The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)-listed species are particularly vulnerable to illegal trade. Vietnam’s CITES permitting system for compliant trade in wildlife is still manual and paper-based, which complicates Vietnam Customs’ ability to control imports, exports, and customs clearance and ultimately slows permit verification, facilitating commercial misconduct in wild fauna and flora imports and exports. To help Vietnam tackle this challenge, the USAID Saving Species project is supporting the Vietnam CITES Management Authority (CITES Vietnam) to develop E-CITES, an online tool for issuing electronic CITES permits and managing the CITES implementation database which is interconnected with other systems, including those of Vietnam Customs. On December 24, the project and CITES Vietnam organized a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City to introduce the proposal for the E-CITES tool, seek input from stakeholders and share international experience in E-CITES implementation with the participation of 48 representatives (14 female and 34 male) from CITES Vietnam, provincial forest protection departments, enterprises, and farms.  The tool is expected to be launched on a pilot scale in mid 2020 before being officially transferred to CITES Vietnam in 2021.

So What? USAID is supporting CITES Vietnam with an online system for more effective management of wildlife trade as part of an effort to combat wildlife trafficking in Vietnam. USAID’s continued support of the Government of Vietnam’s efforts to combat the illegal trade of wildlife advances Vietnam’s Journey to Self Reliance and the Indo-Pacific Vision by enhancing regulatory frameworks and enforcement to reduce transnational environmental crime.