According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the wild elephant population in Vietnam has sharply declined from about 2,000 individuals in the 1980s to fewer than 200 at present, warning that the country’s elephants face an immediate threat to their survival.
Addressing the launching ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri emphasized that the community, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations need to join hands to protect the elephant species. The Vietnam Elephant Conservation Action Plan (VECAP 2022) for 2035 with a vision for 2050 is an important strategy aimed at protecting biodiversity and ensuring the sustainable development of forest ecosystems.
VECAP 2022 has been developed based on the results of the cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Humane Society International (HSI) since 2019. The project includes 33 solutions for wild elephants and 21 actions for captive elephants with specific actions to be implemented from now until 2035, aiming to conserve and increase the number of elephants in Vietnam.
