Outline of the Project

Project Name

The Project on Enhancing Sustainable Natural Resource Management Phase 2

Subject

Natural Environment Conservation

Country

Viet Nam

Date R/D Signed

January 12, 2021

Project Site

Hanoi and 4 Provinces (Hoa Binh, Son La, Lao Cai and Tuyen Quang)

Term of Cooperation

From 12 May 2021 to 11 May 2025

Implementing Organization

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Background

Due to its long and varied terrain and climate from north to south, Viet Nam is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots with diverse forest ecosystems. Vietnam's forests once declined significantly in the 20th century due to a series of wars, conversion of farmland, large-scale development, excessive and illegal logging, and other reasons, but have been recovering thanks to the Vietnamese Government's conservation policies, large-scale afforestation efforts, and support from the international community. Furthermore, the export revenue of timber and timber products has been increasing in recent years, and it is also a source of foreign currency. In this way, the Vietnamese Government is stepping up its efforts to achieve both sustainable natural resource management and economic growth.

JICA, in collaboration with other donors and various stakeholders such as Japanese and local private companies, conducted the "Sustainable Natural Resource Management (SNRM) Project" from 2015 to 2021. The SNRM Phase 1 Project worked on capacity building of the counterparts at the central and local levels to achieve sustainable natural resource management. At the central level, the Project supported the revision of the Law on Forestry, forest sector reform, and promotion of national REDD+ action programs. At the local level, the Project supported sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation, which included (1) the formulation/revision of REDD+ action plans in four northwestern provinces and the implementation of REDD+ pilot activities; (2) the development, use, and promotion of the improved forest monitoring system using tablet PCs; and (3) the formulation and implementation of the collaborative management systems in cooperation with local residents in Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve. In short, the SNRM Phase 1 Project successfully promoted sustainable forest management and improved livelihoods in the country through its assistance.

In order to promote the results of the SNRM Phase 1, the Government of Vietnam requested the Japanese Government a technical cooperation project (SNRM2) to strengthen the efforts related to the revised Law on Forestry. Under the revised Law on Forestry, the Vietnamese Government is planning to revise the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy 2006-2020 and the Sustainable Forest Development Program 2016-2020. In addition, the Vietnamese Government is promoting new initiatives such as the establishment of a Vietnamese version of sustainable forest management (SFM) framework and the SFM certification system in compliance with the international standards. Since there has been a gap between the program/policy design and its implementation, SNRM2 plans to support four northern provinces (Hoa Binh, Son La, Lao Cai, and Tuyen Quang) in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of SFM plans by target forest owners. The SFM plan formulation is an important prerequisite for the SFM certification.SNRM2 also supports some of the activities carried over from the previous phase including the implementation of REDD+ activities in provinces, the application of the improved forest monitoring system, and the access to the REDD+ results-based payments by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The Overall Goal

The country's capacity for maximizing multiple benefits derived from forest ecosystems is enhanced, which contributes to improved livelihoods of local people and mitigation of climate change impact through promotion of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), REDD+ and biodiversity conservation.

Project Purpose

The capacity of central and provincial governments and forest owner(s) for promoting Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in compliance with the national and international standards through review, development and facilitation of key national policies and measures on forestry and biodiversity conservation is strengthened.

Output

1. Major forest policies and measures based on the Law on Forestry (2017) are updated and/or implemented.
2. Vietnamese SFM certification system in compliance with the international standard is established and/or promoted.
3. National REDD+ Action Program including access to external financial sources is promoted.
4. Enhanced National Forest Monitoring System is promoted.
5. Major policies and measures for promoting biodiversity conservation are updated and/or implemented.
6. SFM in compliance with the national and/or international standard is promoted in the target provinces (Hoa Binh, Son La, Lao Cai and Tuyen Quang).

Project Activities

1-1	Assist in formulation and/or monitoring of the Forestry Development Strategy for period 2021-2030 (FDS 2021-2030).
1-2	Assist in formulation and/or monitoring of the Sustainable Forest Development Program for period 2021-2025 (SFDP 2021-2025).
1-3	Provide support to address other emerging issues related to forestry.
2-1	Assist in promoting the operation of national SFM certification system in compliance with the international standard.
3-1	Assist in promoting the National REDD+ Action Program including support for getting access to the REDD+ Result-based Payments under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other external financial sources.
4-1	Assist in improving forest monitoring system.
4-2	Build capacity of central and provincial government agencies on operation of forest resources monitoring system.
5-1	Assist in reviewing and/or revising the Law on Biodiversity (20/2008/QH12) and drafting legal documents under the revised Law.
5-2	Assist in improving the National Biodiversity Database System and in building capacity for biodiversity survey, monitoring and reporting.
5-3	Assist in enhancing the national and international network on Biosphere Reserves (including the replication of the Collaborative Management System model developed in the Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve).
5-4	Provide support to address other emerging issues related to biodiversity conservation.
6-1	Identify target forest owner(s) and/or forest owner's group(s) to provide support for promoting SFM.
6-2	Assist DARDs and forest owner(s) and/or forest owner's group(s) to enhance the knowledge on SFM.
6-3	Assist target forest owner(s) and/or forest owner's group(s) to develop plans for SFM.
6-4	Assist target forest owner(s) and/or forest owner's group(s) to implement activities based on the plan for SFM.
6-5	Assist in monitoring the progress of the plan for SFM.
6-6	Assist in review and compilation of good practices, lessons learned drawn from the project activities to reflect them into the national policy including recommendations for replication in other areas.

Inputs

[Japanese side]

Japanese Experts, Training, Equipment and Machinery

Inputs

[Vietnamese side]

Project Officers, Office and Facilities, Project Running Cost