TURTLE FARM NEAR HAI PHONG CITY, VIETNAM SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE SCALING BACK WILDLIFE TRADE IN THE MEKONG DELTA Applying a Political Economy Lens to the Farmer Loophole with a Focus on Vietnam and Laos DISCLAIMER This report was prepared by a team from DevLab@Duke, including Edmund Malesky, Songkhun Nillasithanukroh, Ekta Patel, and Erika Weinthal, under the Research Technical Assistance Center. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or the U.S. Government. CONTENTS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 4 2. THE RELEVANCE OF TURTLES IN WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING IN VIETNAM .... 6 2.1 WHY TURTLES? ...................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 TURTLE SPECIES ..................................................................................................................................... 9 3. FARMER LOOPHOLE ...................................................................................................... 10 3.1 THE FARMER LOOPHOLE AND ITS CONTEXT IN MEKONG REGION .......................... 10 3.2 CRITICAL POLITICAL ECONOMY ISSUES IN FARMER LOOPHOLE .................................. 13 3.2.1 LOCAL-CENTRAL RELATIONS ............................................................................................ 13 3.2.2 COMMERCIAL WILDLIFE FARMING REGULATIONS IN VIETNAM AND LAOS . 17 3.2.3 CORRUPTION ............................................................................................................................ 21 3.2.4 INFORMATIONAL GAPS ......................................................................................................... 21 3.2.5 POVERTY ...................................................................................................................................... 24 4. INTERVENTIONS AND EXPERIMENTS ..................................................................... 25 4.1 BEHAVIORAL CHANGE TO REDUCE DEMAND OF END-USERS ...................................... 28 4.1.1 THEORY OF CHANGE ............................................................................................................ 30 4.1.2 OUTCOME AND IMPACT VARIABLE ................................................................................. 30 4.1.3 INTERVENTIONS ....................................................................................................................... 30 4.1.4 LOGIC MODEL ........................................................................................................................... 32 4.2 ENFORCEMENT THROUGH BETTER TRAINING AND TECHNOLOGY ......................... 33 4.2.1 THEORY OF CHANGE ............................................................................................................ 35 4.2.2 OUTCOME AND IMPACT VARIABLE ................................................................................. 35 4.2.3 INTERVENTIONS ....................................................................................................................... 36 4.2.4 LOGIC MODEL ........................................................................................................................... 37 4.3 SUSTAINABLE FARMING TO INCREASE INCOMES OF WILDLIFE FARMERS ................. 38 4.3.1 THEORY OF CHANGE ............................................................................................................ 40 4.3.2 OUTCOME AND IMPACT VARIABLE ................................................................................. 40 4.3.3 INTERVENTIONS ....................................................................................................................... 40 4.3.4 LOGIC MODEL ........................................................................................................................... 41 5. CONCLUSION: POTENTIAL FOR IMPACT ............................................................. 42 APPENDIX 1: TURTLE SPECIES ........................................................................................ 44 APPENDIX I1: LIST OF RESPONDENTS......................................................................... 49 APPENDIX I1I: RELEVANT LAWS .................................................................................... 52 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 55 USAID.GOV SCALING BACK WILDLIFE TRADE | II LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Critical representations of turtles in Vietnamese culture ...................................................................... 9 Figure 2: Vietnam’s Institutional Framework for Wildlife Protection ................................................................. 16 Figure 3: Turtle supply chain and intervention targets ........................................................................................... 26 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Laws relevant to the wildlife trade .............................................................................................................. 10 Table 2: List of permits required of commercial wildlife farms in Vietnam ..................................................... 18 Table 3: Modified replication of a table from a TRAFFIC report on some turtle species protected by law in Vietnam (ENV, 2018; McCormack and Thuy, 2013) ......................................................... 18 Table 4: Past and Current Intervention Efforts in the Mekong Region .............................................................. 27 Table 5: Behavioral Change Logic Model .................................................................................................................. 32 Table 6: Enforcement Logic Model ............................................................................................................................ 38 Table 7: Sustainable Development Logic Model for Turtle Farming .................................................................. 42 USAID.GOV SCALING BACK WILDLIFE TRADE | III ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ARI – Aquatic Research Institute (Vietnam) ATP – Asian Turtle Program CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CRES – Centre for Resources, and Environment Studies (Vietnam) DARD – Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (Vietnam) DOF – Department of Fisheries (Cambodia) DOIT - Department of Industry and Trade (Vietnam) DONRE – Department of Natural Resources and Environment (Vietnam) DoP – Department of Police (Vietnam) DPI - Department of Planning and Investment (Vietnam) ENV – Education for Nature – Vietnam FAO – United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization FPD – Forest Protection Department (Vietnam) LURC - Land use certificate IEBR – Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (Vietnam) INGO – International Non-Governmental Organization IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature MAF – Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Laos) MAFF - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (Cambodia) MARD – Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (Vietnam) MONRE – Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Vietnam) MPS – Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam) M&E – Monitoring and Evaluation NAPA – Vietnamese National Academy of Public Administration NGO – Non-Governmental Organization PanNature – People and Nature Reconciliation PCC – People’s Committee Chairman (Vietnam) PEER – Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research PFPD – Provincial Forest Protection Department (Vietnam) RCT – Randomized Control Trial USAID – United States Agency for International Development VCCI – Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry VCP – Vietnamese Communist Party WCS – Wildlife Conservation Society WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature USAID.GOV SCALING BACK WILDLIFE TRADE | IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Greater Mekong region across Southeast Asia is host to a wealth of biodiversity that has historically played an important role in local daily life and traditional culture. People from this region have raised animals as pets as well as hunted them for use in medicines, delicacies, and ornaments. In recent years, however, growing economic prosperity in the region has increased the demand for wildlife products. This rise in demand has led to illegal animal trafficking, which greatly threatens the survival of many endangered species in the region. Chief among the animals facing an increased risk of extinction are turtles. Their rapid decline in the region has led conservationists to call this situation the “Asian Turtle Crisis.” Rising demand for turtle products in jewelry and traditional medicine across China, the largest consumer of turtles in the world, accounts for the exploitative turtle trade. With the Chinese economy’s growth and the expansion of the middle class, this turtle consumption has become increasingly unsustainable. Nations in the Mekong region play a significant role as suppliers to China due to their geographical proximity and rich turtle fauna. However, the demand for turtles and the proliferation of the local trade in the Mekong region also comes from Vietnam’s