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With the aim of creating opportunities for connection and cooperation between Businesses and Social Organizations (CSOs), Green Viet Centre cooperates with GSI Institute (Germany) in the component of the project “The Conservation Fund” to organize the networking event “Business with Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Sustainability. 

The event is a great opportunity for CSOs to strengthen connections with the business sector to join hands for biodiversity conservation and sustainable environmental protection.

Regarding the Businesses: They have the opportunity to access the “idea bank” of biodiversity conservation and environmental protection activities from CSOs. Besides,  they are able to directly participate in biodiversity conservation & environmental protection; increase connectivity; enhance social responsibility for the environment and reputation with the community and customers.

Regarding the CSOs: COSs are able to share their stories related to biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability. Through the event, CSOs will be met, connected, and mobilized business contributions for current and future projects.

In addition, the event is expected to enhance public awareness, especially the young generation about their interest in biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability.

Information of Event:

Time: From 7:45am -11:30 am (25th June 2023)

Venue: Vanda Hotel- 3 Nguyen Van Linh, Binh Hien, Hai Chau district, Da Nang

Register for the event here:

Business with Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Sustainability is a well-invested event which includes  attractive and practical programs. The video “Dance with Langur” and the achievements of the Conservation Fund project through sponsorship packages will be sketched at the event to provide the most comprehensive view of the operational achievements of the “Conservation Fund” project and values to the community.

The TalkShow “Connect & Share”; Corporate Appreciation: Participants will listen to the share from businesses of their desire in contributing to biodiversity conservation and environmental protection and their value through this contribution. The gratitude activity is the most sincere thanks to the sponsors for their meaningful contributions to biodiversity and the environment.

CSOs booth: Each booth is a story which introduces their project and the mission on  implementing biodiversity conservation and environmental protection activities. Through the form of booths, CSOs will give visitors an overview and meaning of this conservation activity.

The event “Business with Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Sustainability” is an activity in the series of the 2nd Awareness Campaign of the “Conservation Fund” project. The campaign opened with the activity “Dance with Douc Langurs” which was posted on GreenViet’s official Fanpage on June 9th, 2022.

The project team hopes that this event is “a bridge” connecting donors (Business & Community) and CSOs – to come together – extend arms to conserve biodiversity and protect the environment sustainably and build a shield for the “green lung” of the country.

The project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project) by GreenViet (Vietnam) – the lead, and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany) and co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam. This project aims to establish the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund to mobilize funding sources and increase the capacity of local CSOs focusing on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection initiatives in Central and Central Highland, Vietnam.

With the aim of bringing art into biodiversity conservation, “Dance with Douc langurs’ ‘is going to be the demo for the 2nd Awareness Campaign which has been considered  an activity within of the “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project).

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ei2uiFZtvo&t=33s

The Dance with Douc langurs is inspired by activities in daily life of Red-Shanked Douc Langurs such as greeting a new day, taking care of children, eating leaves, having fun or interacting with friends…, which can be performed through each dance move.

The video is more than 1 minute long which was shot in the majestic space of Son Tra Peninsula and the thousand-year-old Banyan tree in the background of cheerful, bustling music. All create a beautiful picture of wild nature.

Not only stopping at the cheerful melody and lively choreography, the Dance with Douc Langur also contributes to spreading the natural beauty of the rare and precious animals Red-shanked Douc. Featuring five striking contrasting colors, the Red – Shanked Douc Langur is known as the most beautiful primate species in the world, with the beautiful name “Queen of Primates”. Every time when this name is mentioned, it makes people immediately think of the symbol of the beautiful coastal city of Da Nang.

The communication campaign Dance with Langur is carried out with the desire to raise awareness and spread love for nature to the community in the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable environmental protection, as well as the population of the Red- -Shanked Douc Langur with 1,600  species  in Son Tra is better protected.

An interesting way of expressing when taking the art of connecting conservation through the personification of Dance with Douc Langur, hopefully one day “Dance of Langur” will become a “brand” shown in biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability event.

Ms. Hoang Tieu Ha – Project Coordinator shared: We believe that in the coming time, more and more wildlife species are going to be protected. In Addition, GreenViet and GSI have always been an “extension arm” on the implementation journey mission of “reviving” Vietnam’s biodiversity.

Like other media campaigns, the Dance with Langur is posted on the platform of GreenViet’s communication channels including Fanpage, Website and Youtube. Thus, everyone is able to participate in this activity in many ways such as sharing the Video with family and friends or dancing to the video which has been considered to bring the message to more people by “breathing life” into the step dance.

The project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project) by GreenViet (Vietnam) – the lead, and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany) and co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam. This project aims to establish the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund to mobilize funding sources and increase the capacity of local CSOs focusing on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection initiatives in Central and Central Highland, Vietnam.

On April 14th & 15th,2022  in Da Nang City, Da Nang Union of Science and Technology Association chaired and assigned GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Center (GreenViet) coordinated with the Gustav-Stresemann Institute (GSI, Germany) to organize a training course on proposal writing skills.

There were 34 delegates participating in the training course including representatives of leaders of Da Nang Union of Science and Technology Association; GreenViet centre; GSI Institute; and representatives of 22 civil society organizations (CSOs) working in the fields of biodiversity conservation and environmental Sustainability.

