Ho Thi Kim Lan

About yourself

I was the Education Outreach Manager at Save Vietnam’s Wildlife.

Which ASAP species you are working to conserve, and can you tell us a little about your work?

Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), and other endangered species in Vietnam.  

I work at Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, a local NGOs, which acts to stop the extinction and champion the recovery of pangolins and endangered species in Vietnam by holistic approaches: Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Site Protection, Education Outreach, Conservation Breeding, Species Conservation, and Advocacy. 

My direct work doesn’t focus on doing field research, patrolling in the forest, or rescuing pangolins; but the education outreach to empower people to take informed actions to protect these ASAP species. I lead the team ranging from 7 - 10 educators to develop, deliver, monitor, and evaluate education outreach programs for different target audiences. E.g., school programs from school children aged 4-17; wildmeat demand reduction for wildlife consumers; building capacity for university students, law enforcement officers, and conservation practitioners; raising awareness and involve forest-based communities in conservation, social research for the public, and engagement programs with donors and partners.  

These programs have been being strategically developed and delivered for targeted groups in and around protected area where are wildlife strongholds and wildlife consumption hot spot in Vietnam.

What inspired you to start a career in conservation?

My university lecture introduced me the phrase “wildlife education” that may fit my desire of doing goods for communities and nature. And it is! At that time (2008), no universities in Vietnam offers courses about wildlife conservation education. Even all referencing documents on the internet are in English that I had to use Google Translation to understand. Realising early on that, I spent two years in university and one year after graduating to volunteer to learn more about that field. After that, I participated in a field course in Borneo Island in Malaysia, sponsored by the British Ecological Society and Tropical Biological Association (TBA). Being inspired by TBA trainers and course-mates, and experiences in conservation after that, I got more motivations in pursuing the field of wildlife conservation education over the past 12 years.  

For 7 years working at SVW, my education outreach team built and ran the Vietnam’s first Pangolin Conservation Education Centre. Our programs got direct involvement of over 20,000 school children aged 7-17, trained 2,500 law enforcement officers, 200 university students and conservation practitioners, advocated and convinced 3,956 forest-based citizens to participate in our community programs, and engage with hundred thousands of people, students, teachers, enterprises, NPOs. 

How do you think the ASAP Women in Conservation Leadership Programme will help you in carrying out your work?

Firstly, the Women in Conservation Leadership Programme (WCLP) would increase my understanding about gender issues in wildlife conservation to address gender challenges and obsession for myself, my staff, and conservation colleagues. All my team members are women. Our work requires us to work with diverse stakeholders with different characteristics, education, careers, social status, and genders. The insights, knowledge, and skills gained from the program can assist me and female conservationists and colleagues to protect ourselves (female conservationists and colleagues) from gender issues so that we can work in a safer, more inclusive, and equal environment to fight for our ASAP species. 

Secondly, the program would help to keep my insights, knowledge, skills, and network in conservation up to date to deliver better conservation programs as well as address management issues. As a founding employee, my responsibilities in the organisation are growing and more challenging, not only to ensure the team to achieve our education outreach goals but also to sustain the organization’s development. The insights, knowledge, and practical skills provided in three modules of the course would assist me to address potential challenges to work more effectively, with my team, to achieve our organization’s conservation goals in conserving ASAP species.