Posted on February, 21 2008

In just one week, WWF Greater Mekong and its partners have launched two new projects regarding management of the forests and watersheds in the Southern Annamites, the area long recognized as an important landscape for its high concentration of large endemic mammals and home to ’s three large national parks.

Land

On 15 January, WWF had its launch of the “Co-management of forests and wildlife, Bidoup –  Nui Ba” Project. In collaboration with the Bidoup – Nui Ba National Park, WWF undertook this in order to deal with biodiversity retaining while ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the local people with the aim of reducing threats to natural resources in the project’s area.

 “Our new conservation approach focuses not only on forest and species conservation but also on addressing broader environmental problems and sustainable livelihoods of the people,” said WWF Vietnam Country Programme Director Tran Minh Hien.

The means to this end, according to the director of the Bidoup – Nui Ba National Park, Le Van Huong, will include the development of an appropriate framework for co-management, the establishment of community-based forest and wildlife management groups, and most importantly, providing a sustainable living option for the locals.

 “Approval of these projects marks the good will of local authorities in conservation in , especially in the Southern Annamites landscape. However, we could not do anything without the active contribution and close cooperation of the local community and the authorities,” WWF Vietnam’s Programme Manager Richard McNally expressed, “The actual trend of all our projects is about partnership.”

Water

As more people are forced to rely on a finite area, water pollution has become a significant problem here. In order to address the progressively worsening situation, on 18 January, WWF Greater Mekong launched the “Addressing water pollution in Dong Nai River and Tri An Reservoir” Project, which aims to understand the linkage between community land-use practices (forestry, fisheries and agriculture) and water pollution.

The project will strongly advocate for the responsibility of both the local government and the private sector to find ways of addressing these serious pollution problems and a real threat to the sustainability of the economic development in the area. The strength of this project, funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), is the integrated approach to the water pollution problems in Dong Nai. The assessment and analysis of water pollution from all relevant sectors will enable prioritization, of recommendations, and pilot the most cost effective measures to reduce the pollution load in the river.

The two-year project will investigate options for sustainable finance and reward mechanisms to ensure that the upstream forest and farming communities receive adequate benefits in return for the ecological services that they provide downstream dependants. The potential for other livelihood opportunities, in particular ecotourism, will also be further assessed.

For more information, please contact:

Richard McNally
WWF Vietnam Programme Manager
Tel: +844 7193049
Fax: +844 7193048
Email: richard.mcnally@wwfgreatermekong.org