Dear Partners and Supporters,

We are pleased to share highlights of PanNature's work during the third quarter of 2026. This was an active period for ecological restoration, with tree-planting activities continuing across the Northwest and Central Highlands and expanding into coastal areas for the first time. The quarter also saw further progress in the Gia Lai Agroforestry Development Project (GLAD), continued support for grassroots conservation initiatives across Vietnam, and the successful hosting of the 7th ICCA Southeast Asia Regional Assembly in Van Ho.

These achievements reflect the dedication of our team and the continued collaboration of our partners, local communities, and supporters. Thank you for being part of our efforts to conserve biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and bring people and nature closer together.

The third quarter was one of PanNature's busiest forest-restoration seasons. Across the Northwest and Central Highlands, "Leaf for Forest Restoration 2026" and "Regreening Forest 2026" brought together partners, local communities, and volunteers to plant more than 50,700 native trees, contributing to the restoration of 77.6 hectares of forest.

In the Northwest, "Leaf for Forest Restoration 2026" planted 43,400 native trees across 72 hectares of natural forest in Van Ho, Chieng Son, and Pa Co communes in Son La and Hoa Binh provinces, turning supporters' contributions into trees on the ground. Meanwhile, "Regreening Forest – Greening the Highlands" expanded to the Central Highlands for the first time, aiming to plant 7,300 native trees across 10.6 hectares in Gia Lai.

From the high mountains of the Northwest to the forests of the Central Highlands, each tree planted is a small step towards recovering native forests, and towards landscapes where biodiversity and local communities can thrive together.

Regreening Forest has taken its first step beyond the uplands. In Hai Quang commune, Ninh Binh province, the programme is now supporting the restoration of a coastal wetland, with 7,000 casuarina trees planted along the shoreline. Nearly 150 people took part, including local officials, community members, and representatives of the youth and women's unions. Besides planting trees, they cleaned up the area to mark World Cleanup Day.

The effort was backed by local partners and thousands of individual donors who gave through PanNature's campaigns on the Thien Nguyen and GiveNow platforms. Their support shows how collective action can help restore coastal ecosystems and create more sustainable spaces for the communities who depend on them.

PanNature's field team continued its work to conserve and restore rare conifers in Van Ho and Xuan Nha, Son La province. In Van Ho, forest protection staff and community groups shared experience in propagating threatened conifers, then planted 500 Calocedrus rupestris and Taxus chinensis seedlings in natural forest. In Xuan Nha, 200 endemic Xuan Nha pine (Pinus cernua) were planted in the Special-use Forest, and four community forest protection groups received equipment for patrols, monitoring, and fire prevention. Together, these efforts support both the recovery of rare conifers and the ability of local communities to protect their habitats.

After the success of the Gau Tao Festival in January 2026, PanNature plans to hold it in Van Ho again in January 2027. It is a spring celebration for the H'Mong community, with traditional games, dances, and songs, and a chance to spread the message of protecting nature and the local gibbon habitat.

Your support can bring the Gau Tao Festival back to Van Ho again.

The GLAD – Greening the Highlands project launched its first community tree-planting activity in Gia Lai on June 28, in collaboration with the People's Committee of Chu Se Commune. Local authorities, forest rangers, teachers, youth, and community members gathered at 20/10 Kindergarten to mark the start of a plan to plant 3,810 trees at 25 sites across the commune. The first trees went into the school grounds, around the village sports field, and along the lakeshore. The launch is an early milestone in GLAD's decade-long strategy (2025-2035) to plant 2.2 million trees across 70 communes in western Gia Lai.

On 8 September 2026, GLAD held a workshop in Kbang, Gia Lai, bringing together more than 30 representatives from government agencies, research institutes, universities, conservation organisations, and local farming communities. The aim was to review where agroforestry stands in the province, share lessons learned, and discuss the way forward.

The workshop built on a survey of existing agroforestry models across representative ecological areas of Gia Lai. Participants shared practical experience and identified models with potential for wider development. A key message emerged: a viable agroforestry system must go beyond technical and ecological suitability. It also needs to fit local livelihoods, cultural practices, climate resilience, and market opportunities.

In group sessions, participants assessed potential models across three dimensions: technical and ecological conditions, social and cultural factors, and economic and market considerations. Their input will help identify agroforestry models suited to different landscapes and communities in Gia Lai, supporting ecosystem restoration, more sustainable livelihoods, and greater resilience to climate change.

