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Organization: IUCN-US and IUCN
Donor: The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF)
Project duration: January 2025 – December 2026 (24 months)
Total budget: US$ 276,020 (24 months)
Goal:
The goal of the project is to promote flood-based livelihoods using lotus cultivation to support flood retention areas and restore the lost flood water in the Mekong Delta. The project will develop lotus silk making as a sustainable occupation for local people based on flood-based livelihood models.
Objectives:
Following the completion of the first year, the second and third years are designed to support the local farmers in implementing lotus cultivation as flood-based agriculture in three upper provinces of the Mekong Delta. The expansion of lotus-based models in these provinces will simultaneously encourage farmers to conserve and increase flood retention areas to restore wetlands ecosystems while creating a sustainable supply chain for lotus silk production. The project aims to support local women’s groups to produce marketable products. In addition, the results are proposed to be scaled up across the upper delta by integrating the project approach into new provincial land and water use plans, in particular, a World Bank-funded Mekong Delta Climate Resilience and Integrated Transformation (MERIT) project which is a $25 million Green Climate Fund (GCF) project and a Wetland-based Adaptation in South and Southeast Asia (WASSA) project which is $136 million GCF project.
Based on the results of Year 1, in Years 2 and 3, the project will continue to focus on (1) building up the areas of lotus cultivation to create a stable supply of lotus fiber for lotus silk products; (2) providing training for local farmers on lotus fiber extraction and weaving; (3) conducting research on aquatic biodiversity and carbon sequestration and (4) connecting with local businesses to support the lotus silk products design, find the markets for local consumption and export.
The major outputs of Years2 and 3 include:
to lotus cultivation;
By: lediemquynh
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In July 2024, CoMem collaborated with the SRD – a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – to launch the RỪNG AN LÀNH 2024 project with the message “Grow Green Forests – Live Peacefully”. It aims to reforest 2-hectare-watershed forest with nearly 3,000 trees in Chiềng La Commune, Thuận Châu District, Sơn La Province.
CoMem has been on a 9-year journey with the mission and strategy focusing on CSV – a sustainable business model that creates values for society and the communities. In 2024, CoMem joined VB4E – an alliance promoting businesses engagement in environmental protection and natural conservation, initiated by IUCN and other partners. The project in Sơn La is the second phase following the initial phase of the RỪNG AN LÀNH project, planting 2-hectare-watershed forest in Ninh Thuận Province.
In 2024, aim at supporting the communities in developing agroforestry-related economic activities while protecting forests and enhancing climate resilience, through the Rừng An Lành project, CoMem in collaboration with SRD and local authorities will carry out the following activities:
✨Conduct training activities to educate the locals on knowledge, techniques for planting, caring and protecting forests.
✨ Plan 2-hectare-watershed forest to protect water sources, in combination with proper care and protection techniques, and hand over to the local authorities and residents after 5 years.
This model mainly focuses on enhancing the capacity and awareness of forest protection at the grassroots level, from the local community itself. When the community fully understands and is capable of self-management, forest resources and ecosystems will be sustainably protected for future generations.
Stay tuned and follow CoMem to bring the Rừng An Lành to the community and the people of Song Village, Chiềng La commune, Thuận Châu District in the coming time.
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HANOI, October 24, 2023 – IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, entered a three-year partnership with Hyundai Motor Company and Good Neighbors International (GNI) to restore mangroves in the Mekong Delta with a focus on privately owned shrimp farms.
This partnership is a part of Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ Forest project. Launched in 2016, it aims to plant 1 million trees worldwide by 2024 to create eco-friendly forests that absorb carbon, conserve biodiversity, and benefit local communities.
In the first year, the project will plant 120,000 mangrove trees, primarily rhizophora and avicennia species, in Nam Can District in Ca Mau Province. This builds on work by IUCN and SNV, the Netherlands Development Organisation, on mangrove restoration as part of a German International Climate Initiative (IKI) organic shrimp project support in neighboring Ngoc Hien District. In Ngoc Hien, the mangrove forest is co-managed by shrimp farmers and local government and farmers must maintain at least 50% of tree coverage on their farms.
In Nam Can, most of the farms are privately owned, which means that farmers must be incentivized to plant and care for mangroves. Since many mangroves in the Mekong Delta are on privately owned land, this is a new and important area of work for IUCN.
