Green Police of Vietnam Face Challenges
The Environmental Police Department, also known as the green police, is currently working to protect Vietnam’s fragile environment. But the job for the green police is not easy. According to green police director Nguyen Xuan Ly, the green police have investigated four times more lawbreakers than in previous years. One case involved the green police uncovering 23 member companies of the Electricity of Vietnam illegally selling more than 564,000 liters of oil that been discharged from transformers. The green police are also trying to stop illegal wildlife trafficking, and have seized 118 Indian cobras, two pythons, and a wildcat this year.
But Nguyen says that the average Vietnamese is not environmentally aware, and do not think environmental protection is all that important. There is also the question of jurisdictions. The green police have to share enforcement duties with a multitude of other government agencies, so they have to be careful not step on any jurisdictional toes.
The green police also have to be careful in the way they gather evidence. Because of procedural rules, the green police have only been able to bring a fraction of their environmental busts to trial. Nguyen outlined the rather complex rules he must follow in presenting evidence.
