DAC LAC — A national record was set on Saturday for the largest number of people to sing a song together at the Speak up to Save the Forest event in the Central Highlands province of Dac Lac. The record-breaking event featured famous Vietnamese musicians joining thousands of local people to sing while also raising awareness about the illegal trade in rare wildlife and fauna.
More than 4,000 people joined the event, which was officially announced as a record by a representative from the Viet Nam Record Book Centre.
Performers such as Nguyen Cuong, Siu Black, Y Moan, Quyen Linh, Luu Thien Huong, Kim Jojo and conductor Graham Sutcliffe joined local people and students in singing a simple one-word song called ‘No'.
Douglas J. Graham, Environment & Social Sectors Co-ordinator from the World Bank's Viet Nam office, said the song's message was to say ‘no' to the illegal wildlife and fauna trade.
"This is the Year of the Tiger but there are not many tigers left in Viet Nam," said Graham.
"It will be tragic to see tigers become extinct in Viet Nam, but this may happen in the next 10 years.
"The main reasons for this are illegal poaching, loss of habitat and the illegal wildlife trade. Just say ‘no' to the consumption of illegal forest and wildlife products and you will help save Viet Nam's ecosystems, and maybe save the tigers too."
The event was launched by the Global Environmental Facility and World Bank and implemented by the BirdLife International Viet Nam programme, Chu Yang Sin National Park, Dac Lac People's Committee and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Develop-ment.
Tran Sy Thanh, vice chairman of Dac Lac People's Committee, said the province was proud to host the event.
"The province has one of the largest natural forested areas in Viet Nam and saying no to illegal forest products is crucial for us if we want to save the forests," said Thanh.
Participants at the event pledged to help stop the consumption of illegal forest products and illegal poaching and logging. — VNS