VRG has actively cooperated with a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as PanNature, Oxfam in Vietnam and UN-REDD+ Vietnam to survey several member companies in Laos, Cambodia that aim to build and apply "Guidelines for voluntary risk reduction in agricultural investment abroad" VRG is also trying to cooperate with some other NGOs on re-issuing FSC certificates.
Forestry experts are optimistic about the future in Vietnam, largely thanks to community-based forest management. The model is developing extensively in the country, and experts have lauded its ability to increase forest recover, limit deforestation and create income from forests for local people. Nguyen Viet Dung from PanNature, a Vietnamese not-for-profit organisation that works to protect nature, said at recent seminar in Hanoi: “People’s participation in forest conservation and management is very important.”
Along with the population growth and pressure from the human needs, natural ecological areas in Vietnam such as forests, wetlands, coastal mangrove forests ... have been rapidly narrowed, fragmented and degraded. Accordingly, not only biodiversity and ecological values have been lost, but many traditional cultural values of the community associated with nature have also been eroded. On December 20-21, 2018, in Dak Lak, People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) in collaboration with Dak Lak Union of Science & Technology Associations organized the workshop: “Promoting community-based conservation initiatives that contribute to preserving cultural and ecological diversity in Vietnam” in order to create opportunities for communities’ representatives and related organizations to share and discuss this topic.
A water resource management project has been underway in Dak Rong commune, K’Bang district of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, aiming to preserve the local biodiversity, improve the livelihood of communities in the basins of Srepok and Sesan…
On November 14th, 2018, launching conference of the project “Promoting women participation in forest restoration in Xuan Nha Nature Reserve” was organized by People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) in collaboration with Xuan Nha Nature Reserve Governance Board and Xuan Nha Commune Women Association.
The seminar on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT): Policy Prospects and Implications took place on August 30, in Hanoi. The event is a part of the project Strengthening Non-state actors’ Voices for Improved Forest Governance in the Mekong Region (EU-NSA Mekong) funded by the European Union, jointly implemented by The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Vietnam.
On July 21th, 2018, in Danang, People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) in collaboration with Da Nang Union of Science & Technology Associations, GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Centre (GreenViet) and Environment & Biological Resource Teaching Research Team (DN-EBR) organized the first international workshop on "Biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the Central and Highlands", with the 2018 topic is “Lesson learnt on tourism development in National Parks and Nature Reserves”.
The USAID funded project has been successful due to cooperation from many people and groups. It has been implemented by Centre for Marinelife Conversation and Community Development (MCD) and its Partners and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) and the Center for Environment and Community Research (CECR), along with cooperation from Quang Ninh province People’s Committee, relevant agencies, enterprises, NGOs,…and local communities in the alliance, advice from national and international experts.
The third Mekong Resouces Forum with tittle: "Development Impacts and Resilience in Agriculture and Forestry in the Mekong Region" was held on 15 – 16 June 2017, in Hoa Binh, Vietnam by PanNature in co-operation with ADDA, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), and Vietnam-Lao-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation Development (VILACAED). There were about 100 participants from community and non-state organizations in the Lower Mekong region, research and academic institutions, representatives from governmental agencies, media and other interested parties took part in the event. The main objectives of the forum: To share issues, concerns, lessons learned, good practices and perspectives in agriculture and forestry sectors in relation to resilience and adaptation to environmental changes at different levels; and To discuss and promote better development alternatives and approaches in order to secure fair and equitable access to natural resources, improve livelihoods and quality of life and ensure sustainability of our living environment.
Acknowledging the environmental and social risks of overseas agriculture investment, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, People and Nature Reconciliation and Oxfam in Vietnam have conducted research to rapidly assess the reality of agricultural investment in Laos and Cambodia. It aims to identify the problem and mobilize the Pioneer Enterprise Group to initiate development of Voluntary Guidelines to mitigate environmental and social risks for Vietnamese enterprises investing in the agricultural sector in the Mekong sub-region. This workshop on “Sustainable Agricultural Investment of Vietnamese Businesses in the Mekong Sub-region” is organised based on this research and the draft Voluntary Guidelines for Enterprises. The organisers hope that the workshop would be a forum for enterprises, government agencies, and civil society organisations to exchange experience and solutions to finalize the Voluntary Guidelines and contribute to Vietnam’s overseas investment policy.