Former Country Director of WCS in Vietnam honored for contribution to Vietnam's sustainable development

VUFO Vice President Bach Ngoc Chien presents the decoration to Scott Ian Roberton.

Speaking at the ceremony in Hanoi on September 13, VUFO Vice President Bach Ngoc Chien said: “The Medal ‘For peace, Friendship among peoples' is one of the highest recognition of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) to inpiduals and organizations with significant contributions to Vietnam's sustainable development. Today, I am very happy on behalf of VUFO President Nguyen Phuong Nga to grant it to Scott Ian Roberton - former Country Director of WCS in Vietnam.”

In his capacity as the Country Manager of WCS in Vietnam, Scott Ian Roberton has played an essential role in WCS Vietnam program direction and development. As a researcher, Scott Ian Roberton directly involved in various research programs, building many projects in conservation, capacity building and supporting Vietnam to implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of wild Fauna and Flora. As a result, from the 1st project of 'Small carnivore and pangolin conservation program in Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh province', WCS has developed to become one of the largest foreign NGOs in Vietnam with the annual disbursed value reaches millions of US dollars, projects carried out in 12 provinces/cities nationwide and was granted the Certificate of Project Office of Registration in January 2018.

In recognition of the great contributions by Scott Ian Roberton in environmental protection and sustainable development of Vietnam, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations decided to grant him the Medal for 'For Peace, Friendship among Peoples'.

The VUFO Vice President expressed his grateful for the constant efforts of Scott Ian Roberton as well as WCS for Vietnam; and hopes that in his new position, Scott Ian Roberton will continue his valuable support to Vietnam in the coming years.

“For our part, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations commits to working closely with Scott Ian Roberton and WCS, as well as all foreign non-governmental organizations to further develop friendship and cooperation between the people of Vietnam and countries around the world,” Chien added.

For his part, Scott Ian Roberton expressed his honor to receive such noble award and sincerely thanked VUFO and the Vietnamese people for the recognition; thanked the VUFO for their support for him and WCS.

After many years spending much of his professional career focused on improving conservation interventions in Vietnam, he considers Vietnam as his second home. “I am very happy to return to Vietnam, and my family’s very excited about this medal.”

Scott Ian Roberton has worked at WCS since 2006. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of East Anglia with a focus on small carnivores (like civets and otters) and the illegal wildlife trade. His dissertation was on "Status & Conservation of Small Carnivores in Vietnam."

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