Vietnam remains a pivotal player in the fight against international wildlife trafficking

In the first analysis of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic, a new joint report from the Environmental Investigation Agency’s (EIA) offices in the United States and United Kingdom uncovers how Vietnam continues to be exploited by international organized crime networks to smuggle illegal wildlife products between Africa and Asia.

In 2024, EIA conducted an on-the-ground investigation to assess developments following our 2021 report, Vietnam’s Footprint in Africa, which exposed the scale of the Vietnamese criminal networks involved in trafficking illegal wildlife out of Africa. While China remains one of the largest markets for trafficked wildlife products, it has strengthened its enforcement efforts in recent years, making it increasingly difficult for traffickers to move goods directly into the country. Neighboring Vietnam remains a key transit point for smuggling illegal wildlife products from around the world into China through their shared border.

A Pivotal Player provides updated analysis of elephant ivory, pangolin scale, and rhino horn trafficking implicating Vietnam, drawing on evidence from a field investigation, seizure data recorded by EIA’s Global Environmental Crime Tracker, and other open-source records. The new report also describes the cross-border illegal wildlife trade dynamics between Vietnam and China, with a particular focus on routes, payment arrangements, and concealment methods used by criminals to transport a range of illegal wildlife products between the two countries. 

“The main message of A Pivotal Player is that Vietnam has strengthened its response to illegal wildlife trade in the past three years, which is commendable, but the country continues to be exploited by traffickers as a center for illegal wildlife products smuggled from Africa and onward shipment into China,” explains EIA UK Senior Wildlife Campaigner Linh Nguyen.

Key findings from the investigation include:

• Between 2022 and 2024, approximately 100 tonnes of elephant ivory, pangolin scales, and rhino horn were confiscated globally. Vietnam was implicated in at least 30% of elephant ivory, 24% of pangolin scale, and 16% of rhino horn seized globally by weight during that time period.
• Angola and Nigeria, respectively, were the top countries linked to seized elephant ivory and pangolin scales implicating Vietnam between 2022 and 2024.
• Between 2022 and 2024, there were no public reports of rhino horn seizures linking Vietnam and South Africa – but many rhino horns sourced from South Africa were likely exported from other countries to avoid detection, and in several cases implicating Vietnam, the source of rhino horn was unreported.
• Traffickers rely on official and unofficial border crossings into China from northern Vietnamese provinces such as Quang Ninh and Lang Son, and commonly utilize frozen food, timber, and medicinal materials to conceal illegal wildlife products.
• Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased use of online communication between Vietnamese and Chinese wildlife traders, with WeChat being the most popular platform for communication and advertisement of illegal wildlife products.
• Payments by Chinese traders are arranged through WeChat Pay or bank transactions, with many Vietnamese traders relying on family members living in China to receive payments from Chinese customers on their behalf.
• Bribery payments to corrupt Customs officers, border guards, and police officers, particularly at border areas and logistics hubs, ensure wildlife products can be smuggled in and out of Vietnam undetected.

Since 2021, Vietnam has undertaken concerted efforts to strengthen its legislation and law enforcement response to illegal wildlife trafficking, including successfully prosecuting several large-scale trafficking cases, imposing significant custodial sentences for wildlife crime offenses, and encouraging behavioral change through demand reduction initiatives. However, EIA’s report  outlines the challenges that Vietnam continues to face.

“In short, Vietnam has made recognizable progress in addressing illegal wildlife trade, but there is more work to be done,” says EIA US Senior Wildlife Policy Analyst Taylor Tench. “Vietnam needs to strengthen law enforcement responses, including conducting intelligence-led and financial investigations and cooperating better with other countries affected by the illegal wildlife trade. It is imperative that the  numerous source, transit, and destination countries linked to the trafficking also increase information and intelligence exchange with Vietnam to tackle illegal wildlife trade more effectively because, of course, Vietnam cannot solve this problem alone.”

In recent decades, numerous national and international initiatives have been introduced to help Vietnam and neighboring countries effectively address wildlife crime. A Pivotal Player provides recommendations on how to fully implement these initiatives and ensure their continued impact over time. Successfully ending Vietnam’s infamous status as a major wildlife trafficking hub will require reducing corruption and implementing comprehensive systemic reforms, both within and beyond its borders.