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Asia Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program - n/a Environment: Forestry, Energy & Environmental Services Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam 2005 - 2010 USAID |
Asia Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program
RATIONALEThe Greater Mekong sub-region in Southeast Asia is an area of significant ecological importance and home to rare and endangered species, including the Siamese crocodile, Javan rhino, giant ibis, and the Asian golden cat. It is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Increasingly, development activities harm critical ecosystems and important biodiversity areas by fragmenting natural landscapes—primarily the result of forested areas converted to agriculture. While parks and protected areas can preserve flora and fauna, there is mounting concern that these areas may undermine the livelihoods of the poor, especially women, who are heavily dependent on harvesting forest resources. Unclear and conflicting objectives, inadequate spatial scale, weak governance mechanisms, and limited stakeholder engagement have made previous work ineffective.
OBJECTIVES
The goal of this program is to improve the sustainable management of natural resources and the conservation of biodiversity in Vietnam and the Greater Mekong River Sub-region. The four key objectives to the program are:
• Restore and maintain ecosystem connectivity in biodiversity corridors and across landscapes.
• Promote sustainable financing for biodiversity and natural resource conservation.
• Improve the livelihoods of the ruralpoor.
• Strengthen environmental governance and institution building.
ACTIVITIES
The Winrock team is taking an innovative, integrated approach to improving the management of natural resources and conservation in Vietnam and the Greater Mekong region. Conservation activities are being implemented at the large-scale level of conservation corridors or landscapes, rather than focusing only on protected areas. These activities are being coordinated with stakeholders to identify incentives as part of regional development strategies. New alternative funding mechanisms, such as developing rural enterprises and payment for environmental services, are aiming to conserve watersheds and/or biodiversity to provide benefits to communities. Existing conservation funds are being used more efficiently through better governance to strengthen planning, restoration, monitoring, and enforcement. Particular attention is being paid to the livelihood strategies of the rural poor, especially women. The Winrock Team will eventually link lessons learned from its pilot site in Vietnam, the Cat Tien National Park and its surrounding area, to national and regional policies. Winrock International is implementing this program in partnership with the World Conservation Union (IUCN); FFF Associates; Winrock International India; and Mars, Incorporated.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Over 65 people representing national and provincial government agencies, donors, NGOs, research institutes and the private sector attended a highly successful ARBCP inaugural project development workshop. Provincial governments gave their strong endorsement and agreed to cooperate on biodiversity, economic, enterprise, and PES feasibility assessments.
• A solid working relationship was also developed with national counterparts at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.
• The ARBCP initiated its Biodiversity Assessment, conducted three stakeholder consultations at various stages of the process, and produced a first draft of the assessment, which defined the landscape and corridors on the basis of existing plant and wildlife data and identified a set of conservation foci and protection activities. A first draft of the conservation planning targets and the economic assessment was also completed.
• A concept paper was developed to formalize a public-private partnership with the Mekong Private Development Facility, IKEA, and other partners for sustainable bamboo production and marketing.
• Further development was made on the cocoa agroforestry partnership with Mars, Inc., resulting in the development of an informal alliance that includes the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Forest Science Sub-Institute of Vietnam (FSSIV).
• ARBCP team members working on the draft Biodiversity Law participated in a training/awareness workshop on Access and Benefit Sharing held for government officials.
• Collaboration with USFS/International Forestry was formalized: a proposal for a range of technical assistance was submitted and training in the U.S. was secured for two Vietnamese government staff.