Sharing about the results of work in 2023, Director of the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Nguyen Van Tai said: 2023 is the first year that the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity has come into operation as a unit under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Although there are many difficulties, with the attention and close direction of the Ministry's leaders, the coordination and support of the units under the Ministry, the participation of the Department's leadership and the efforts of all civil servants, public employees and workers, the state management of nature conservation and biodiversity has achieved initial results. From the beginning of the year, the organization and staff arrangement were soon completed, put into stable and smooth operation.
In 2023, the Department reviewed viewpoints, orientations, legal regulations and international treaties to advise on clearly and consistently shaping nature and biodiversity conservation work in general and state management work in particular.
According to Director Nguyen Van Tai, the Department has completed the work of drafting assigned documents, focusing on the National Biodiversity Conservation Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050; the National Program on the conservation of endangered, precious and rare wildlife species prioritized for protection until 2030, with a vision to 2050; submitted to the Minister for promulgation of Technical Guidelines on the construction and sharing of environmental databases; and implemented the development of a Project to strengthen environmental protection, nature conservation and biodiversity at natural heritage sites in the Southeast region.
The Department has coordinated with the Department of Environment to propose amendments to Decree 08 and coordinated with the Department of Pollution Control to amend Circular 02; reviewed inadequacies and obstacles to propose amendments to Decree No. 160/2013/ND-CP of the Government on criteria for determining species, management regime of species on the List of endangered, precious and rare species prioritized for protection and regulations on registration of establishment, issuance and revocation of certificates of biodiversity conservation facilities of Decree No. 65/2010/ND-CP of the Government.
Over the past year, the Department has strengthened the dissemination, popularization and education of laws; provided guidance on the implementation of nature and biodiversity conservation; organized the settlement of administrative procedures, and performed specialized inspection tasks on compliance with laws on nature and biodiversity conservation according to the assigned plan. In addition, it has organized the implementation of commitments and obligations on nature and biodiversity conservation of focal points of international treaties to which Vietnam is a member; promoted international cooperation to consult experiences, mobilize resources and coordination, and support for nature and biodiversity conservation in the country.
The Department also coordinates with localities, agencies and organizations to handle issues arising in the process of implementing nature and biodiversity conservation tasks; strengthens the capacity of investigation, monitoring, supervision, tracking and information, data and application of information technology in nature and biodiversity conservation.
Sharing about the opportunities and challenges in the coming time, Deputy Director Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan said that the issue of nature conservation and biodiversity is receiving attention on a global scale, especially after the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) in 2022 adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework, aiming to promote countries around the world to make joint efforts to reverse the current trend of biodiversity loss. Vietnam has the advantage of high biodiversity value. In recent times, conservation work has also received more and more attention from Party and State leaders at all levels and attracted the active participation of the community and non-governmental organizations.
Currently, the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity has been upgraded to a unit under the Ministry and is in a better position to carry out cooperative relations. However, the challenge is that state management of nature conservation and biodiversity is currently difficult to unify due to overlapping between many ministries and sectors; related regulations are also scattered in the legal system.
In 2024, the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity sets out tasks, focusing on continuing to improve the system of policies and laws on nature conservation and biodiversity in the direction of clearly defining management objects, combining integrated management methods and direct management. In addition, advising on the effective implementation of the National Strategy on Biodiversity to 2030, with a vision to 2050; disseminating, guiding, and organizing the implementation of plans, programs, plans, and directives in the field of nature conservation and biodiversity. Developing and implementing the Program for investigation, inventory, and monitoring of biodiversity in conservation areas nationwide; promoting propaganda, dissemination, and education of the law; effectively implementing and ensuring the progress of law enforcement inspection work...
In 2024, along with the implementation of the Kunming - Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in Vietnam, the Department will proactively participate in and effectively implement international treaties on biodiversity conservation that Vietnam has signed, and at the same time, develop and submit to the Ministry for consideration and approval a Project to establish a partnership on biodiversity and ecosystem services; Ramsar site network, World Biosphere Reserve.
At the Conference, leaders of units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment highly appreciated the results of the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, and contributed additional ideas to further strengthen the coordination between agencies under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in environmental protection. The units proposed that the Department should develop a Project to amend and supplement the Law on Biodiversity, in which it should update international trends, major policies of the State and clearly define the State management responsibilities in the field of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with other ministries and branches.
Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan acknowledged and highly appreciated the implementation of the assigned tasks of the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity. This can be considered a "green area" of the environment and is very difficult, requiring staff to have both in-depth knowledge and a firm grasp of management skills. Becoming a unit under the Ministry has created a new position for the Department, but at the same time, it also sets higher requirements for State management work. Along with professional work, the Department needs to ensure the implementation of tasks on building legal policies, inspection and examination. The Deputy Minister agreed with the proposals of the units and proposed that the Minister allow the Department to research and prepare documents so that by the end of 2024, it will be eligible to submit a project to amend and supplement the 2008 Law on Biodiversity.
In addition, the Deputy Minister emphasized the tasks of implementing the Biodiversity Planning after the Government synchronizes it with the Strategy. In the context of international interest, the Department needs to proactively propose cooperation contents that are beneficial to implementing tasks and improving State management capacity.
Concluding the Conference, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh stated that, although the unit was reorganized, from the beginning of 2023, the Department quickly stabilized its apparatus and personnel, assigned tasks to complete assigned tasks well, despite the large workload in 2023. On behalf of the Party Committee and the leaders of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh congratulated, commended and acknowledged the work results achieved by the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity in the past year.
With the characteristics of the management field, the Minister noted that the leaders and staff of the Department need to link policy advisory work with practice, come up with good ideas, new ways of doing things, and avoid slogans. Normally, the more developed, the more nature will be narrowed. The problem for the management agency is what to do so that Vietnam can develop sustainably while preserving its natural resources and promoting the natural values of the country.
Nature conservation and biodiversity intersect with many other fields. Therefore, in order to provide quality advice, the Department needs to coordinate well with ministries, branches and localities to understand the current situation and become an extension of the Ministry. In particular, advise the Ministry's leaders on the contents of discussions with localities during working trips on the issue of linking conservation with socio-economic development, from conservation to benefit the people and localities.
In particular, the current period has the advantage that international organizations and partners are very interested and have proposed to support Vietnam in implementing activities to conserve nature and biodiversity. Expanding the international cooperation network is both to learn from each other and to help increase the effectiveness and quality of State management work on conservation.
Along with the practical experience, the Minister requested the Department to coordinate with other units in the Ministry, especially environmental management units, to strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of legal regulations in the field of nature conservation and biodiversity, promptly prevent violations and propose and advise the Ministry's leaders to strictly handle them. At the same time, pay attention to replicating positive models in the community. Pay attention to propaganda work to raise awareness of management levels, of the community and spread love for nature, correct awareness of nature conservation to the whole society.
The Minister agreed with the proposal to organize an assessment of 15 years of implementing the Law on Biodiversity, creating a premise for proposing and amending the 2008 Law on Biodiversity in the direction of ensuring unified state management in accordance with practical conditions and domestic and international contexts.
In the spirit of promoting the achieved results, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh requested the Department's leadership to continue focusing on political and ideological work, creating solidarity and unity among all cadres and party members to strive to successfully complete the tasks in 2024. In particular, maximizing the capacity, experience and qualifications of the Department's staff with in-depth understanding of field management issues.
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