Vietnam

Regional and international delegates gathered for a conference focusing on forests, watershed management, and integrated water resource management on 23-24 May in Da Lat, Viet Nam. Participants visited a local national park and heard about the challenges park managers face to protect the forest and water supplies.

Groundwater provides a valuable supply of drinking water to millions in the Mekong Delta, yet because this resource is below ground, it is effectively invisible and often not seen as a priority by policy makers. The paper “Groundwater in Mekong Delta” looks at groundwater conditions and trends in the Vietnamese portion of the delta. It argues that the extensive changes of the natural water flow in the delta have severe economic, environmental, and social impacts.

A knowledge management study was undertaken in the IUCN Asia Region by Rod Abson, Science and Knowledge Management Officer in the Science and Knowledge Management Unit of IUCN from the 25th of October to 12th of November 2010.

This report synthesises the findings of six participatory national assessments carried out under IUCN's Strengthening Voices for Better Choices (SVBC) global forest governance project. The purpose of these assessments was to provide an understanding of the policy, regulatory and institutional obstacles to using forests sustainably.