The GLAD project delivered more than 45,000 fruit and forestry seedlings to 12 of the 28 communes it covers by the third quarter of 2026, starting with areas where the rainy season came earlier. Residents prepared planting pits and organic fertilizer in advance, following technical guidance. Communities also led their own planting: in Ia Khươl Commune, the Women's Union, Youth Union, and villagers planted more than 2,500 flowering trees along inter-village roads. The work contributes to GLAD's 2025–2035 target of planting 2.2 million trees across 70 communes in western Gia Lai.

Through these activities, GLAD is working with local communities to bring trees into farms and everyday landscapes contributing to greener communities, landscape restoration and greater resilience to climate change.

The Grassroots Conservation Grants Programme, supported by Conservation Vietnam and managed by PanNature, continued to support locally led conservation initiatives across Vietnam during the quarter. Current projects achieved encouraging results, from community biodiversity monitoring and forest patrols to wetland restoration and action against wildlife trapping.

More than 30 volunteers joined biodiversity awareness and clean-up activities around Tam Giang Lagoon. Camera traps and acoustic monitoring helped document rare species such as the Crested argus and other threatened wildlife. In Khanh Hoa, community patrol teams recorded biodiversity and removed wildlife traps from forest areas. In Quynh Anh, Nghe An, coordinated enforcement efforts removed around 6,000 metres of bird-catching nets and other trapping equipment, contributing to safer habitats for wild and migratory birds.

The Programme also welcomed four new locally led projects: fireflies as ecological indicators in Van Long wetlands; community-based conservation of a newly described Vietnamese salamander in Dien Bien; surveys and conservation of two coastal plant species in Khanh Hoa; and community-based conservation of Lai Chau ginseng in Ta Leng and Khun Ha. Together, they reflect the diversity of conservation challenges and local solutions emerging across different ecosystems and communities.

So far, the grants have supported 25 projects across 15 provinces. With applications accepted year-round, the Programme continues to create opportunities for local groups and organizations to turn community-based ideas into practical conservation action.

The ICCA Consortium Southeast Asia held its 7th Regional Assembly in Van Ho Commune, Son La Province, from 14 to 16 July 2026. Members and partners from across the region came together for three days of discussions, exchanges among country networks, and learning on the international policies that affect how ICCAs are governed, sustained, and defended. The assembly also welcomed the Consortium's new Regional Council for 2026-2029. It was organized by PanNature with support from NTFP-EP Asia, the host of the regional coordination hub.

In September, Pizza 4P's joined PanNature on a field trip to Kbang, Gia Lai, where the two partners began restoring forest in Krong commune. Together they planted 2,000 native seedlings across 3.3 hectares: Gioi xanh to bring back the forest, and macadamia to support longer-term livelihoods for local Ba-na households.

Pizza 4P's later shared its own story of the trip, highlighting the link between healthy forests, local communities, and the long-term future of the land and its people.

Van Quynh Mai joined PanNature in 2026 as Fundraising and Public Relations Officer. She holds a degree in Social Work from the University of Mysore, India, and brings more than six years of experience working with local authorities and raising public awareness on wildlife protection. Her earlier work contributed to the rescue of many animals from illegal trade and captivity, and to penalties for violators.

Nguyen Thi Minh Hai joined PanNature in May 2026 as Accountant. She graduated in Corporate Finance from Hanoi University of Industry and brings 15 years of accounting experience with companies and non-governmental organizations in Vietnam, including the Center for Health and Population Initiatives (C.CIHP).

Ly Van Hoang joined PanNature in 2026 as a forestry engineer. He brings more than 10 years of experience in forest management, protection, and development, including work with the Bac Kan Forestry Company and the KfW8 project on sustainable forest management and biodiversity. Since 2023, he has worked in the Kon Ha Nung Plateau landscape in Gia Lai on native tree development, agroforestry, community livelihoods, and surveys of primates, birds, and mammals.

We're delighted to welcome Ms. Mai, Ms. Hai, and Mr. Hoang to the PanNature team.

PanNature offers university students a place to learn conservation by doing it. This year, Logan Penny, a fourth-year Environmental Studies student at the University of Kansas, spent two months with PanNature, working in both the Hanoi and Van Ho offices. Looking back on the experience, he said:

"I found great value in being able to work in both of the different office settings with PanNature. It allowed me to learn much more than if I was stuck with one. I realized that I like both, but the hands-on work in Van Ho is more fulfilling to me. I got pleasure from seeing how the nursery changed throughout my time there, and I felt like I made a more direct impact."

PanNature is proud to support young conservationists as they grow into future environmental leaders.

Interested in an internship with PanNature? Feel free to contact the team.