. The main purpose of the centre is to cooperate with authorities to successfully rescue wildlife confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade and release them back to the wild. The animals then go through a 30-day quarantine. If they meet health standards, they are then released into safe protected areas, while animals who did not have the ability to survive in the wild, would be kept in the education centre to inspire visitors to contribute to the species conservation.

Behavioural change is one of our main building blocks to benefit wildlife conservation. This project component aims to change the behaviour of wildlife consumers by identifying key behaviours and using them to reduce demand for wildlife products. Findings of background research on awareness and attitudes of government officials and citizens around Pu Mat National Park towards wild meat consumption and sales were used to develop appropriate behaviour change interventions, drawing attention to the impact of wild meat consumption on health and the negative social perceptions of consuming wild meat. Following implementation of our work, the impact of our messages on avoidance behaviour and attitudes toward wild meat consumption was measured.

Working with local communities in the buffer zones of Pu Mat National Park is one of SVW’s main focuses, in order to raise awareness, reduce their impacts on forest resources, and inspire them to protect wildlife. We utilise diverse approaches to implement different programs, from holding community engagement workshops and training, placing large billboards around the buffer zones and using self-sustained education outreach tools to encourage local people to take informed actions to protect wildlife.

Raising awareness and educating the community, especially children in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park is one of SVW's long-term strategies that aims at forming a future generation with positive attitudes and behaviours towards wildlife while reducing unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. Our program "Join me to protect Pu Mat forests'” is aligned with the environmental education curriculum at schools carried out by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, as well as general policies of the government in the field of nature conservation and wildlife management. More than 4,500 primary and secondary students in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park were engaged in this program, gaining more knowledge, and proudly contributing to the protection of Pu Mat National Park when possible. Visual posters, handbooks, and other materials were distributed to schools to continue spreading the word of conservation.

From the conception of the PREDICT project through to today’s day-to-day laboratory management, partners working effectively across sectors has been an essential building block. The PREDICT project brought conservation and health nonprofits and Malaysian federal and local government departments together to collaborate on zoonotic disease surveillance. Over the last 10 years the WHGFL has been able to expand into new surveillance, genetic, and forensic research as capacity is built through open and productive collaboration. The Sabah Wildlife Department has scaled up their involvement increasing their funding for the WHGFL each year and leading the management committee. The management committee ensures the multiple projects utilizing the small laboratory are coordinated and organized, especially as new projects come on board and the scope of work expands.

When the PREDICT project began working in Sabah there was no laboratory dedicated to wildlife sample testing that met the necessary standards for biosafety. The financial and logistical hurdles of building the necessary infrastructure from the ground up were too high for this project, making a brand-new lab not an option. Instead, SWD and CM identified an existing empty building belonging to SWD in Sabah and renovated it to meet international laboratory standards, as detailed in the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories Guidelines (6th Ed.) for Biosafety Containment Level 2 requirements, to establish the WHGFL. These upgrades saved the project time and money, allowing samples to safely remain in Sabah for virus screening and creating a state-of-the-art lab for SWD and DGFC to pursue genetic and forensic research.

With the forest left undisturbed, forest-dependent communities have few options for their livelihood sustenance. Therefore, the LEMSACHENLOK Society started to introduce alternative livelihood measures for the economically downtrodden. Income generation activities such as piggery promotion, ginger plantation, packaging and sale of certain products are initiated on our own small scale.

For many years, the Biodiversity Conservation initiative created a favourable environment and healthy ecosystem in the area. As a result, the migrating Amur falcons saw the area as a haven for roosting. The communities continue to provide a suitable environment for these visiting raptors. With many tourists visiting to see the Amur falcon roosting, the community constructed an innovative wildlife Watch Tower in strategic locations to provide a beautiful view of the roosting falcons.