The ABS project has been widely promoted throughout Guangxi, with about 50 promotional activities, 20 training sessions and related meetings, and more than 10,000 participants online and offline, to help with Guangxi ABS legislation and benefit-sharing.

The project team investigated, collected, and summarized the protection, development, utilization, and benefit-sharing of 30 exemplar genetic resources in Guangxi, carried out case investigations and research on the development and utilization of traditional knowledge related to genetic resources of five ethnic minorities in Guangxi Zhuang, including Zhuang, Yao, Maonan, Mulao and Jing ethnic groups.

Guangxi establishes a cross-sectoral coordination and cooperation mechanism and a stakeholder coordination mechanism.  A management mechanism for access and benefit sharing of biogenetic resources is established under the comprehensive governance of the department in charge of ecology and environment and the supervision of the departments related to development and reform, agriculture and rural areas, forestry, etc. The project management is carried out at the provincial, municipal, and county levels so joint efforts can be made in ensuring the access and benefit-sharing of biological heritage resources.

WAB-Net brings together stakeholders from diverse sectors and backgrounds to participate in uniquely detailed and thorough capacity-building and hands-on trainings. Field teams consisting of ecologists, government officials representing health and environmental ministries, and students and academic faculty are trained to carry out research while keeping themselves and the bats safe. A bat ecologist will spend several weeks each year in the field teaching the team how to capture, handle, sample, and release bats with biosafety considerations woven throughout each step.

Throughout the first months of 2020, there was an overwhelming amount of confusion and stress surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. In the face of this drastically changing reality, the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group was able to come together quickly and efficiently to identify researchers’ needs, gather relevant information, and create an essential set of guidelines. A rapid mobilization of the global network of great ape specialists was able to translate the publication into multiple languages, disseminating this crucial tool to people working in the field across multiple regions.

There was existing guidance on how to observe and interact with great apes while protecting both their health and that of humans. While previous guidelines addressed other respiratory diseases, there were no COVID-19 specific protocols as research and information were only just beginning to become available. The working group gathered intelligence from a wide array of sources, ensuring they were capturing the most up to date and relevant details, and synthesized it into a cohesive, clear document.

Our work involves self-motivation and self-financing. TEG team determination to support the conservation of biodiversity and empowerment of youth living adjacent to nature reserves includes organizing online exhibitions and online behaviour change campaigns. With or without external support, TEG staff have volunteerly engaged with donors, government officials, and communities in designing the program, fundraising, and implementing it.

A nation-wide survey was carried out to reach different groups of the general public. The survey served two functions, 1. to gather information and 2. to engage people to understand what the exercise was about and to raise awareness on seagrass. Survey could be accessed on line via the website but was promoted on the radio, print media and social media.

Until recently there was minimal agricultural precedent or appreciation for farmed reptiles, and most people strongly preferred wild-caught alternatives. Vietnam has since celebrated the success of the reptile farming industry, and the general public are now well informed about the industry and the end products. Farmed reptile products are available in most wet markets and on the menu of many mainstream restaurants. A remaining challenge is that there has been no attempt to regulate or inform customers of what farmers feed to their reptiles. Wild-sourced animals (e.g., rodents captured in rice fields), commerical feeds (e.g., fish pellets), and waste protein from agri-food chains (e.g., still born pigs and male chicks from hatcheries) are the most common feed types. The risks associated with these feed inputs need further research and evaluation. The risk of wild laundering of reptiles also remians, but the scale and likelihood have been significantly reduced through more lucrative production models (e.g., selective line breeding to improve production genetics) and improved law enforcement.  

Legitimate closed-cycle reptile farming is a relatively new phenomenon. Many Vietnamese reptile farmers were subsistence farmers who shifted over to reptile farming by modifying traditional poultry- and pig-type systems. The trade in wild caught reptiles was rife up until the early 2000s, and laundering through so-called ‘reptile farms’ was commonplace. However, as technological knowhow advanced, legal and policy frameworks were established by the Vietnamese government to permit the establishment of legitimate reptile farms. Many of these farms remain small-scale and operate within the informal sector, but governance mechanisms and appropriate institutional capacity have been able to establish successful structural and functional outcomes in terms of legality, animal welfare, transparency, and environmental sustainability. Reptile farming in Vietnam is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Farms must be registered to and supervised by Provincial Forest Protection Departments (PFPD). PFPDs inspect facilities on a regular basis. Permits and certificates are issued to verify responsible sourcing practices (e.g., captive bred) in compliance with the law.