In Nam Can, mangroves will be planted in shrimp ponds to provide food and nursery habitat for shrimp and other aquatic species such as fish and crab, and to protect them from extreme temperatures. Mangroves also protect farms and houses against storms and because of their extensive root system, sequester more carbon per unit area than tropical rain forests. Integrated mangrove-shrimp farming is therefore a nature-based solution for livelihoods, climate change, and biodiversity.
If mangrove cover is sufficiently restored, the mangrove-shrimp landscape could be recognized as an OECM or Other Effective area-based Conservation Measure, a new designation of protected and conserved land or water outside of formal protected areas. OECMs are a part of the new Global Biodiversity Framework to which Viet Nam is signatory.
“In 2020, IUCN launched Global Standards on Nature-based-Solutions to protect, sustainably manage and restore nature to address societal and environmental challenges. The project is expected to contribute to promote NbS by increasing mangrove cover in shrimp farms in Ca Mau,” shared Jake Brunner, Head of IUCN’s Lower Mekong Sub-region. “In the long-term, Ca Mau’s integrated mangrove shrimp landscape could be considered as an OECM, thereby helping Viet Nam reach its 30×30 target, which the government committed to at CBD COP15 in Montreal in December 2022”.
With its 3,000-km long coastline, Vietnam is one of the world’s vulnerable countries to sea level rise and climate change. The low-lying Mekong Delta is particularly vulnerable to flooding, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion. Through projects such as this, IUCN, Hyundai Motor Company and GNI enhances resilience to climate change while promoting sustainable livelihoods.
“Viet Nam is one of the most important markets for Hyundai Motor’s future mobility strategy in the ASEAN region. We aim to become a pioneer in this market as the first global brand to launch a CKD EV model in Vietnam,” said Oh In Won, Head of Vietnam Business Unit of Hyundai Motor Company. “The IONIQ FOREST project represents our authenticity and desire for the sustainability and eco-friendly future in Viet Nam.”
IONIQ Forest projects are part of Hyundai Motor’s ‘Hyundai Continue,’ a global effort to create shared value (CSV) in alignment with their brand vision of ‘Progress for Humanity’. The ‘Hyundai Continue’ initiative focuses on making revolutionary efforts for a better future, with three main areas of focus: Continue Earth, Continue Mobility, and Continue Hope.
By: lediemquynh
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Lang Sen Wetland Nature Reserve in Tan Hung District, Long An Province was established in 2004. The nature reserve covers 1,971 hectares and includes some of the last natural wetlands in the Plain of Reeds with a mix of marshes, seasonally flooded grasslands, and melaleuca forest.
However, according to the results of a 2021 survey, the total area of Special-Use Forest (SUF) has decreased by 139 hectares since 2014. In response, in September 2021, the PPC approved for Lang Sen Wetland NR a plan to reforest 30 hectares by the end of 2022.
In December 2022, in support of the PPC’s plan, IUCN entered into a partnership with PAN and CP Group to implement a 2-year project to restore melaleuca forest, which is an important habitat for water birds and many freshwater species.
To introduce the project, IUCN and the management board organised a consultation in the nature reserve on 22 December 2022. This yielded useful recommendations on planting density and timing, suitable planting areas, planting techniques, etc.
Experts suggested calculating the carbon capture of the new forest. Viet Nam will pilot a carbon trading market in 2025 and aims to establish an operational market in 2028 that connects domestic and international buyers[1]. This is one of the measures to achieve Viet Nam’s COP26 commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Decision No. 1/QD-TTg of January 2022[2 ] lists the sectors for which a greenhouse gas emissions inventory in mandatory. These are: energy, transportation, construction, industrial, agro-forestry and land use, and waste treatment. About 1,900 businesses in six of these sectors will have to complete their inventory by March 31, 2023 and conduct emission inventories twice per year starting in 2024 [3].
To achieve the net zero, business participation is essential. While awaiting detailed regulations, partnerships such as the one between IUCN, PAN and CP Group can test technical approaches with the potential to be scaled up.
[1] https://congthuong.vn/gan-1200-doanh-nghiep-phai-cung-cap-thong-tin-phuc-vu-kiem-ke-khi-nha-kinh-235698.html
[2] https://english.luatvietnam.vn/decision-no-01-2022-qd-ttg-dated-january-18-2022-of-the-prime-minister-on-promulgating-the-list-of-sectors-greenhouse-gas-emitting-establishments-s-216078-doc1.html
[3] https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hon-1900-doanh-nghiep-xay-dung-bao-cao-kiem-ke-khi-nha-kinh-tu-2024/835759.vnp
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Developing a sustainable value chain of products from lotus silk in Vietnam to support the flood storage strategy for the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
An Giang Province, Long An Province, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam
February 2023 – January 2024
In the upper Mekong Delta, the two natural flood plains are the Plain of Reeds (POR) to the east of the Tien branch, covering parts of Dong Thap, Long An, and Tien Giang Provinces, and the Long Xuyen Quadrangle (LXQ) to the west of the Hau Giang branch of the Mekong River, covering parts of An Giang and Kien Giang Provinces. Together, they cover about 1.3 million hectares.
