The Conservation Fund project – Mobilise businesses and communities to join hands for biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability

The Conservation Fund project – Mobilise businesses and communities to join hands for biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability

At the end of 2023, the project “Establishing a funding source for biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the Conservation Fund project) officially concluded its 3.5-year journey.

Overview of the Closing Conference of the EU-funded “Conservation Fund” project

The project management board organised a Closing Conference with the purpose of summarising the implementation results, sharing lessons learned, expressing gratitude to donors, partners, and stakeholders who have collaborated in the project for over the past 3.5 years. The Conference took place on 24 November 2023, with the participation of over 100 delegates from both domestic and international organisations, including: Representatives of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam; Leaders of some provincial departments, districts, and communes of Da Nang city, DANUSTA, enterprises, civil society organisations (CSOs), subgrantees, and project management board.

Delegates of the project Closing Ceremony

Representatives of the Da Nang city government highly appreciated the efforts of the project for successfully implementing various components: Mobilising businesses and local communities to joins hands on implementing initiatives on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection; enhancing the capacity of over 50 CSOs operating in the fields of biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability; providing technical and financial assistance to 25 relevant initiatives; conducting 04 communication campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity for local communities, and promoting cooperation between businesses and CSOs operating in the field of biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability; conducting surveys, monitoring, and educational communication to raise awareness for the protection of the red-shanked douc langur population on Son Tra Peninsula; in addition to planting more than 13,924 urban trees contributing to the implementation of the government’s “One Billion Trees Planting within the period 2021-2025” Programme.

Mr. Jesús Lavina, Deputy Head of Cooperation, the European Union Delegation to Vietnam, conveyed his appreciation for the “diligent” journey of the project implementation team in the biodiversity conservation efforts in Vietnam and also acknowledged the contributions of various organisations, enterprises, and individuals, which contributed to the success of the Conservation Fund project.

Mr. Jesús Lavina, Deputy Head of Cooperation, the European Union Delegation to Vietnam delivered the EU’s Certificates of Merit to the project implementing organisations

Furthermore, an external expert group has been invited to conduct the final independent evaluation of the project to assess the implementation of the project from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2023, in order to meet the project’s objectives and targets as well as the project’s sustainability.

The final independent project evaluation report includes an assessment of the project’s results, the project’s sustainability potentials, as well as identifying lessons learned, successful practices, and recommendations for scaling the model.

To disseminate the values and successful lessons learned as well as practical project experiences, please take a look at the final independent project evaluation report in Vietnamese and English.”

Last but not least, let’s look back at the meaningful and memorable 3.5-year journey of the Conservation Fund project in mobilising the participation of the business sector and local communities in Vietnam in biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability through a documentary about the project here.

The Conservation Fund project – Review of the amazing journey

The project “Establishing a funding source for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project) was implemented by GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Centre (GreenViet, Vietnam) – the lead, and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut e. V. (GSI, Germany) and co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

Visible Impact is partnering with GSI to conduct several project components.