Biodiversity Conservation

Vietnam is a country in the tropics which is considered as one of the 10 centers with high
biodiversity in the world. Vietnam's biodiversity is manifested in the richness of biological
species composition, high number of endemic species, many new species to the world, including
large mammals that have been discovered recently; in the diversity of gene sources, at the same
time it is also expressed in the diversity of landscape types and typical ecosystems.
The Government of Vietnam has set out early biodiversity conservation policies. There have
been over 60 legal documents issued since 1958. On November 16, 1994, the President of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam rectified to join the Convention on Biological Diversity and
Vietnam is currently a member of this Convention.
However, biodiversity in Vietnam is still losing and significantly reducing due to the following
four main reasons:
- Habitat decline and loss due to deforestation, land use transformation, destructive exploitation
of humans by animals, and other factors such as forest fires, animals land, storms, floods,
epidemics ...
- Overexploitation of biological resources due to population growth pressure and poverty.
- Environmental pollution is destroying a number of terrestrial, underwater and underground
ecosystems.
- Biological pollution caused by uncontrolled foreign and exotic species imported, adversely
affecting native species.
The action plan for biodiversity protection of Vietnam was signed by the Prime Minister on
December 22, 1995 in Decision No. 845 / TTg. This is a highly legal document and a guideline
for Vietnam's actions in biodiversity protection at all levels, sectors, localities and mass
organizations from central to grassroots levels.
The long-term goal of the Viet Nam Biodiversity Protection Action Plan is to protect the
diversity, richness and characteristics of the Vietnamese biological system within the framework
of sustainable development, including:
- Protecting Vietnam's specific ecosystems, sensitive ecosystems that are threatened by shrinking
or being destroyed by human economic development activities.
- Protecting components of biodiversity that are threatened by overexploitation or neglected.
- Promoting and discovering the use value of biodiversity components on the basis of rational
exploitation, use, economical and sustainable development of values of natural resources, serving
development goals of socio-economic development of the country.
The priority actions to be taken in this area are:
1. Completing policies and laws related to biodiversity conservation.
 2. Regularly review, supplement and revise the National Biodiversity Action Plan to ensure its
compliance with socio-economic development strategies and plans.
3. Developing biodiversity action plans for regions.
4. Strengthening propaganda and education in order to raise people's awareness of biodiversity
conservation.
5. Consolidating and expanding the management system of national parks and nature reserves,
and at the same time have a strong decentralization to management. Promote the construction of
a system of natural museums, from the national level to the grassroots level to serve scientific
research, knowledge dissemination, visit, study, propaganda and education about historical
development natural development and biodiversity conservation.
6. Stepping up bio-diversity inventory, build a national database on flora and fauna resources;
to formulate, promulgate and widely disseminate Vietnam Red Books on rare and precious
varieties and species in order to have strict conservation policies.
7. Biodiversity conservation training for forest managers and protected areas, scientists and
stakeholders.
8. Carrying out scientific research and applying technology for the sustainable exploitation and
use of biodiversity values, especially in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fishery and health.
Encourage the study and application of indigenous knowledge in the use and conservation of
biodiversity.
9. Developing and testing a number of ecotourism schemes.
10. Encouraging communities to develop and implement common conventions to protect local
biodiversity.
11. Strengthening international and regional cooperation in the field of biodiversity protection.