Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) has published documents in support of law enforcement officers to strengthen the fight against illegal trading of tortoises and freshwater turtles.

The collection of guides, a joint work by the ENV, the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Centre and the Asia Turtle Programme in Vietnam , included electronic identification guides on native tortoises and freshwater turtles and a short documentary film on dangers facing turtles in the wild due to rampant poaching and illegal trading.

Vietnam is home to 25 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, including some found only in the country.

Take a huge, soft-shell turtle scientifically termed as Rafetus Swinhoei as an example. Only four individuals of the species are found existing in the world with two living in a Chinese zoo and two in Vietnam , including one in the famous Hoan Kiem lake.

ENV reported that turtles in Vietnam and other Asian countries are largely threatened to extinction by an increasing demand in China for tonics and medicines.

The number of wild tortoises and turtles in Vietnam has been sharply dropping since 1990 as tonnes of the huge reptile are being trafficked into China daily.

Vietnam has red-listed six species of turtle as critically endangered and in need of special protection.

ENV was established in 2000 and was the first local non-Governmental organisation in environmental education. Its key goal is to increase public awareness on the need for natural and environmental protection./.