{"id":6330,"date":"2026-02-25T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/?p=6330"},"modified":"2026-02-25T16:36:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:36:57","slug":"growing-conservation-from-the-ground-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/growing-conservation-from-the-ground-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Conservation from the Ground Up: Grassroots Action in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

This was the first year of the Grassroots Conservation Grant Program, a five-year initiative (2025\u20132030) 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s end, but the foundations had been laid.<\/p>\n

Across northern mountain forests, cooperatives began conserving valuable medicinal plants such as wild Tam that (Panax stipuleanatus<\/em>) under natural forest canopies in Dien Bien. In Thanh Hoa, local partners initiated assessments of the elusive Owston\u2019s civet (Chrotogale owstoni<\/em>), a globally threatened species. In Nghe An, researchers worked to better understand and protect the golden camellia (Camellia ngheanensis<\/em>), a rare and highly localized plant species.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The conservation project of wild Tam that (Panax stipuleanatus<\/em>) in Quai To, Dien Bien<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Enhancing capacity for survey and monitoring of Owston\u2019s civet (Chrotogale owstoni<\/em>) in the buffer zone of the National Park in Thanh Hoa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further south, conservationists in Da Nang initiated efforts to document endangered wildlife in Khe Lim Forest. In H\u00e0 Tinh, community-based forest groups began conserving green ironwood (Erythrophleum fordii<\/em>), 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Activities of the Khe Lim forest conservation project\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But the direction is clear.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Funded Projects in 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is the list of projects approved for funding in 2025:<\/p>\n

Vietnam Tuna Association<\/strong><\/em>
Reducing impacts on endangered, threatened, and protected (ETP) species in purse seine tuna fisheries<\/em>
Grant: 299,500,000 VND<\/p>\n

Southern Institute of Ecology<\/strong><\/em>
Initial conservation of endangered and rare wildlife species in Khe Lim Forest, Da Nang<\/em>
Grant: 300,000,000 VND<\/p>\n

Thuong Xuan Forestry Medicinal Cooperative<\/strong><\/em>
Assessment and conservation measures for Owston\u2019s civet (Chrotogale owstoni) in Xuan Lien National Park, Thanh H\u00f3a<\/em>
Grant: 256,770,000 VND<\/p>\n

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

Center for Ornamental Plants Research and Development<\/strong><\/em>
Biodiversity value assessment and capacity strengthening for H\u2019Mong communities in Tuyen Quang<\/em>
Grant: 309,294,000 VND<\/p>\n

Nghe An Forestry Development Consulting Center<\/strong><\/em>
Conservation assessment of golden camellia (Camellia ngheanensis) in Nghe An<\/em>
Grant: 104,200,000 VND<\/p>\n

Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperatives Union<\/strong><\/em>
Conservation and development of green ironwood (Erythrophleum fordii) in Ha Tinh<\/em>
Grant: 287,470,000 VND<\/p>\n

(Additional projects were approved late in the year and are completing procedures prior to full implementation.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

About Conservation Vietnam<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Conservation Vietnam is a Vietnamese philanthropic conservation foundation dedicated to protecting the country\u2019s biodiversity. The majority of its financial contributions come from domestic companies and individual donors, reflecting a growing movement of locally supported environmental philanthropy.<\/p>\n

Its five-year commitment of USD 1 million to the Grassroots Conservation Grant Program signals an important shift: conservation in Vietnam increasingly supported by Vietnamese society itself.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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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\u20132030)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,57,65],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-6330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projects","tag-biodiversity","tag-communities","tag-sustainable-development","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6330"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6341,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6330\/revisions\/6341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6330"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=6330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}