Story | 10 Dec, 2018
Forest Landscape Restoration in Caucasus and Central Asia
Forest loss, land degradation and decline in ecosystems services is growing across the Caucasus and Central Asia region, resulting in loss of the biological and economic productivity of the land, decreases in environmental benefits, and a substantial negative impact on national economies. Yet,…
Story | 26 Nov, 2018
A nexus assessment of the 3S river basins: initial results and feedback
Over the last 18 months, IUCN, ICEM, and IWMI have been preparing a water-food-energy-environment (WFEE) nexus assessment of the Srepok, Sesan, and Sekong (3S) River Basins in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam on behalf of the US State Department’s…
Story | 10 Sep, 2018
Second phase of FFF gets going in Vietnam
The first phase of the Forest & Farm Facility (FFF), which ran from 2012 to 2017, was a clear success. In the 10 focal countries, over 900 forest and farmer producer organizations (FFPOs) were strengthened, 279 business plans were completed, 51…
Story | 14 Aug, 2018
Rethink plans to dam Mekong after Laos disaster
Barrage collapse highlights risks and need for alternative energy sources - The collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam after heavy rains last month that killed more than 30 in Laos and left thousands of Lao and Cambodian people…
Story | 06 Jul, 2018
The first Bonn Challenge Regional Ministerial Roundtable for the Caucasus and Central Asia was a massive success with several countries in the region pledging to bring 2.5 million hectares into restoration.
Story | 05 Jul, 2018
How to increase the value of Vietnam’s forestry sector?
On a visit to Quang Tri in 2016 we asked a forest ranger where the best forest was. He said it was in remote areas too inaccessible for illegal logging or land conversion. If an area has fertile soil and is easy to access, people will turn it into farmland. When we asked a young farmer in Yen…
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 | 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 | 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 …