Hanoi (VNA) - TheMinistry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the United NationsDevelopment Programme in Vietnam (UNDP) organised the closing workshop of theproject titled "Conservation of Critical Wetland Protected Areas andLinked Landscapes" in Hanoi on November 26.

The project, which was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) throughUNDP, was implemented from 2015 to 2020 with the two objectives of establishingnew wetland protected areas and minimising the existing and emerging threatsfrom linked landscapes by strengthening capacity to effectively manageprotected areas.
 
It was implemented by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resourcesand Environment (ISPONRE) in coordination with the Biodiversity ConservationAgency (BCA) under the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) and the DONREsof Thai Binh and Thua Thien-Hue.

Over its five years of implementation, the project has achieved major outcomesaccording to its set objectives, including: establishing two new wetlandprotected areas (WPA), Thai Thuy WPA in Thai Binh and Tam Giang - Cau Hai WPAin Thua Thien-Hue; building and issuing policies on wetland management andconservation; supporting to integrate wetland conservation and management intomain plans of the two provinces; developing livelihood for communities in ThaiBinh and Thua Thien-Hue; and raising awareness and capacity building inconservation, management, and sustainable use of wetlands at the national andprovincial levels.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said despitechallenges, the two wetland protected areas were established in the twoprovinces, demonstrating the harmony between socio-economic development goalsand nature conservation, biodiversity and environmental protection.

The two WPAs in Thai Thuy, Thai Binh province, and Tam Giang - Cau Hai, ThuaThien-Hue province, are the first WPAs to be established under the provisionsof the 2008 Law on Biodiversity. The promulgation of the Government's DecreeNo. 66/2019/ND-CP dated July 29, 2019 on the conservation and sustainable useof wetlands and its guiding documents have contributed to fulfil Vietnam'slegal framework for wetland management and enhance the efficient management ofWPAs in the face of development pressures and the increasingly severe globalimpacts of climate change.

“As this project closes, the momentum for the protection and sustainable use ofwetlands must continue and collaboration among all stakeholders must beenhanced. We count on the leadership of MoNRE to mobilise financial resourcesfrom both the public and private sector to ensure adequate resources for theefficient protection and management of wetlands,” highlighted Ms. Sitara Syed,UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam.

More than 70 delegates attended theworkshop, including representatives from MoNRE, the Ministry of Planning andInvestment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, UNDP, line agencies in Thai Binh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces(Departments of Natural Resources and Environment [DONRE]), Departments ofAgriculture and Rural Development, the Management Board of Wetland ProtectedAreas in Thai Binh, and the Management Coordination Board of Integrated CoastalAreas in Thua Thien - Hue, as well as international organisations, experts,universities, and research institutes./.