On March 3, 2025, the “Leaf Contribution for Forest Restoration 2025” campaign—a tree-planting initiative aimed at restoring 60 hectares of forest in Son La - was officially launched through a collaboration between Vietnam Airlines, MoMo, and PanNature. This initiative integrates…
Mr. Trinh Le Nguyen, Director of People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature), shared grim news with the media, stressing that Vietnam has lost many once-pristine natural areas, often regarded as 'paradises on earth'. This transformation serves as a costly lesson about human responsibility. “Forests have been cut down for agricultural land, and unsustainable resource exploitation has drastically reduced biodiversity, disrupted ecosystems and degraded the environment,” he said.
Less than three months after the initiative was launched on World Environment Day (June 5) this year, the project achieved its goal of planting 25 out of the total 50 hectares planned.
In a collaborative effort to combat deforestation and restore critical habitat, several organizations joined forces to launch the "Regreening Forest 2024" initiative. Held on June 2nd in Van Ho commune, Son La province, the event marks a significant step towards a long-term goal of restoring 500 hectares of forest along the ecological corridor connecting Hoa Binh and Son La provinces.
With the widespread of the Internet, mobile applications, and online banking, online donation is now quite convenient for many Vietnamese. Several local companies have pioneered in developing platforms for online donation for domestic customers. PanNature has received great support from major local platforms to pilot online crow fundraising, including Momo, GiveNow, and ThienNguyen (a service of the Military Bank).
Farming and local livelihood development are encroaching on the Van Ho forest's rich biodiversity, which threatens the survival of a small population of the Northern White-cheeked Gibbon sharing the same home. PanNature has worked with local communities and authorities to boost conservation efforts to rebuild fragmented forest regions. Following the successful forest restoration campaign in May 2023, which drew approximately 200 participants, PanNature will continue annual events to mobilize local actions for regreening forests.
This study, conducted by PanNature with financial and technical support from the NTFP-EP program, primarily aims to evaluate the impact of community consultation processes and mechanisms ensuring community participation in recognizing traditional rights in Vietnam, with a particular emphasis on Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The study focuses on regions characterized by mountainous terrain and forest landscapes.
The success of the forest restoration campaign in May 2023 would not be possible without valuable support from the engagement and support of local companies. Momo, a leading electronic payment platform, helped PanNature to carry out crowd fundraising with a total of nearly 80 million Dong (about 3,285 US dollars). We also received donations, both in-kind and cash, from two big companies TH True Milks and Tupperware, in addition to in-kind donations from the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations.
PanNature collaborated with the Forest Protection and Development Fund of Thua Thien Hue province to organize 02 training courses in Thua Thien Hue province for social organizations and communities (A Roang communes and Huong Nguyen commune, A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue province and Kim Tien village, Kim Hoa commune, Tuyen Hoa district, Quang Nam province) at the end of 2022 and early 2023.
The publication “Celebrating Territories of Life in Southeast Asia” by the ICCA Consortium features stories of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ territories of life. It highlights the region’s traditional knowledge and governance systems and sustainable livelihood practices.