Transfer of land-use rights from the state to the community to encourage community forest management (CFM) and use of forest resources for livelihood improvement, has been in place in Vietnam since the 1990s. However, while the policies, institutions, and approaches…
Richard Craik, originally from Chester, an historic city close to Liverpool in north-west England, has spent the last 17 years living in Vietnam. On the crowded city streets of Ho Chi Minh City, he is just another foreigner living and working there. But among Vietnamese, foreign birdwatchers and conservationists, Richard and his company's name, Vietnam Birding, are familiar.
On March 14th 2009 in Bangkok, a new coalition to save Southeast Asia's Mekong River is launched at a special photography exhibition. The Save the Mekong coalition was formed in response to growing public concern about the effects big dams would have on the Mekong's migratory fish stocks, regional food security, and the livelihoods of millions of people. PanNature also joins the Save the Mekong coalition and pledges to play an active role in promoting information and raising public awareness on issues related to the Mekong River in Vietnam.
On the occasion of the New Year of the Buffalo, PanNature would like to send sincere thanks to colleagues, scientists, friends, advisors, partners, and donors for your cooperation, support, and encouragement for our efforts in protecting the environment and conserving natural resources in Vietnam.
Vietnam has good potentials for hydropower development with the watershed system consisting of more than 2,000 rivers and streams. In theory, hydropower can supply about 308 billion Kwh of electricity. Vietnam’s technical hydropower reserve of plants over 10 MW is 72 billion Kwh. There are about 360 sites suitable for installing hydropower plants with total capacity of 17.500MW1. This does not include other hydropower plants of smaller sizes.
The 21st century welcomes a new Vietnam with its rapid changing economy, stable growth, and amazing reduction in the poverty rate. However, this good news can not hide the increasing environmental problems and degradation of our valuable natural resources.