Wildlife protection takes centre stage at Czech - Vietnamese seminar
The Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and the Czech-Vietnamese Education Center have recently organised a seminar in Prague for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),with the aim to boost protection of endangered animals.
As part of the opening speech at the event, Deputy Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic Dr. Vladimír Dolejský emphasised the main purpose of the seminar is to hold exchanges and gain a better understanding of the contents of the Convention. This will therefore serve to contribute to raising public awareness regarding environmental protection and the conservation of rare and endangered species.
Furthermore, it is hoped that through the workshop, the Czech side will also focus on clarifying regulations regarding bringing goods relating to the origin of rare and precious animals and plants imported into both the Czech Republic and the EU as a whole.
According to speakers at the event, there are currently many rare and wild animals which have become extinct in the wild or are in danger of extinction due to numerous causes, including climate change and habitat narrowing, especially hunting and the illegal trade caused by humans.
It can be considered that each species of wildlife contributes to biodiversity, keeps a balance within nature, thereby helping to prevent occurrences such as natural disasters whilst serving to regulate the environment. Participants at the function stated that when one species disappears, it significantly disrupts the balance of nature, creating a chain reaction to other species, including humans, they said.
According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), approximately 75% of infectious diseases in humans originate from animals, including many dangerous and complex diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, bird flu, Zika, and plague.
One of the points made by a representative of the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic are the details of regulations on goods imported from the nation to the Czech Republic and the EU. This comes as the Czech side announced that it will strictly control all kinds of goods, gifts, food, functional foods, and traditional medicines of rare animal and plant origin when they enter the Czech Republic.
This is also one of the issues that Vietnamese citizens must pay close attention to and capture specific information during the entry process into the Czech market.
