Story | 13 Jul, 2016
Forest conservation in Quang Tri: what can be done?
In Quang Tri province, Viet Nam, not far from the Lao border, one side of the valley is a nature reserve, and on the other a 130-hectare community-managed forest. The community forest looks in reasonably good condition, with no clearing and not much bamboo re-growth. When asked, the village…
Story | 13 Jul, 2016
A collective voice: helping farmers become communicators
The expression “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” or the equivalent in Vietnamese “Con khóc mẹ mới cho bú” (the mother breast-feeds the baby only when it cries) reflect the belief that to get attention you have to raise your voice. Farmers in Vietnam often say they lack sufficient capital,…
Story | 12 Jul, 2016
DNA surveys offer hope to Viet Nam's Critically Endangered turtles
Advanced environmental DNA techniques are being used extensively in Viet Nam as researchers continue in their efforts to track down selected species of Critically Endangered reptiles. The methods have been successful in detecting the rare cave salamander (Proteus anguinus) in Montenegro, a…
Story | 12 Jul, 2016
Tackling Ha Long Bay’s polystyrene plague
From a distance, the scattered beaches of Vietnam’s iconic Ha Long Bay appear pristine. But as you get closer you realize that the picturesque World Heritage Site is engaged in a battle to prevent itself from drowning in trash.
Story | 10 Jul, 2016
Flooded forest fires: a major threat to the Tonle Sap
The Tonle Sap is described by Cambodians as the heart of their culture and national economy. Globally, it is known as the heart of Cambodia’s freshwater fisheries, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and one of the most productive wetland areas in the world. The flooded forests and…
Story | 08 Jul, 2016
Drought and illegal fishing in Balot: addressing new challenges
In late June, IUCN met the Balot community protected area (CPA) committee (located in the Boeung Chhmar Ramsar site) to discuss progress with the EU-funded IUCN/FACT project to strengthen community fisheries in three sites in the Tonle Sap. The meeting raised two new challenges: extreme weather…
Story | 07 Jul, 2016
CEPF launches new call for proposals in the Indo-Burma hotspot
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) has launched a call for proposals for small grant projects in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and parts of Southern China. A separate call for proposals for large grant projects in Myanmar has also been issued…
Story | 05 Jul, 2016
Tourism and sustainable financing of community fisheries in Kampong Phluk
In early June, IUCN and FACT organized a regular monthly meeting with the community fisheries (CFi) committee and commune council in Kampong Phluk, 25 km from Siem Reap, one of three sites where the EU-funded project to strengthen management of fish conservation areas (FCAs) is intervening in…
Story | 04 Jul, 2016
Blog - A shared Mekong: towards better cooperation
The boom in hydropower development in the Mekong basin could affect food security – something IUCN is working to counter by facilitating dialogue in the region, writes Raphaël Glémet, Senior Water and Wetlands Programme Officer at IUCN Asia in his recent blog article. An excerpt from…
Story | 30 Jun, 2016
Action for a green Ha Long: Volunteers unite to clean-up bay
As part of the USAID-funded Ha Long-Cat Ba Alliance (HLCBA), a clean-up day was organized by IUCN and Au Co Cruises on June 14 in Ha Long Bay with over 100 volunteers from across Viet Nam.