TRAFFIC is a key partner in the successful Tetra Tech award for a USAID Project Saving Species in Viet Nam. Under this project, TRAFFIC will implement a practical and effective approach to significantly reducing the demand for wildlife product consumption and work with WCS to strengthen Vietnam’s systems and capacities to detect, deter and disrupt actors involved in the wildlife trade. The implementation team lead by TetraTech’s Chief of Party provides an effective combination of experience combating wildlife trade across Africa to Asia and the proven ability to reduce demand for consumption, improve enforcement of trafficking, and strengthen policy formulation for illegal wildlife in Vietnam. Through targeted interventions, we will reduce demand for wildlife by more than 30%, improve the enforcement of wildlife crimes by more than 300%, and facilitate a cohesive and coordinated policy environment during the five years of this activity. We will work collaboratively with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) and Vietnamese civil society, the foundations for sustainability and the predicates for success in Vietnam. We anticipate supporting sufficient capacity improvements throughout the wildlife trafficking system to ensure continued progress beyond the life of the CWT Activity.

Purpose of the job
The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)/Wildlife Trafficking Specialist shall assist the COP in all aspects of Contract management and project supervision. He/She shall serve as the lead technical specialist for successful implementation across all three Tasks and the CWT Activity Fund. In this capacity, the DCOP/Wildlife Trafficking Specialist advises and supports the Chief of Party in the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to improve the management and the protection of key species, especially those targeted for wildlife trafficking. In planning and executing this strategy, the DCOP/Wildlife Trafficking Specialist shall collaborate with and build upon the efforts of other Vietnamese, USG, internationally-assisted and civil society agencies active in this field.

The project consists of three tasks and the role holder will be expected to perform and deliver against these as part of their role:

Task 1: Reduce Consumer Demand for Illegal Wildlife and Wildlife Products
Demand reduction is a primary goal for the CWT Activity; it will ultimately contribute to reducing the economic incentive for poachers and traffickers of illicit wildlife. Tetra Tech will refine and expand a dynamic SBCC approach already implemented by TRAFFIC for rhino horn in Vietnam, organized into five steps. The SBCC approach is distinguished from broader communications approaches (e.g., public service advertisements and announcements issued through multimedia channels such as print/television/Internet news and radio). It does not stop at providing the knowledge that people need to act, but goes on to encourage and enable them to shift attitudes and practice, thus moving recipients along the continuum of behavior change. Our approach identifies motivations (functional, nutritional, medicinal, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual) and specific behaviors behind wildlife product consumption. It then addresses these motivations and behaviors through dynamic outreach, successfully reducing use of existing consumers while shifting the cultural norms to make use of illicit wildlife products unacceptable.

Task 2: Strengthen Wildlife Law Enforcement and Prosecution
Shifting wildlife poaching and trafficking from a low-risk to a high-risk activity and improving deterrence is the key objective of Task 2. It will be accomplished by strengthening law enforcement and prosecution efforts of the GVN. These are critical complements to demand reduction (Task 1) and policy harmonization (Task 3), particularly in Vietnam. Law enforcement officials have difficulties recognizing illicit products in transit, do not fully understand evidence collection, and are often unmotivated to pursue offenders, among other challenges. For prosecution, judges, prosecutors, and associated support agencies are often not well versed in environmental laws, have difficulties maintaining the chain of evidence and building cases on offenders, and have limited motivations to pursue crimes they often see as relatively benign. Although the revised Penal Code (expected to come into force July 1, 2017) provides much stronger penalties for wildlife traffic, delivery of evidence, motivation to prosecute, and coordination between target agencies such as MARD, MONRE, and Customs officials, park rangers, Environmental Police, prosecutors, and judges must be improved.

Task 3: Improve and Harmonize the Legal Framework for Wildlife Crime
The CWT Activity will assist the GVN to transform wildlife crimes from low to high risk. Task 3 is largely focused on improving Vietnam’s wildlife crimes legislative instruments (e.g., laws, decrees, and circulars and decisions) by better defining and operationalizing the rules. To a lesser degree, the CWT Activity will also support addressing rule of law and governance issues (largely relating to institutional decision making). More specifically, we will review and redraft relevant rules to ensure they are “fit for purpose” and outline measures to operationalize and mainstream those rules.