Wild library project

School and Community

Background

There are 20 national parks and 14 nature reserves in Vietnam. These are home to many endemic Critically Endangered and Endangered species found nowhere else on Earth. Illegal hunting using indiscriminate wire snares is the most pervasive threat to wildlife in protected areas. These areas are usually remote, difficult to access, and under-resourced. The local children living in surrounding areas have mostly never been inside the protected areas. Local schools are often small with no library and therefore no opportunity for children to read books or learn about the natural world surrounding them. In addition, the Vietnamese education system lacks topics related to nature and the environment, which results in the disconnection between humans, the natural world, and conservation.

In order to tackle this issue and contribute to national conservation efforts, this project aims to:

  • Provide information on national and global conservation issues in order to increase awareness of the importance of local conservation, particularly among communities neighbouring critical habitats;

  • Educate young Vietnamese about the wildlife surrounding them, including what they should do to protect a healthy living environment;

  • Empower local communities to manage their own resources.

Goals

  • Build up future conservation capacity by giving children information and knowledge about wildlife conservation in Vietnam, as well as create a better reading habit for children, to develop stronger social skills.

  • Provide carefully chosen, attractive reading materials related to nature and wildlife conservation, career guidance, and gender education in each partner area. 

  • Creates unique and much-needed opportunities for teachers in remote areas to improve their knowledge and understanding of conservation issues, so they can best continue this important work. 

  • Collaborate with the Forest Protection Department and partner schools to provide trips inside the protected areas for children to experience and learn about the natural world. 

Objectives

  • Objective 1: Establish a library at each partnering school to provide books on environment, nature, and wildlife conservation in order to raise awareness on conservation issues;

  • Objective 2: Reduce the number of snare traps in protected areas and empower local schools to manage educational conservation activities.

Key achievement (2018 -2022)

  • Established and run 10 wild libraries in 7 provinces;

  • Hosted 15 wildlife trade exhibitions emphasising the importance of local conservation;

  • Donated 1,328 books about wildlife, biology, environment, career guidance, and gender equality;

  • Educated over 35,000 children on their role in preserving Vietnam’s biodiversity;

Watch Results of WildLibrary project from 2018 - 2022  HERE.