Growing Conservation from the Ground Up: Grassroots Action in 2025

In 2025, something important quietly began to take shape across Vietnam. In forest villages, coastal fishing communities, and research stations far from major cities, small local organizations started receiving direct support to protect the species and ecosystems they know best.

This was the first year of the Grassroots Conservation Grant Program, a five-year initiative (2025–2030) supported by Conservation Vietnam with a total commitment of the equivalent of USD 1 million. The Program was designed with a clear principle: to support small, local organizations working on the frontlines of biodiversity conservation.

Each grant is intentionally modest – capped at the equivalent of USD 12,000 per project – but carefully targeted. The goal is not scale in numbers, but depth in local impact. These small grants are meant to unlock ideas that might otherwise never find support: conserving a rare plant species in a remote commune, documenting wildlife populations in a little-known forest, or improving fishing practices to reduce harm to endangered marine species.

In its first year, the Program received 34 proposals from a wide variety of organizations across the country. The response itself was telling: there is no shortage of conservation commitment at the local level – what has often been missing is access to flexible funding.

After a multi-stage review process involving internal and independent technical assessment, seven projects were approved for support by the end of December 2025. Most were still in their early stages by year’s end, but the foundations had been laid.

Across northern mountain forests, cooperatives began conserving valuable medicinal plants such as wild Tam that (Panax stipuleanatus) under natural forest canopies in Dien Bien. In Thanh Hoa, local partners initiated assessments of the elusive Owston’s civet (Chrotogale owstoni), a globally threatened species. In Nghe An, researchers worked to better understand and protect the golden camellia (Camellia ngheanensis), a rare and highly localized plant species.

Further south, conservationists in Da Nang initiated efforts to document endangered wildlife in Khe Lim Forest. In Hà Tinh, community-based forest groups began conserving green ironwood (Erythrophleum fordii), a species once heavily exploited. Meanwhile, the Vietnam Tuna Association launched preparatory work to reduce impacts on endangered, threatened, and protected marine species in tuna fisheries.

These projects may appear modest in budget, but they represent something powerful: conservation rooted in local knowledge and driven by local actors. Many of the grantees are small cooperatives or scientific organizations with limited financial resources but strong technical commitment. The grants help them conduct baseline surveys, prepare seedlings, organize community groups, and build conservation plans that can grow over time.

Beyond individual projects, 2025 was also about building a system. Procedures were developed. Review mechanisms were refined. Monitoring tools were tested. A national communication group connecting 91 participating organizations was established. In other words, the first year was not only about funding projects – it was about building a long-term grassroots conservation platform.

The year 2025 marked the beginning of this journey. Most projects are still in progress. Forest seedlings are still young. Surveys are still being completed. Community groups are still being formed.

But the direction is clear.

When conservation is supported at the grassroots level – through small grants, local leadership, and long-term commitment – it becomes more than a project. It becomes a movement.

Funded Projects in 2025

Below is the list of projects approved for funding in 2025:

Vietnam Tuna Association
Reducing impacts on endangered, threatened, and protected (ETP) species in purse seine tuna fisheries
Grant: 299,500,000 VND

Southern Institute of Ecology
Initial conservation of endangered and rare wildlife species in Khe Lim Forest, Da Nang
Grant: 300,000,000 VND

Thuong Xuan Forestry Medicinal Cooperative
Assessment and conservation measures for Owston’s civet (Chrotogale owstoni) in Xuan Lien National Park, Thanh Hóa
Grant: 256,770,000 VND

Viet An Ginseng, Medicinal Plants and High-Tech Agriculture Cooperative
Conservation and development of wild Tam th?t (Panax stipuleanatus) under natural forest canopy in Dien Bien
Grant: 253,810,000 VND

Center for Ornamental Plants Research and Development
Biodiversity value assessment and capacity strengthening for H’Mong communities in Tuyen Quang
Grant: 309,294,000 VND

Nghe An Forestry Development Consulting Center
Conservation assessment of golden camellia (Camellia ngheanensis) in Nghe An
Grant: 104,200,000 VND

Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperatives Union
Conservation and development of green ironwood (Erythrophleum fordii) in Ha Tinh
Grant: 287,470,000 VND

(Additional projects were approved late in the year and are completing procedures prior to full implementation.)