GMS Project Enhances Biodiversity Conservation in Viet Nam

The Greater Mekong Subregion Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Project, an Asian Development Bank supported project that was first approved in 2010 [4] and given additional funding in June 2015 [5], has significantly contributed to forest protection in Viet Nam’s Quang Nam, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces. The project promoted sustainable management of the country’s biodiversity corridors, strengthening conservation, protecting and maintaining ecosystem services, and contributing to livelihood development in communities. The project also supported restoration of habitat for endangered species.  

In a news report by VietNam Plus [3], Mr. Vo Tuan Nhan, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Viet Nam, emphasized that the project’s target area, the Central Truong Son landscape, plays a leading role in the country’s biodiversity. It is home to ethnic minority groups and is difficult to reach. 

Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Environment Administration, noted that the project has benefited 35 communes in six districts, recovered over 4,600 ha of forests, and provided technical assistance and cash to 1,146 households to help improve their agricultural productivity.  

The ADB project was implemented to enhance transboundary cooperation and preserve biodiversity-rich Cardamom Mountains and Eastern Plains Dry Forest in Cambodia, Triborder Forest areas in Lao People's Democratic Republic, and the Central Annamites in Viet Nam. In 2015, the Global Environment Facility infused $3.79 million to expand its scale, intensify management, and maintain ecological integrity in and around natural reserves in the Central Truong Son landscape.