Over the last 15 years, these two flood plains have undergone considerable human modification. In response to national food shortages and in order to grow first two and then three crops of rice a year, high dikes were built to displace floodwaters causing the loss of flood retention area in the upper Mekong Delta. Adopting financially low risk, flood-based livelihoods such as lotus-based models to replace unsustainable triple rice crops, thereby conserving or restoring flood retention capacity in some provinces of Mekong Delta.
Lotus is naturally occurring in Vietnam, and its distribution is particularly concentrated in the wetlands of the Mekong Delta. Products made from lotus are widely used and distributed; however, the main part of the lotus plant –the lotus stem–is rarely used. Lotus silk and products made from lotus silk have high economic value, contributing to the diversification of farmers’ livelihoods and the conservation of natural resources.
In other parts of Asia such as Myanmar, Cambodia and some East Asian countries, lotus fiber is used to make furniture and clothes, however in Viet Nam this occupation has not yet been developed. This is because Vietnamese people do not know how to extract fibers from lotus stems nor have experience in lotus planting and intensive farming techniques. Vietnam’s traditional weaving villages have never woven fabrics from lotus silk, and Vietnamese people have never used products woven from lotus silk.
Further, the current process of cultivating, spinning, weaving and producing etc. are all based on experience and traditional craft technology dating back hundreds of years, thus being outdated and inefficient, leading to high cost and low quality; outdated product designs.
This project aims to address this and develop new opportunities for livelihoods from lotus silk through successfully piloting lotus cultivation, drawing silk from lotus stems, weaving silk from improved looms, designing and commercializing several products made from lotus silk within the scope of the Eco-Eco and IUCN projects.
The project will support farmers to implement lotus cultivation as a flood-based model and pilot a model of sustainable value chain development of lotus fiber products in Viet Nam. The closed value chain model will be implemented in Thap Muoi District (Dong Thap Province), Tri Ton District (An Giang Province) and Tan Hung District (Long An Province), carrying out several stages including planting lotus, spinning and weaving, designing, displaying and trading products. This model can be expanded with the participation of companies in designing and trading of lotus products in Hanoi, HCMC and nationwide for local consumption and export.
The goal of the project is to promote flood-based livelihoods using lotus cultivation to support flood retention areas and restore some of the 4 billion m3 of water retention that was lost between 2000 and 2011 in the Mekong Delta. It will develop lotus silk making as a sustainable occupation for local people based on flood-based livelihood models.
By: lediemquynh
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EPR is now mandatory with specific regulations on product groups, product lists, recycling rates and recycling procedures for each product . However, the EPR roll out faces many challenges for businesses. There is a need to develop EPR guidelines for each sector and to test models so that businesses can decide on what works best for them in line with the EPL.
In July 2022, IUCN and TCPVN Company Ltd agreed to implement the project “TCP moving toward circular economy and enhancing EPR practices in Viet Nam” in 2022-2024. The project will test different EPR models from waste separation and collection to recycling of aluminium cans, PET plastics, and carton papers, the traceability of recycled material through the waste value chain, and identify barriers and opportunities for businesses to meet the EPR mandate.
On October 13, 2022, IUCN met TCPVN and project partners VietCycle and VSIP Industrial Zone.
At the meeting, Nguyen Thanh Huan, TCPVN Country Director, said that the company prioritized environmental protection. It has developed a 5-year-strategy “Energizing a Better World for All” that focuses on neutrality, circular economy, and water conservation. Under the circular economy theme, the partnership with IUCN will collect and recycle 30 tons of packaging waste in 2022. He highlighted the project’s social impact in supporting the informal sector, which plays a vital role in collecting and recycling waste.
Jake Brunner, IUCN Viet Nam Country Representative, talked about the need for policy reform. Viet Nam faces a huge waste management problem and projects such as this one need to generate lessons learned that can be used in formulating and delivering policy messages to government.
