'The Jungle Girl' Trang Nguyen: A journey of overcoming serious illness thanks to her love for the environment and wildlife.

Dr. Trang Nguyen became the first Vietnamese person to be included in the Impact Heroes list in 2026. Our reporter had a conversation with her – a woman deeply connected to the green forests, where the beautiful nature healed her serious illness.

What does the Impact Heroes 2026 award mean for your and WildAct's future endeavors?

- After 20 years pursuing the field of conservation and 10 years since the founding of WildAct, I think I still have much to learn - especially how to harness the power of the community in nature conservation. Faced with many new changes, I realize that being a scientist is not enough to help WildAct do more for Vietnam's nature; I must become a leader who knows how to connect with the public and businesses so that everyone can join hands with WildAct.

Becoming an Impact Heroes 2026 gives me the opportunity to receive training in areas where I'm lacking, such as long-term strategic thinking, developing collaborative projects with businesses, and marketing and communications for organizations. I hope this year of learning will help me lead WildAct to greater success, spread the love of nature more widely, and contribute more to conservation in Vietnam.

Could you share more about your recent activities related to environmental protection and wildlife conservation in Vietnam and around the world ?

- In 2026, WildAct and I will continue our people-centered conservation activities: enhancing the capacity of frontline workers; developing livelihoods and addressing social issues for local people; and educating and raising awareness about conservation among the public - especially high school students.

There are three new projects that I very much hope will yield positive results in 2026. Firstly, an agroforestry project involving donating cocoa seedlings and guiding local people in the buffer zone of Chu Yang Sin National Park - Dak Lak to plant cocoa interspersed with native trees to improve natural forest cover, find markets for agricultural products, and provide local people with new livelihoods, reducing their dependence on logging. In addition, WildAct will also expand the number of members in the forest protection patrol team (CCT) at Chu Yang Sin National Park, reducing the patrol burden on the local forest rangers.

Furthermore, we are eager to collaborate with businesses to develop a series of training programs on preventing and combating gender-based harassment and violence (GBV) for female conservationists and other environments where this issue frequently occurs. From there, WildAct and experts in this field will develop a guidebook on protecting women from gender-based violence, thereby further enhancing women's contributions and influence in all areas.

Let's go back a bit to Trang Nguyen's journey. Why do people call her "the girl of the green forest"? Does that nickname accurately reflect who she is and the path she has chosen?

- "The 'Girl of the Green Forest' is just a nickname a reporter jokingly gave me after an interview; it's not really a popular one. Most people just call me Trang or Chang Hoang Da - which is also the title of a children's book I've published. But whatever the name, it's quite fitting for my path of being close to nature and conserving wild animals."

What childhood memories of nature have stayed with you the longest? Can you tell us about how you came to your current job?

- There's a significant memory that has haunted me. When I was eight years old, my neighbor's house had a very large yard enclosed by a cage, and it always emitted sounds of growling and whimpering. I was very curious, and one day I peeked inside and discovered a huge black bear lying on its back in the yard, its paws and legs bound. A large syringe was being used to extract its bile.

The scene of bear bile extraction haunted me. It filled me with guilt and conflicting emotions as an 8-year-old. I promised myself that when I grew up, I would never let humans mistreat bears, or any other animal, like that again. I would definitely work in wildlife conservation. But even then, I didn't know exactly what wildlife conservation entailed.

When I talked about this dream, people just dismissed it as a silly wish of a young girl. But then I studied Biology at Hanoi-Amsterdam High School, received a scholarship to study conservation in the UK, and successfully defended my PhD thesis in Biodiversity Management at the University of Kent in 2018. I have been involved in conservation work in Africa and Asia, researching the demand for wildlife products and participating in covert operations to combat illegal wildlife trafficking.

How did the moment she learned she had a terminal illness change her perspective on life?

- It made me braver. At that time, I really thought: If I'm going to die anyway, why not do what I want to do or die for something meaningful? That's why I founded WildAct.

She founded WildAct when she was just 22 or 23 years old. What gave her the confidence to start a conservation organization at such a young age?

- Partly because at that time I also "didn't know when I would die," so I really wanted to start. Initially, WildAct worked as a volunteer group, but later focused more on activities that other organizations didn't do much of, such as gender equality in conservation or opening up a science program for biodiversity conservation in Vietnam.

Trang once revealed her current dream: for Vietnam to establish a science program in conservation, designed to suit Vietnamese conditions and taught in Vietnamese. How far has this plan progressed?

WildAct has partnered with universities in Vietnam, such as Vinh University and Hanoi Law University, to implement short-term courses on wildlife conservation since 2018. The goal of these courses is to survey the real needs and desires of young people regarding pursuing a career in conservation in Vietnam. These short-term courses have also had a very positive impact, notably with nearly 33% of participants finding employment and/or being promoted in the Vietnamese nature conservation sector after completing the course.

After much effort, we have now made significant progress with a successful collaboration with the Faculty of Science - Vietnam National University, Hanoi. This will be the first program in Vietnam allowing students to study conservation and biodiversity in their own country in Vietnamese, taught by Vietnamese experts and in Vietnam. This is a crucial milestone in realizing the dream of building a conservation science program suitable to Vietnam's conditions and needs, a dream that I and many colleagues have pursued for many years.

We hope the program will create opportunities and conditions to train a generation of high-quality young conservationists, contributing to the shortage of skilled human resources in the wildlife conservation sector in Vietnam.

Why do you believe that conservation should begin with people and their livelihoods, rather than just rescue or remediation?

Local people are the ones who understand their environment best. They also have the greatest influence, whether positive or negative, on that ecosystem. Therefore, sustainable nature conservation cannot focus solely on trees or wildlife; it must begin with people.

When people are supported to have sustainable livelihoods, when they feel that healthy forests mean healthy lives for themselves, then conservation is no longer something "required," but something "they choose to do." And that is the most solid foundation for the future of nature.

What is your biggest concern with WildAct right now?

- I want all of WildAct's programs, from forest patrols and conservation education for children to capacity building for women and communities, to have their impact measured concretely. This is not just to demonstrate effectiveness to partners or sponsors, but more importantly, so that we can reflect on ourselves, learn, and improve.

Whether it's a small initiative in a remote area or a large-scale media campaign, every activity is supported by the community and recognized as humane, kind, and having lasting value for both people and nature. That is the most important measure for me, and it's what I and the entire WildAct team are striving for every day.

Do you want to be remembered as "the girl of the green forest," or simply as someone who did her best for nature?

- I think I'm simply Trang, I'm a wildlife conservationist from Vietnam.

Thank you for the conversation!

Dr. Trang Nguyen, founder of WildAct, has become one of nine representatives from the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region included in Earth Company's Impact Heroes 2026 list. This inclusion in the Impact Heroes list, compiled by a prestigious regional organization, is a recognition of Dr. Trang's and WildAct's conservation efforts over the past decade.

Dr. Trang Nguyen's journey into nature conservation is a story of unwavering determination in the face of countless challenges, from family opposition and language barriers while studying abroad to gender stereotypes and a terminal illness.

Two master's degrees, a doctorate in biodiversity management, and the founding of WildAct are not the destination, but the foundation for a long journey for nature and community. Besides research, she is also directly involved on the front lines of conservation, participating in dangerous field activities such as posing as an undercover buyer to help dismantle illegal wildlife trafficking rings in Africa.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/co-gai-rung-xanh-trang-nguyen-hanh-trinh-vuot-qua-bao-benh-nho-tinh-yeu-moi-truong-va-dong-vat-hoang-da.html