Third stage of Vietnam Forests, Deltas Programme launched hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
 
Quang Ninh (VNA) – A conference was held in Ha Long city, in the northern province of Quang Ninh on March 7 to officially launch the third stage of the Vietnam Forests and Deltas Programme for the 2018-2020 period.

The programme is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and conducted by the non-governmental organisation Winrock International in partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The first and second stages of the project from 2012-2018 helped with issuing national policies and strategies in response to climate change, focusing on forestry and agriculture, mitigating disaster risks, and improving livelihoods. It benefited the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, the northern province of Nam Dinh, and the southern province of Long An.

Winrock International’s chief representative in Vietnam Brian Bean said the third stage will pool more domestic resources for forest protection and development, as well as enhance transparency in payment for forest environment services and its impact on forest quality and local livelihoods.

It will be carried out in Lam Dong, Son La, Thanh Hoa, and Quang Ninh provinces with activities such as building e-payment systems, improving monitor systems, and expanding payment for other services such as ecological tourism and water use.

Nearly 25,000 households have received allowances from forest environmental service payment by polluting companies and become more active in forest protection. Over 200,000 people from 60 communes have adopted disaster risk mitigation measures.

Experts worked with local agricultural encouragement centres to promote livelihoods in adaptation with climate change among the over 30,000 farmers in forest and delta areas. –VNA

VNA