The project focuses on forests, biodiversity and people who depend on these natural resources for their livelihood.
The Record of Discussions on “Sustainable Natural Resource Management Project” was signed on July 9 in Hanoi by JICA, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and five provincial People’s Committees - Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Son La, Hoa Binh and Lam Dong.
JICA is currently assisting the northwest province of Dien Bien in the formulation and implementation of the Provincial REDD and Action Plan (PRAP) through the Project for Sustainable Forest Management in the Northwest Watershed Area (SUSFORM-NOW), which is the first PRAP officially approved in Vietnam.
The new project will fully utilize the experience of SUSFORM-NOW to disseminate PRAP development in three neighbouring provinces for scale-up of the initiative.
As Bidoup Nui Ba National Park in Lam Dong province has been designated as the Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme, the project will also develop a collaborative management of the biosphere reserve with broader stakeholder participation based on the experience of previous JICA co-operation - the Project for Strengthening Community-Based Management Capacity of Bidoup Nui Ba National Park.
In addition, field data on biodiversity will be collected and stored in both the management information system for the forestry sector of MARD and the national biodiversity database system of MONRE. Increasing data sharing and coordination between MARD and MONRE will be addressed in the project.
