Biodiversity Conservation

According to the 2008 Vietnam Red Book, the number of endangered species of fauna and flora has increased in the last few years primarily due to overexploitation of forests, increased pressures on agricultural land, loss of arable land, water pollution, and degradation of coastal areas.

Biodiversity is also hard pressed by a rapid population growth and intense agricultural development.

These trends are very worrisome as Vietnam has a richly diverse fauna and flora with many endemic species not found anywhere else in the world, particularly in the highland forests.

Conservation activities of the World Bank in Vietnam encompass a series of existing projects on forestry, watershed and biodiversity management in protected areas as well as a range of analytical work and technical assistance.

Analytical Work

• Regional wildlife trade publication: Vietnam is facing serious problems with illegal wildlife trade. It is a central international market for endangered plant and animal species, both as a supplier and as a major trade route for items collected in neighboring countries.

A research project the World Bank leads by TRAFFIC International is investigating the root causes, or drivers, of this trade in Vietnam and other Southeast Asia countries in order to identify the most effective way for governments to respond to the problem.

• Vietnam: Pilot SEA on Biodiversity Issues in the Vietnam Hydropower Subsector: in order to support Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) capacity building in East Asia, the Bank prepared this study as part of a program of technical assistance and training funded by the Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program and the World Bank Institute.

The pilot SEA was produced with the intent of being used for early identification and assessment of the likely significant natural habitats-related impacts of the proposed program of hydropower development in Vietnam.

A draft report was prepared which has not yet been finalized by the Bank. The pilot was undertaken in cooperation the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Ministry of Industry (MOI), and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Investment Programs

The World Bank is a partner in Vietnam’s multi-donor forest management program.

The Forest Sector Development Project (P074414) aims at establishing a system of sustainable management of plantation forests, and conservation of biodiversity in special forests uses.

One of the project’s components is the establishment of the Vietnam Conservation Fund (VCF). In partnership with, among others, the European Commission and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the VCF serves the purpose of a national protected area financing and technical assistance mechanism to administer competitive small grants programs.

These small grants are used to introduce international standards in conservation management, planning and monitoring of Special Use Forests with internationally recognized biodiversity.(P074414 - Forest Sector Development project. Supplemental Credit).

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund 2 (CEPF2): The CEPF2 (P100198) is a small-grants program for biodiversity conservation.

Its objective is to support conservation activities in the most biologically significant and threatened areas of the world.

The CEPF is a joint initiative of Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the MacArthur Foundation, the Government of Japan, and the World Bank.

Launched in 2000, the CEPF provides financial support, technical expertise, field knowledge and information primarily to non-governmental, community and grassroots organizations in developing countries.

Since its inception, the Program has awarded approximately 1,000 grants to more than 600 NGOs, community groups, and private sector organizations in 33 countries. 

A second round of about $20 million was approved in 2007, thus launching CEPF2, and this phase includes Vietnam as an eligible country.

Birdlife International was selected to manage the CEPF2 program in Southeast Asia and they do so from their office in Vietnam. 

Tiger Futures: Mainstreaming Conservation in Large Landscapes (P112108): Approved in early 2009, this project includes some training and capacity building to limit illegal trafficking of tigers in Vietnam. 

Green Corridor Project Completed in December 2008, the Green Corridor project (P059144) was a GEF medium sized project implemented by WWF Indochina Program.

This project aimed at protecting and maintaining the high global conservation value of the productive landscape along the Green Corridor in the Annamites ecoregion, and to establish a replicable model for protection, management and restoration of high global conservation values in multiple-use forest areas of strategic importance for biodiversity conservation. 

Chu Yang Sin National Park Project is another GEF medium sized project, implemented by the Dak Lak People’s Committee and BirdLife International. Approved in 1999, the project is expected to be completed by May 2010.

The initiative focuses on the conservation of the biodiversity of Chu Yang Sin Park and the development of an integrated watershed and biodiversity management through enhanced public support and effective management for the Park. (P068251)

Pu Luong GEF MSP is a project that was closed in 2006. This project supported the protection of the globally important biodiversity of the limestone highlands of the Pu Luong area.

Pu Luong-Cuc Phuong Project: This small project (PTF053824) is implemented by Flora and Fauna International (FFI) and financed by a grant from the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF). The project closed in June 2009.

The initiative aimed at building capacity among relevant stakeholders and local communities to manage the wider karst ecosystem (limestone landscape) through a regional landscape planning and co-management models.

Best practices were promoted and incentives introduced for sustainable resource use at the local level.