The National Institute of Ecology (NIE), under the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, transferred 28 endangered turtles of four species on May 12 to a species conservation facility located in a national park in Vietnam, the turtles’ native habitat. The turtles had been under protection at NIE after being confiscated from illegal wildlife trafficking operations.

Since 2021, NIE has operated a CITES¹⁾ wildlife rescue facility in Seocheon, Chungcheongnam-do for smuggled or abandoned wild animals. Beginning with its first overseas transfer to the United States in December 2023, the institute has continued to transfer wildlife under its care to specialized institutions abroad. This marks NIE’s seventh international wildlife transfer.

The transfer is particularly significant from a conservation perspective, as the turtles, classified as either Critically Endangered (CR) or Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, are being relocated to a conservation facility within their native range for future reintroduction into the wild.

The transferred turtles include four Cuora galbinifrons and two Cuora bourreti, both listed as Critically Endangered (CR), along with ten Cuora mouhotii and twelve Geoemyda spengleri, both listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. All 28 turtles have been under protection at NIE since November 2023.

The turtles were transferred to the Turtle Conservation Center in Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam. The center is the largest turtle conservation facility in Asia dedicated to the reintroduction of endangered turtle species native to Vietnam and the Indochinese Peninsula into the wild.

To facilitate the transfer, NIE began coordinating with the Turtle Conservation Center in December 2025 to confirm the center’s capacity to receive the turtles and worked closely with officials at Cuc Phuong National Park to prepare for their relocation to Vietnam. During this process, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment completed intergovernmental consultations, including sending an official letter to the Vietnamese CITES Management Authority requesting import approval for the turtles. The turtles completed all export and import procedures, including quarantine and disease inspections, by April this year and were transferred to Vietnam via Incheon International Airport on May 12.

At the Turtle Conservation Center, the turtles will undergo rehabilitation and training for reintroduction into the wild. Depending on the results, they will either be released into protected areas or incorporated into species conservation programs.

The President of NIE stated, “We will continue expanding international conservation efforts, including the repatriation of smuggled or abandoned CITES-listed animals to their countries of origin, in order to contribute further to biodiversity conservation.”