Phu Loc Forest Rangers overcome difficulties to stay with the forest

Positive impact

Hue is a place that still preserves many unique cultural values ​​and natural landscapes. Natural ecosystems such as Tam Giang - Cau Hai wetland, Bach Ma National Park, Sao La Nature Reserve, Phong Dien Nature Reserve... are considered the common home of extremely rich natural species. Among them, there are a number of species with global conservation value that have recently been discovered, adding to the value of the cultural heritage land. However, in the process of development, local natural ecosystems are under a lot of pressure, leading to the risk of biodiversity degradation.

In that context, the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province (now Hue City) has paid attention to preserving natural ecosystems to the maximum extent when building socio-economic development strategies at the city and local levels. At the same time, in coordination with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Vietnam, many projects have been implemented, contributing to supporting the improvement of sustainable management capacity of natural resources and raising awareness and livelihoods of local communities. In particular, the CARBI 2 Project was assessed as successful beyond expectations.

The CARBI 2 project, funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of the Federal Republic of Germany through the German Development Bank (KfW), implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hue City, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Nam Province in collaboration with WWF, has completed its 6-year journey (2019-2025). From the results, it can be seen that this is a very successful project.

According to the representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hue City, through the implementation of the CARBI 2 project, forest connectivity indicators in the project areas have improved significantly. The frequency of appearance of wildlife species has increased in the Sao La Quang Nam Conservation Area and Sao La Hue Nature Reserve, including rare and endemic species; the frequency of presence of threats has decreased from 64% in 2011 to 17% in 2024.

Mr. Le Ngoc Tuan, Head of the Forest Protection Sub-Department, said: The results achieved are thanks to the efforts of relevant parties, thereby contributing to supporting and maintaining the model of forest protection patrol teams spread throughout the sub-areas of the conservation area to remove traps, combat illegal hunting of wild animals and monitor biodiversity...

Restoring ecosystems

Assessing the effectiveness of the project implementation, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Hoang Hai Minh said that after 6 years of operation, the CARBI 2 Project has connected development partners, government agencies to closely coordinate with local authorities, relevant departments and communities through implementing activities to protect and restore forests and endangered and rare animal species. At the same time, it has improved the livelihoods of people, especially those who depend on forest resources, as well as enhanced technical and professional capacity for forest rangers in biodiversity conservation.

In addition, the project also supports 30 villages in the project area to operate a revolving loan fund to develop community livelihoods, gradually changing people's behavior, contributing to reducing pressure on natural forests and wildlife populations. On the other hand, the Thua Thien Hue Sao La Conservation Area (now Hue City) is expanded and upgraded to the Hue Sao La Nature Reserve. This activity is of great significance in protecting the habitats of many endemic species of flora and fauna, helping to preserve biodiversity, species and gene sources in each species. The reserve also contributes to the restoration of degraded natural forest ecosystems, including the remaining primary forest area in the Central Truong Son region.

According to Vice Chairman of the Hue City People's Committee Hoang Hai Minh, over the past 25 years, Hue City and relevant agencies have cooperated and received support from WWF - Vietnam by funding and implementing programs to maintain, protect and develop natural resources sustainably. The CARBI Project not only supports the promotion of forest resource management in protected areas, but also expands to community forests to increase the connectivity of corridors between external forest areas and areas of priority conservation value. The Hue City People's Committee is committed to continuing to implement the project contents that have been deployed. At the same time, it will continue to seek opportunities and call for more and more effective investment support in the Central region and Hue City to protect the integrity of the forest landscape and biodiversity.

Within the framework of the project “Global Climate Initiative”, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of the Federal Republic of Germany, through the German Reconstruction Bank, has decided to finance the project “Carbon storage and forest biodiversity conservation” - CARBI phase 2 in the Central Truong Son region, including: Hue city, Quang Nam (Vietnam), Salavan and Sekong (Laos) through WWF - Vietnam.
Article and photos: Ba Tri