Description

The project kick-off workshop was co-organized by International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Directorate of Fisheries under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The project was already announced during the visit to Vietnam in August of the US Vice President Kamala Harris.

This project lasts three years from August 2021 to July 2024 with 2.9 million USD funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The overall aim of the project is to conserve key coastal habitats in the Mekong Delta. Specifically, it increases the sustainability of fisheries, strengthens climate change adaptation, and improves biodiversity conservation.

The project will partner with businesses, provincial governments, the management board of Phú Quốc Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Phu Quoc National Park in Kien Giang province, and fishing communities. Its focal activities are the delta’s lowest-lying and most vulnerable coastlines along the East and West Seas, Phú Quốc MPA, and three small island clusters of Hải Tặc, Bà Lụa, và Nam Du.

The project includes the following work packages: (1) strengthening management of Phú Quốc MPA for more effective habitat and species conservation; (2) establishing a network of locally managed marine areas to protect coral reefs, seagrass beds in three island clusters; and (3) exploring solutions to conserve and expand mangrove forests to increase fish nursery habitat and coastal biodiversity.

The expected project´s outcomes will contribute to addressing the systematic threats in the Mekong Delta and supporting relevant on-going governmental measures, e.g., the revised Law on Fisheries, 36-NQ/TW in 2018 on sustainable development of marine economy, Resolution 120/NQ-CP in 2017 on climate-resilient and sustainable development of Mekong Delta, and Law on Planning 2020.

Related article: The U.S. government launched $2.9 million project to conserve Mekong Delta’s coastal habitats 

Sources & further information: “USAID-funded Mekong Delta Coastal Habitat Conservation project launched” at https://en.vietnamplus.vn and “Mỹ tài trợ 2,9 triệu USD bảo tồn môi trường đồng bằng sông Cửu Long” at https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn, accessed on 25 October 2021.