Legislation on Wildlife Trade in Singapore and Vietnam

Abstract
At the centre of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development lies wildlife trade. Humans, especially the less affluent, depend on forests and wildlife for food and income (Nijman, 2010). With globalization and economic development, consumption of wildlife is increasing as wildlife is considered delicacies, medicines, and pets, particularly by the Asians (Nyugen & Thach, 2014). To prevent the overexploitation of wildlife, and to protect nature for present and future generations, governments around the world have implemented laws and policies to control and to ensure the sustainability of wildlife trade. However, despite the governmental efforts to reduce illegal wildlife trade through captive breeding or artificial propagation, it is still flourishing. This chapter discusses, compares, and evaluates the legislation regarding wildlife trade particularly in Singapore and Vietnam, which are popular ports for wildlife trade due to their strategic locations (Neo, 2014; Nyugen & Thach, 2014). The chapter also reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of the laws, and suggests possible improvements.

Introduction
Wildlife trade refers to any sale or exchange of wild animal and plant resources by people (TRAFFIC, n.d.). While it has been exploited and consumed for thousands of years as food, medicine, pets, trophy, a source of income, and private collections, the trade has been increasing at an unprecedented rate in the recent years. There is greater demand for wildlife with economic development, as well as greater supply due to the improvement in traffic infrastructure which increases access to the previous remote forest areas and markets, the development of and increasing access to hunting equipment, and a more developed wildlife trade system (Nyugen & Thach, 2014; Vuong, 2014). If the trade is