Hanoi (VNA) – The Greater Mekong Subregion biodiversity conservation corridors andproject management plans will be put into operation from 2019, said ViceDirector of the Vietnam National Administration of Environment Nguyen The Dong.

Dong, who is also the directorof the project's management board, said that the board is holding a meeting on November29-30 with relevant localities to define suitable legal foundations for the foresthandover.

The project aims tostrengthen cross-border cooperation and the management of the forest ecosystemsamong countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It is significant to notonly Vietnam but the world too as it will offer valuable experience in buildingbiodiversity corridors.

In Vietnam, the projectwill be implemented in 35 communes of six mountainous districts in the threecentral provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue, covering protectiveand special-purpose forests to create a corridor for the restoration andmaintenance of ecosystems and biodiversity in the region. This will help ensurea sustainable forest ecosystem, strengthen climate change response in centralTruong Son region, and improve the livelihoods of locals.

So far, 1,177ha offorest have been restored, along with 937.5ha of production forest, and 1,510haof land for forestry exclusive of wood. At the same time, over 10,000ha ofnatural forest land have been recovered through forest restoration.

As many as 15,500households are expected to enjoyed direct benefits from the project, 85 percentof whom are from ethnic minority groups. –VNA