VN, U.S. join hands in preventing illegal logging
VGP - The International Cooperation Department of the Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Forest Service are organizing a workshop on “Law enforcement to Combat Illegal Logging and Associated Trade” from June 26-28 in Ha Noi.
This bilateral workshop, the first on this topic between Viet Nam and the U.S., allows the participants from the two governments to exchange information on best practices that they use in investigating and prosecuting cases involving illegal logging and trade in illegally harvested timber and wood products.
The workshop includes discussions on Viet Nam’s Forestry Law and Timber Legality Assurance System and the laws of the United States and other countries that import timber products that prohibit trade in illegally harvested timber, including the U.S. Lacey Act.
It also explores investigation methods for identifying illegal timber and common theft methods; targeting methods used by customs agencies to detect illegal timber in trade; investigation of the illegal trade in CITES-protected timber species that are threatened with extinction; investigating financial crimes related to illegal logging; and work being done by international organizations such as INTERPOL and UNODC to combat illegal logging and associated trade.
By Thuy Dung
