IUCN, The International Union for Conservation of Nature in Viet Nam

IUCN has a long association with the Government of Viet Nam. This began in the early 1980s when IUCN provided technical assistance in preparation for the First National Conservation Strategy in 1984-1985.  Since then, IUCN Viet Nam has been making significant contributions to the environmental protection and nature conservation in Viet Nam. This includes but is not limited to, technical assistance to the National Environment Agency and the National Biodiversity Action Plan during 1993-1996, the National Plan for Environment and Sustainable Development for the period 1991-2000, the five-year National Environmental Action Plan (2001-2005), and the Viet Nam Biodiversity Law.

Viet Nam became a state member of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in 1993; a Country Office was established in Hanoi the same year. The Union has two NGO members in the country: the Institute of Ecological Economy (ECO-ECO) and the Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES).


Framework agreement with Sida

From 2004 to 2007, the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) supports IUCN Viet Nam's efforts targeting the Union’s membership, national institutions and civil society through a Country Program Support Agreement (CPSA). It enables IUCN to widely disseminate technical information and best practices, as well as advocate on linkages between development and nature conservation.

This CPSA has been re-newed for the year 2008 which reflects IUCN Viet Nam’s Strategic Frameworks for the period 2007-2010. It is an integral part to the overall operation and programme of IUCN Viet Nam.

Under the overall aim to promote sustainable development in Viet Nam, there are four main areas of support by Sida include:
1.    Governance: this seeks to support the development of legal frameworks, build capacity for government authorities and civil society, strengthen institutional arrangements, improve enforcement, and develope incentive mechanisms for environmental protection and natural resources management.
2.    Environmental Planning: this seeks to integrate environmental planning into economic growth for the harmonization of development and conservation.
3.    Environmental Services: this aims to help maintain the benefits that ecosystems and the environment can provide to the people of Viet Nam. This has been one of the traditional areas of IUCN Viet Nam’s past efforts.
4.    Climate Change: this aims to provide supports and the needed coordination to efforts of  the government and communities to develop adaptation strategies to respond to a changing climate.