IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Conservation Today is a way to update our members, partners, and other stakeholders about environmental activities in which the IUCN Viet Nam Country Office is involved. To learn more, please visit http://www.iucn.org.vn

Second regional roundtable: Sustainable financing: Current status and emerging opportunities

Date: January 23-25, 2008

Venue: Vientiane, Lao PDR

Objective: The 2nd Regional Roundtable aims to foster regional dialogue on Payment for Environmental Services, with a view to sharing knowledge and working towards a common understanding and approach.

Participants: Government and non-government implementation partners of the Asian Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program (ARBCP) from Viet Nam, Lao, Cambodia and Thailand.

Raising public awareness on the Asian Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program

Date:  January 21-27 January and March 6-7,,2008

Venue: Lam Dong Province, Viet Nam

Objective: To raise public awareness on biodiversity conservation by providing information on project activities and their objectives for communities.  A competition at village and commune levels on “Knowing about the ARBCP” will be organized.

Target groups: Communities at the project sites

Training workshop for People’s Court

Date: February 27-28 February, 2008

Venue: Lam Dong Province, Viet Nam

Objective: To build the judiciary awareness of, and capacity in legal provisions, and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations in support of biodiversity conservation.

Participants: Judges, prosecutors, environmental police, and forest rangers of Lam Dong Province

Briefing session on forest law enforcement and governance and trade

Tentative date: February 27, 2008

Venue: Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), No.2 Ngoc Ha str. Hanoi

Objective: Relevant government officials working at MARD and MoNRE ministry offices.

Participants: Representatives of line agencies under MARD and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE)

Milestones in IUCN’s partnership with Holcim Viet Nam

February: Signing agreement with Holcim Viet Nam

March: Preparation mission to Hon Chong and Kien Giang to develop the master plan for Holcim’s integrated karst management project.

Launch of Connect2Earth: a Nokia/IUCN/WWF initiative on environment protection

Date: March 2008

Objective: To establish a public web space for people to tell the world why they care about the environment and why it should be protected. Photos, video clips, or text can be uploaded via the web site or your mobile device. This is a competition and the first place message will be presented by the winner at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain this October.

Target group: All individuals, especially youth