Rhino horn trade nexus

Demand in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, a Southeast Asian nation of nearly 87 million people and the world’s 13th largest nation, is believed to be driving the rapacious illegal trade in rhino horn today. As a new generation economic powerhouse, Viet Nam’s increasingly politically-unfettered economy is projected to be one of the world’s fastest growing markets by 2025. Over the past decade, unprecedented levels of disposable income and lax government policy have awakened the trade in rhino horn. At the same time, rapidly changing attitudes in modern Viet Nam, where 65% of the population is under the age of 30, are fuelling a booming market for luxury products and giving rise to behaviour predicated upon conspicuous consumption.

http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/trafficrhinoreportsummary.pdf?xid=PS_smithsonian