Story | 02 Nov, 2017
Cooperative governance of the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna Basins (GBM) region was strengthened through the recent launch of a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) vision for improved transboundary water management. The vision, which was developed by a network of over 25 CSOs from Bangladesh, Bhutan,…
Story | 13 Oct, 2017
After three years in Vietnam, the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), a partnership between FAO, IIED and IUCN and implemented by the Vietnam Farmer Union (VNFU), has supported the establishment of 14 smallholder collectives in Yen Bai, Bac Kan, Phu Tho, and Thai Nguyen Provinces. These collectives…
Story | 05 Sep, 2017
On August 29-30, 2017, 85 delegates from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh gathered in Delhi, India for a South Asia regional consultation on forest landscape restoration (FLR). The consultation was hosted by IUCN in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate…
Blog | 14 Jul, 2017
Blog: Restoring forests for the future of Himalayan mountain communities
Driving along the winding hill roads of the Indian state of Uttarakhand from Dehra Dun to Pithoragarh, one cannot fail to be impressed by the magnificent Himalayan scenery. The forests and mountains of the Himalayas have been tremendous assets to Uttarakhand, shaping the daily life and…
Story | 06 Jul, 2017
Opportunities for Forest Landscape Restoration in Uttarakhand, India
The Global Partnership for Forest Landscape Restoration estimated that more than 2 billion hectares of degraded land is available for restoration globally - an area larger than South America! Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is the process of regaining ecological functionality and enhancing…
Story | 06 Jun, 2017
Saving the world’s rarest primates by involving indigenous communities
A community-based conservation programme in northeastern Viet Nam is actively involving indigenous communities in Ha Giang and Cao Bang Province to protect the habitats of two Critically Endangered primates, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) and…
Story | 21 May, 2017
Banning vs. legalise and regulate in forest management
Two years ago, on a field survey in Bac Kan Province in Viet Nam, we heard about a farmer who needed 30 stamps to get a permit to harvest a single Styrax tonkinensis tree that was growing on his land. Even though the tree was on land that was designated as plantation forest and the farmer had a…
Story | 24 Mar, 2017
Stakeholders come together to advance restoration efforts in India
Forests are undoubtedly amongst the most valuable ecosystem service providers in the world. Their role extends to securing sustainable energy, supporting biodiversity, safeguarding food and water security and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Despite this there has change in global…
Blog | 21 Mar, 2017
Blog: Bangladesh has 268 wild elephants. What does it mean to us?
On this year’s International Day of Forests (21 March), the Government of Bangladesh has unveiled two new publications on Asian Elephants in the country. These books reveal the latest estimates of Bangladesh’s elephants along with their distribution, routes, and corridors. Haseeb Md. Irfanullah…
Story | 27 Feb, 2017
Local communities empowered to protect nature in Viet Nam
Da Nang City, the third largest city in Viet Nam, is taking important initiatives to protect nature. Known as the most livable city in Viet Nam, Da Nang is remarkable not only for its policy to become an environmental city by 2020 but also for the fact that its local communities also take a …