Vietnam became an official member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1994. Since then, the Convention’s provisions have been step by step incorporated into the country’s legal framework. This article assesses the compatibility between CITES provisions and two important laws concerning wildlife conservation and protection, the 2015 Penal Code and the 2017 Law on Forestry, and puts forth some recommendations for further improvement.

The increase in human population and illegal wildlife hunting has led to a high risk of biodiversity loss and put many of the animals on the brink of extinction. Being fully aware of the seriousness of the situation, the Vietnamese Government has focused on improving the legal framework on wildlife conservation and protection. This article briefly introduces legal documents related to wildlife conservation and protection, analyzes shortcomings and limitations and puts forth some recommendations for improvement.

Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters is an effective channel to handle criminal cases involving overseas investigation and collection of documents and evidence. However, the result of mutual legal assistance on wildlife-related crimes remains below expectations mostly because of belated response to mutual legal assistance request. This article reviews the current situation of mutual legal assistance in handling wildlife-related criminal cases and puts forth some recommendations to improve the effectiveness of this work.

The 2015 Penal Code prescribes heavy fines for corporate legal persons’ crimes violating regulations on management and protection of endangered, precious and rare wild animals, ranging from VND 300 million to VND 15 billion. This shows that Vietnam is always aware of the nature and danger of these crimes to the ecological environment.

On July 23, 2020, the Prime Minister issued Directive 29 on urgent solutions to manage wildlife. This has been largely reported in the global media as a widespread ban on wildlife trade in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared to the 1999 version, the 2015 Penal Code’s provisions on protection of wildlife have been significantly revised toward expanding the scope of application of the monetary penalty, increasing penalties and adding some aggravating circumstances. This article analyzes these regulations and proposes a number of recommendations for more effective protection of endangered, precious, and rare wildlife.

The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is killing thousands of people globally and causing major impacts to livelihoods, society, and economies across the world. COVID-19 is understood to have originated in wildlife, most probably in a market selling live wildlife in China[1]. The conditions that lead to the emergence and transmission of these zoonotic pathogens to humans are also prevalent in Vietnam. It’s time to change the current approach to regulating the trading and use of live wildlife for the wellbeing and survival of all on this planet.

The Prime Minister has recently issued a directive on urgent measures to prevent and combat infringements of wildlife protection.