Biodiversity conservation in the Central Annamites through ecosystem protection and land management

The karst region between Laos and Vietnam is home to one of the largest contiguous natural forest complexes in continental Asia. The region is also rich in biodiversity, but the wildlife is increasingly threatened by poaching, illegal logging and the conversion of forests (e.g. into agricultural land). The project supports a sustainable reversal of the trends towards forest degradation and species loss. To achieve this goal, it improves the monitoring of the illegal wildlife trade, provides incentives for the conservation of biodiversity and implements measures to reduce the illegal timber trade. In cooperation with the local authorities, models that were successfully tested in the previous project are being continued and expanded, including agreements with municipalities on species protection, municipal forest management and sustainable financing mechanisms for protected areas.

Project data

Countries: Laos, Viet Nam
IKI funding: 7,000,000.00 €
Duration: 12/2018 till 12/2024
Status: open
Implementing organisation: KfW Entwicklungsbank
Political Partner: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry - Lao PDR

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) - Viet Nam

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoNRE) - Lao PDR

People’s committee of the province of Provinz Quang Nam - Viet Nam

People’s committee of the province of Thua Thien Hue - Viet Nam

Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office (PAFO) - Laos
Implementing Partner: Bach Ma National Park - Viet Nam

Hue Saola Nature Reserve - Viet Nam

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) - Viet Nam

Quang Nam - Forest Protection Department - Viet Nam

Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve

Thua Thien Hue - Forest Protection Department - Viet Nam

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Germany

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Laos

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Viet Nam

WWF Greater Mekong Programm

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State of implementation/results

The project aims to expand the officially designated protected areas. For Vietnam, biodiversity and socio-economic analyses are being supported to prepare a dossier for the expansion of protected areas. By decree of the Laotian Prime Minister in June 2024, the status of the Xesap protected area was upgraded to a national park and expanded by a total of 202,300 hectares; a Palé area with an area of 49,000 hectares will be established in the centre of the highest biodiversity.
In order to strengthen local patrol capacities, patrol teams have been recruited and equipped and training on patrols, monitoring and species identification has been carried out. In Vietnam, 338 patrols have been carried out so far, during which 8,341 snares were removed. In Laos in 2023, 858 snares were removed in 24 operations and 103 illegal temporary hunting camps were destroyed. To improve biodiversity monitoring, a systematic survey was carried out with 140 camera traps at a total of 64 locations in Laos and Vietnam. As part of the project, the first reliable biodiversity baseline of the Annamite Mountains was created, the partially complex data analysis is still pending.-- In Xesap National Park, 102 species from 5 taxonomic groups (fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals) were identified, including 31 mammal species. Two mammal species were categorised as critically endangered and two as endangered.-- To support the identification of illegal trade in wildlife products and inter-agency law enforcement, wildlife trade and consumption surveys have been conducted in various cities and a directive to combat illegal wildlife trade has been finalised and signed.-- In addition, events and workshops on wildlife trafficking are held on an ongoing basis to raise awareness and change the behaviour of the population.
Two action plans between Vietnamese and Laotian provinces have been adopted to strengthen the capacity of the authorities. The Vietnamese cities of Hue and Tam Ky have declared themselves wild meat-free cities and are developing or adopting an action plan to end the consumption of wild animals.
The project has also developed guidelines for conservation agreements, village development funds and biodiversity offsets.
Through the establishment and ongoing support of 30 Village Development Funds (VDFs) in Vietnam, 15 VDFs in Laos and 15 Biodiversity Conservation Agreements in Laos, the livelihoods of village communities, including representatives of the Women's Union, are improved and village development plans are supported to promote behavioural change.

Latest Update:
09/2024