Hanoi (VNA) – The InternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Vietnam Association of NationalPark and Protected Area (VNPPA) held a workshop on the management ofconservation sites in Vietnam in Hanoi on March 27.
Tran The Lien, head of the department forspecial-use and protection forest management, said Vietnam has prioritised thebuilding of protection sites, with the country’s first forbidden forestestablished in Cuc Phuong in 1962.
To date, the nation has 168 special-useforests, including 33 national parks, 59 natural reserve areas, 13 speciesconservation sites and 54 natural scenic protection sites.
Meanwhile, it has 16 marine conservation sites,with 45 inland water areas and wetlands included in the protection planning.
Jennifer Kelleher, a representative of theIUCN Global Protected Areas Programme, said protected area governance issuitable only when it fits specific conservation conditions, brings long-termbenefits to preservation work and local livelihoods and respects residents’rights.
There is no way to build an ideal method forall, but a good-governance code of conduct should be considered, sheadded.
At the workshop, participants wereintroduced to current governance models in Vietnam, including a community-basedforest protection and livelihoods development model in Thai Nguyen and ThanhHoa, as well as community-based efforts to save the Delacour langur in Ha Nam.-VNA