Viet Nam Stories

Mai Thi Huyen, an employee at the Nguyen Phong factory in the Annamite Mountains, slides a board of acacia wood through an industrial ripsaw.

Conservationists continue to be optimistic that the saola, albeit critically endangered, survive today—with estimates suggesting up to 100 individuals might remain in the wild. Buoyed by this hope, WWF, alongside partners and other wildlife organizations, is working hard to locate saola in their natural habitat, while simultaneously drawing up plans that will help conserve the species for future generations.

The forest-clad mountains that span central Viet Nam and Lao PDR host an incredible—but shrinking—array of wildlife.

In Viet Nam’s Central Annamite forests, owning the past and preparing for the future

Just behind Vuong Van Ga’s house in Doi village, lies the first and only community nursery in this central Vietnamese region. The community nursery is his brainchild, established in early 2022 with technical and financial help from WWF-Viet Nam. The idea was borne out of Ga’s longing to restore the forest to its glory days gone by, when the villagers could glance up from their backyards and spy a thicket of trees.

Under the USAID Saving Threatened Wildlife project, WWF supports Viet Nam’s efforts to reduce illegal wildlife trafficking by engaging with leaders in the Vietnamese government, private sector, and civil society. WWF-Viet Nam and its governmental and NGO partners have been advocating for and working towards stronger regulation and management of Viet Nam’s captive tiger facilities.

We sat down with Anh Le from WWF-Viet Nam to find out more about this critical work and how it’s helping to protect tigers in Viet Nam and across Asia.