After the meeting, IUCN and TCPVN visited two aggregators collecting carton papers and aluminium cans, met waste pickers in Thanh Tri District, Ha Noi, and a VietCycle plastic collection site in Hung Yen Province.
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The “Female journalists with collective impact for reducing plastic pollution and plastic waste” project, which is initiated by For Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF), funded by the Earth Journalism Network (EJN), Tetra Pak Vietnam Joint Stock Company, and Vietnam Business for Environment (VB4E), would like to announce the call for proposals for “Financial & technical aid package” on the topic of plastic pollution and reducing plastic waste in Vietnam.
The “Financial & technical aid package” aims at:
Searching and publishing reports/articles on plastic waste and plastic pollution made by female reporters;
Enhancing the capacity of female reporters in investigating reports on plastic waste and plastic pollution;
Increasing the quantity and quality of reports/articles on plastic pollution and plastic waste in the community and businesses.
1. Subjects receiving the grant:
All female reporters and journalists who love the environment and are working at press and television agencies nationwide.
2. Conditions to receive the grant
Grant proposals must meet the following conditions:
Proposed and implemented by individuals or groups of no more than 3 people;
The content focuses on publishing articles/reports about plastic pollution and plastic waste in mass media;
Reporters can choose one of the following topics (this is just a suggestion, reporters can choose other topics related to plastic waste and plastic pollution):
Honoring initiatives, individuals, and businesses that contribute to the environment and the community that reduce plastic waste
Investigative article/report on plastic waste and plastic pollution in Vietnam
Implementation time: From September 2022 to November 2022 (November 30, 2022, is the deadline for publishing articles/reports on mass media).
Location: Vietnam
3. Ways to engage
Individuals/groups can download the proposal form and budget form from the following link:
Individuals/groups participating send proposals to the email address: [email protected]
The title: Proposed Financial and Technical Aid Package_Name of the individual/group
Each one can submit more than one proposal
4. Criteria for proposals
Suitable content: The proposed content is suitable for the conditions mentioned in Section 1.
Creativity: What is new or different about the proposal?
Feasibility/capacity of the proposal: Is the time and budget of the proposal feasible? What are the possible challenges and plan to address them? Does the individual/group have enough experience to do it?
Effectiveness and spillover capabilities: What are the specific results and short-term, and long-term impact of the proposal?
5. Budget
The maximum budget is 12,000,000 VND/1 proposal.
6. Activities
6.1. The time frame:
6.2. Proposals need to submit documents, including:
The proposal clearly stated the project’s specific results (form).
Detailed funding (form).
6.3. The following information will be added to the proposal after the sponsor notice (via email):
Sponsorship agreement: VSF and individuals/groups sponsored sign a funding agreement.
Detailed information: Individuals/ groups edit and complete proposals according to VSF.
Detailed expenses (budget): Individuals/ groups complete proposals according to VSF.
Financial guideline: VSF offers written instructions or other required paperwork for individuals/ groups to receive the grant.
7. Proposal report
The individual/group receiving the grant is responsible for implementing the proposal as well as disbursing in accordance with the objectives agreed with VSF.
In the end, the individual/group needs to complete the proposal report (including articles/reports published in the media), and financial statements, and submit invoices. , documents according to the requirements of VSF.
Any questions please contact:
For more information about organizing committees and sponsors please visit:
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Bangkok, Thailand, 13 December 2021: Siam City Cement Group (SCCC Group) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) extended their partnership for another three years at a signing ceremony of their new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the implementation of the INSEE Sustainability Ambition 2030 targeting Net Positive Impact (NPI) on biodiversity at sites where SCCC Group operates.
The goal of the partnership is to avoid and minimize biodiversity loss to the extent possible. Over the next three years, SCCC Group and IUCN will cooperate to design and implement biodiversity offsets to compensate for any unavoidable impacts of SCCC Group’s quarrying and cement production processes in its plants in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, thereby contributing to sector-wide improvements in the cement and related industries in the region.
The second MoU was recently signed by Mr. Aidan Lynam, Group CEO of SCCC Group and Mr. Dindo Campilan, PhD, Regional Director for IUCN Asia and Hub Director for Oceania at an MoU signing ceremony at SCCC Group’s Headquarters in Bangkok, with country representatives from Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam joining online.
Mr. Aidan Lynam said “Biodiversity has been established as one of the key pillars in INSEE’s Sustainability Ambition 2030, a long-term strategy in which we are committed to actionable targets which are aligned with the business needs. IUCN can therefore play an integral part in challenging and supporting our plans for the achievement of mutually shared objectives.”
