Vietnamese reporter wins int’l environmental prize

A Vietnamese reporter has been presented with the Media Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Reuters Foundation.Hoang Quoc Dung from Tien phong (Vanguard) newspaper won the award for the Asian region for his exposé on Vietnam ’s largest cross-border wildlife trafficking network. Dung, who is also Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Forum of Environmental Journalists (VFEJ), became the first Vietnamese reporter to receive the IUCN-Reuters award so far. Dung was one of six regional winners selected from some 350 print entries from all continents. Talking with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent at the presentation ceremony in Barcelona, Spain, on October 7, Dung said: “I hope that the award will help the world and international media circles to understand the potential of the Vietnamese press.” The award, established by the IUCN and Reuters in 1998, aims to help raise global awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues by encouraging and recognising high standards of environmental reporting worldwide.