Project to preserve river biodiversity
Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Dong Nai River Basin Conservation Landscape Project also aims to raise the living standards of the region`s rural poor.
The goals of the US$4mil programme, in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces include restoring and maintaining the area`s ecosystems, promoting sustainable financing for conservation, improving the livelihoods of poor residents and strengthening environmental governance and institutional management.
The project will focus on biodiversity conservation – restoring degraded ecosystems and protecting large areas of flora and wildlife from development – while giving local residents incentives for resource management.
Reducing poverty, especially among women living in the heavily forested areas of Lam Dong Province, is a primary goal. The region has been designated a pilot province to promote sustainable financing for biodiversity and resource
conservation.
In return for adopting sustainable land-use practices, upstream villagers will receive payments for environmental services from downstream users. Officials expect participants` incomes to rise by 25%.
"This programme creates a situation where both the residents and the environment benefit," said Jonathan Aloisi, deputy chief of Mission at the US Embassy. "People will earn more without exploiting natural resources."
The project is jointly sponsored by Vietnam`s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Winrock International, a non-profit organisation specialising in rural development and sustainable resource management.
The Ministry and Winrock will implement the programme, with key support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the World Conservation UNI0N.
These groups plan to establish the legal protocol for generating economic incentives to conserve biodiversity and watershed conservation values in the forest-protected areas.
Particular attention will be paid to generating tangible economic benefits from production, protection and special-use forests to offset the opportunity costs of converting them to agricultural use.
The project will serve as a model for Vietnam and the region through the Asian Development Bank Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative.
CIREN (Copy VNA)