The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam has validated its Integrated Financing Strategy (IFS) for sustainable land management (SLM), designed with the support of the Global Mechanism (GM). The IFS was fine-tuned at a workshop in Hanoi with various national government representatives, experts and interested local parties from 16 to 17 April 2012.
Opening the meetings, Deputy Director General of the Viet Nam Administration for Forestry Nguyen Ba Ngai explained that climate change and other natural factors have accelerated land degradation in the Southeast Asian country. Its two driest provinces, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan, both located on the southern coast and affected by land degradation, were selected as the focus of the IFS.
The workshop discussed how to increase investments in SLM in the two provinces and decided what steps to take next. One project for each province will be developed in close collaboration Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other stakeholders by September 2012. An investment framework will be presented to donors in July 2012 and launched in the fourth quarter of 2012. Additionally, as part of the efforts to take Viet Nam as an example, it was agreed that Viet Nam government officials try to meet with those of Myanmar to share their experiences as Myanmar begins developing its IFS.
Immediately after Viet Nam’s IFS validation, the GM started the evaluation process. Interviews with officials representing the government, international organizations, NGOs and private sector entities involved in developing the IFS revealed that public awareness of country’s land degradation and related issues had been raised.
“We see that, in at least the two provinces we’re focussed on in Viet Nam, there’s a better understanding of SLM and desertification problems and this is due in part to the IFS process,” said Simona Somma, GM Results and Impact Assessment Advisor.
A signatory of the UNCCD, Viet Nam, through its National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (NAP) for 2006-2010 with a vision towards 2020, aims to stop and alleviate the impact of desertification/land degradation, which has severely damaged the national economy as well as livelihoods.
For more information:
Ms Camilla Nordheim-Larsen, Programme Coordinator, Asia and Pacific
Tel. +39 06 5459 2061
c.nordheim-larsen (at) global-mechanism.org
Ms Simona Somma, Advisor, GM Results and Impact Assessment
Tel. +39 06 5459 2124
s.somma (at) global-mechanism.org