During the period of the first MoU (2018-2021), SCCC Group worked with IUCN to reduce biodiversity loss and rehabilitate impacts from its operations. For example, in Sri Lanka, IUCN and Siam City Cement (Lanka) monitored wildlife to assess the impact of quarry rehabilitation. In Vietnam, IUCN and Siam City Cement (Vietnam) have reviewed the implementation progress of the 2021 Biodiversity Action Plan for revision and provided biodiversity atlas of Mekong Delta Limestone including Hon Chong and Touk Maes in Cambodia. In Thailand, Siam City Cement Plc. works with the Bio-Diversity Network Alliance (B-DNA), the country’s first national business and biodiversity platform, coordinated by IUCN, to build business awareness and capacity for sustainability, and to network and collaborate on biodiversity conservation. In Cambodia, IUCN and Chip Mong INSEE carried out biodiversity surveys to design an offset to protect the endemic species of the Mekong Delta Limestones.
“This continued partnership and the integration of biodiversity conservation into the Group Company’s sustainability ambition clearly demonstrates SCCC Group’s true commitment to biodiversity. Together, we can establish the standards and guidelines that offer solutions balancing the needs of society, business and nature,” said Dr. Dindo Campilan.
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Advocating for Nature-based Solutions to Address the Coastal Squeeze in Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
November 2021 – October 2024
Mekong Delta is home to 50% of Viet Nam’s mangroves, however, sea level rise (SLR) is leading to a coastal squeeze, resulting in the loss of mangroves, fisheries habitat, and biodiversity. The complex phenomenon of the coastal squeeze, highlighted in the 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere, is poorly understood. Coastal planners believe that mangrove reforestation with concrete wave breakers will protect the shorelines, but this is high-cost approach.
Effective adaptation will require a new approach to coastal planning along the delta’s coastlines that are under private ownership. This includes integrated land use planning and an expanded set of solutions that include hybrid nature-based solutions (NBS) within context of the private land use. The 2019 Planning Law established the legal basis for integrated land use planning, but it has not yet been operationalized. As a founding member of the Mekong Delta Working Group (MDWG), IUCN has discussed the coastal squeeze with other members of the Mekong Delta Working Group (MDWG). While they understand the problem analysis and proposed solution, they have not provided funding to test hybrid-NBS, primarily because historically they have focused on mangrove replanting outside the sea dike, not inside the sea dike as this project will do as a part of an extended solution set that goes beyond the shoreline mangroves. Provincial governments have been reluctant to test hybrid-NBS because of deep-rooted “protect at all costs” mentality, and a poor understanding of the coastal squeeze.
This project aims at increasing mangrove cover along 200 km of the lowest and most vulnerable coastlines of the delta. This requires the application of system thinking that adopts a holistic approach to coastal planning and investment. Key to success is forming a group of Vietnamese champions that will interface with government decision-makers. IUCN’s role is to provide resources and a platform for the champions to engage government over a 3-year period. IUCN will commission the champions to carry out joint studies of the coastal squeeze and hybrid-NBS so that new knowledge is internalized. Champions will engage their own institutions and the media to move these issues into the public domain.
Increase mangroves cover along the lowest and most vulnerable coastline of the Delta by working with the government and business to allow mangroves, currently trapped between RSL on one side and the sea dikes on the other, to retreat inland to offset the coastal squeeze.
The project has 3 components
Dr. Andrew Wyatt – Deputy Head of IUCN Indo-Burma, IUCN Viet Nam Country Office
E-mail: [email protected]
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To produce series of articles posted by Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper (VNA) on good practices and initiatives implemented by local businesses and communities on ecosystem restorations, reducing pesticide use, land degradation which contributes to the protection of land, soil and water resources for adaption to climate change and connects VB4E with prospecting businesses.
For decades, Viet Nam agriculture is coping with series of issues including land degradation, large export volume but low selling price due to intensive farming using chemicals, high antibiotic residues, limited safe and effective use of pesticides, etc. Socio-economic inequality is growing as agriculture products’ profits decline with increasing input costs to compensate for lost sediment/fertility and lost fisheries.
Protecting the quality of soil, land, water resources and the environment is also the major concern of our society especially with agriculture sector given its close interconnection. As such, VAN has recently developed Responsible Agriculture Programme to consider comprehensive solutions to handle issues and risks from climate change, transboundary pest immigration and environmental crisis from businesses and local communities.
Viet Nam
2021
For more information, please see: LINK
