SVP of Sanpower Group, Mr. Yue Lei（Left） & Prince William of the British Royal Family (Right)

On November 17th and 18th, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade. The international conference brought together a large gathering of global leaders for the purpose of helping eradicate illegal wildlife trade and better protecting endangered species.

The conference’s 300 delegates, including world leaders from 47 nations and heads of 7 international and UN agencies, committed to try and help save numerous iconic species from the brink of extinction by implementing collaborative measures that will combat illegal wildlife trade. President of United for Wildlife (UfW), Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, attended the conference and gave a powerful speech at the opening ceremony. At the conclusion of the conference, the collective participants released the "Hanoi Statement", which calls on governments and civil forces from around the world to work together towards combating the illegal trade of wild animals.

UfW Ambassador and Senior Vice President of Sanpower Group, Mr. Yue Lei, also attended the event and after the conference held a private meeting with Prince William. The two leaders discussed further cooperation between the British Royal Foundation and Sanpower Group in the field of wildlife protection. In 2015, Prince William and the Chairman of Sanpower Group, Mr. Yuan Yafei jointly established a wildlife protection fund which is committed to combatting illegal poaching globally.

SVP of Sanpower Group, Mr. Yue Lei（Left） & Prince William of the British Royal Family (Right)

At their meeting, Mr. Yue Lei reported to Prince William about the work being carried out in China since he became a UfW Ambassador earlier this year and also explained to a reporter the importance of the conference. “This conference is a part of an international effort to collectively combat the illegal hunting and trafficking of wild animals and Prince William's opening speech provided strong evidence for the significance of this conference towards that cause. Following the signing of the London Declaration and the Kasane Declaration at previous iterations of this conference, we have seen all signatories making increased efforts in the field of wildlife protection, with progress being generally in line with the goals of those agreements. The signing of the Hanoi Declaration will now serve as an opportunity to once again mobilize these parties to maintain their vigilance, and continue to expand their wildlife protection programs.”

SVP of Sanpower Group, Mr. Yue Lei（Left） & Prince William of the British Royal Family (Right)

Prince William spoke highly of Mr. Yue Lei's work and expressed his hope that there would continue to be "good news" coming from China. Prince William said that in the two years since the London conference, huge progress has been made in curbing illegal trade of endangered wildlife, especially with the cooperation of African governments towards combatting poaching. However, he also noted that animals such as rhinos, elephants, pangolins and lions are still being killed at alarming rates. The Great Elephant Census, a survey of African elephant populations released this summer, showed that the number of African elephants has fallen by 30 percent in just seven years. Prince William stressed how China’s support on this issue is an indispensable part of dealing with this threat. He praised the unprecedented measures taken by the Chinese government to crack down on illegal trade in wild animals and said he finds it very gratifying to hear about Sanpower Group’s active participation in this field as a representative of Chinese civil forces.

Prince William and Yue Lei concluded their meeting by jointly stating that the British Royal Foundation and Sanpower Group will maintain close communications on these issues and continue to work for better results, while also striving to serve as a model of bilateral cooperation in this field.