More land taken from natural reserves, national parks
Road building projects that would pass through natural reserves have been proposed, while many resorts have been built in national parks.
Video: Public Participation in EIA
MPE had a chance to interview the RTWG members on their opinions about Public Participation in EIA, national experiences and their visions towards the work of the RTWG on EIA.
Spotlight: China releases water to drought-stricken Mekong countries ahead of Lancang-Mekong cooperation meeting
China has started to discharge water into the lower reaches of the Mekong River to alleviate drought in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, as a major gesture before the first Lancang-Mekong cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting to be held in late March.
China to play vital role in development of Lancang-Mekong cooperation framework: Vietnamese expert
Trinh Le Nguyen, executive director of People and Nature Reconciliation, a Vietnamese not-for-profit organization, made the remark in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in the capital Hanoi on Tuesday.
Missing Water – A Mekong Story
The story is produced by PanNature with support from the McArthur Foundation and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).
The Vietnamese State and Administrative Co-Management of Nature Reserves
Special-use forests (SUFs) are natural protected areas established to conserve the nature and biodiversity of Vietnam. Although the number of SUFs in Vietnam has increased over the years, biodiversity and forest density continues to decline. The Special-Use Forest system of protected area management has been implemented in accordance with ideas of wilderness areas and no-use regimes , and strongly relies on the capacity of state agencies, forest rangers, the military, and police. The state-based preservation of natural resources and biodiversity in SUF areas has been variously evaluated as deficient in a number of areas, including managing conflict between multiple user groups. To overcome these deficiencies, Vietnam has piloted co-management approaches in many SUFs since 2001, and as of 2003 included co-management in its official national strategy for SUF management.
ASEAN’s special role in managing energy decisions
Mekong countries’s chronic shortage of electricity which threatens to stymie economic growth, could be eased by pushing for acceleration of plans by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a regional power grid. Cross-border electricity swaps are growing as the 10-country bloc moves towards the goal of a single market by the end of 2015. And hydropower is among those plans. However, Damming the Mekong River can causes widespread controversy in South East Asia. Lower Sesan 2 dam on Mekong river in Cambodia is a typical example.
Dak Lak Yew forest revives
More than 10 years ago, scientists warned about the endangered yew (Glyptostrobus pensilis) forests in the central province of Dak Lak. Since then, activities have helped to preserve the species.
Environmental and Social Index for Provincial REDD+ Planning and Implementation in Vietnam
In this context, the Provincial REDD+ Environmental and Social Index (RESI) was developed by the by People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) in collaboration with the Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES, Vietnam National University in Hanoi), and Tropenbos International in Vietnam (TBI), with technical support from Dr. Pamela McElwee (Rutgers University, USA). Developed from 2012 to 2015, this index assesses local environmental and social conditions and highlights particular advantages and potential risks in implementing REDD+ at the provincial level.
PanNature and Vietnam Administration of Forestry Signed Cooperation Program
According to the agreed upon plan, PanNature and other organizations will cooperate on numerous activities to assist VNFOREST in implementing evidence-based research for the proposed Forest Law, which will replace the Law on Forest Protection and Development of 2004. PanNature will also support VNFOREST in establishing the Vietnam's Forest Owners Association.