"Conservation of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles in Vietnam" – A seminar to inspire university students

On the 28th of April 2021, the Asian Turtle Program (ATP) of Indo-Myanmar Conservation (IMC), in collaboration with the Department of Biology – Biotechnology of the University of Science at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM), co-organized a full day seminar on “Conservation of tortoises and freshwater turtles in Vietnam”. The event was a big success thanks to the enthusiastic participation of more than 400 students from the University of Science along with students at other universities in Ho Chi Minh City. It also attracted the participation of lecturers from universities, and students from international primary schools who are interested in wildlife and tortoises and freshwater turtles in Vietnam in particular.

The workshop alone attracted more than 150 students, teachers and journalists. Photo: Pham Nhu Quynh – ATP/IMC

The centerpiece of this event was the workshop on “The conservation of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles of Vietnam”, which provided important knowledge about the current conservation status and the law on the protection of Vietnam’s native tortoises and freshwater turtles. At the same time, ATP hosted a photo exhibition about tortoises and freshwater turtles in Vietnam throughout the seminar day. In addition, exciting minigames with gifts were held on the sidelines of the seminar.

The aim of this event was to spread knowledge of the diversity of tortoises and freshwater turtles distributed mainly in Southern Vietnam and the severe effects on the diversity of these species. The ATP hopes that these activities will promote students’ positive attitudes and perceptions and encourage them to contribute in some small way to protecting endangered turtles. The University of Science – VNUHCM was the first destination for a series of events on turtle conservation organized at southern Vietnamese universities. Information about upcoming activities will be updated on the ATP website and Facebook page, so make sure to follow and continue to support these special events in the future.

We would like to sincerely thank individuals and organizations for supporting the success of the workshop. ATP would like to thank Mr. Nguyen Tri Nhan – Head of Department of Biology – Biotechnology, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung – Head of Department of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, Ms. Tran Thi Anh Dao – Deputy Head of Department of Evolutionary Biology and Biology – Speaker of the workshop. In addition, the program could not have been successful without the enthusiastic help of Mr. Duong Quoc Bao – Researcher of Department of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, the volunteers who enrolled in the ATP/IMC’s annual “Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Field Skills Training Course” in 2020 and the VNUHCM – University of Science. We would also like to express our deep gratitude to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (CMZ), the Centre for Nature Education (ENV), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for funding this program.

Date: 6th May 2021
Press release by: Pham Nhu Quynh – ATP/IMC

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