The training course aims to support social organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs) in the Central and Central Highlands to improve skills in developing a project proposal, increase opportunities in receiving funding for submitting project proposals.

Speaking at the training,  Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phuc (Vice President of the Union of Science and Technology Associations of Da Nang City) emphasized that: “I believe that this training course will equip knowledge as well as some necessary skills for sub-grantees in the process of writing a proposal to be accepted by the sponsor. And since then, trainees will become good project writers as well as taking advantage of the funding sources for the locality.”

On the first day of the training, CSOs introduced proposed ideas, learnt how to develop a project idea, and then practiced how to develop parts of a project on the 5 ideas selected as pilots . On the second training day, they continued to complete project proposals based on the 5 ideas selected as pilot. At the end of the training course, some notes of the project proposal grant that need to be prepared are provided to the Sub-grantees.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kinh, School Equipment Support and Humanitarian Education Center, Hue city, shared: As the oldest member of this training course, I am extremely excited to have participated in such a professional training course for the first time.  Although we come from many different regions, and also represent different organizations, but we have the same purpose for community environment. Besides exchanging knowledge, we also had an opportunity to expand our cooperation with each other.

Mss. Nguyen Thi Linh Phung, Song Foundation shared: I am very fortunate to represent my organization to participate in this training course. The training course is extremely useful and practical. Because It has helped us to gradually fulfill a proposal from an initial idea.

During the two days, the atmosphere of the training course was always lively with the discussion of case study of the groups. Many questions and concerns of the sub-grantees have been raised and answered enthusiastically by the experts.

Ms. Hoang Tieu Ha – Project Coordinator said: The content of the training course focuses on specific skills and practices in order to write a project proposal which has potential in receiving the sub-grants

The training course on proposal writing skills  for Sub-Grantees belong to  the project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project). This project is implemented by GreenViet (Vietnam), and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany), co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

One of the overall objectives of the project is to strengthen the capacity and participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in biodiversity conservation and environmental protection initiatives in the locality. In order to contribute to this goal, in 2021, the project has been funded 50,000 USD for  04 CSOs and CBOs in 13 proposals received. Currently, the project is being continued to sponsor an additional USD 70,000 for 05  ideas and suitable projects (from 98,000,000 VND to 122,500,000 VND (equivalent to € 4,000 – € 5,000) for each idea; project for community-based organizations without legal status. From 441,000,000 VND to 490,000,000VND (equivalent to €18,000 – €20,000) per idea; project for an NGO with legal status. The project opened a second call for proposals on April 7 this year on the GreenViet’s website; and Conservation Fund: Call for proposals on financial support for Civil society organizations (CSOs).

The project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project) is implemented by GreenViet centre (Vietnam) and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany), co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam. This project aims to establish the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund to mobilize funding sources and increase the capacity of local CSOs focusing on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection initiatives in Central and Central Highland, Vietnam.

The Conservation Fund Project Management Board would like to invite interested organizations, associations and groups to submit your proposals for financial support for your activities, following the instructions below:

Purpose of the call to submit proposals are financial and technical support to local CSOs, with priority given to community-based organizations (CBOs) and grassroots organizations operating in the fields of Biodiversity conservation and Environmental Sustainability in Da Nang and Central and Central Highlands provinces, Vietnam.

Eligibility of Applicant: Civil society organizations (CSOs) without legal status (for lot 1) OR Non-government organizations (NGOs) with legal status established in Vietnam (for lot 2). For more details, please refer to the Proposal Submission Guidelines.

Location: The project takes place within the territory of Central and Central Highlands of Vietnam

Duration: The initial planned duration of the project may not be lower than 4 months nor exceed 10 months.

Grant amount per Proposal:

Lot 1: Civil society organizations (CSOs) without legal status 

• Minimum amount: from  € 4.000 (98.000.000 VND)
• Maximum amount: up to € 5.000 (122.500.000 VND)

Lot 2: Non-government organizations (NGOs) with legal status

• Minimum amount: from € 18.000 (441.000.000 VND)
• Maximum amount: up to € 20.000 (490.000.000 VND)

Proposal form: Proposal is prepared by Vietnamese or English version following attached form. If it is submitted in the Vietnamese version, you will also attach an English summary version . Proposal submissions should be sent to the email address: nopdexuat@greenviet.org.

The Proposal documents include:

1. Proposal submission form is attached to these Guidelines (Appendix B).

The proposals can be submitted in Vietnamese or English versions (if submissions are in Vietnamese version, applicants need to attach an English summary version). The summary means that the “General Information” section of the “Form” submit proposals” (Appendix B).

Handwritten proposals will not be accepted.

2. The Budget form
3. The Declaration of Honor (Appendix D) is signed by the sub-grantees and partners, stamped and attached to the Proposal Submission Form.
4. Sub-grantees need to submit the following additional documents:

• A copy of the Charter of Operation (for organizations with legal status registration).
• Copy of registration certificate/ Establishment decision (for organizations with legal status).
• A brief resume of the project coordinator and a copy of their identification card.
• There is no need to submit any other documents that are not mentioned in this guide.
• All proposals and documents will be accepted only through email.

How and where to submit proposals

Proposals must be submitted by email at: nopdexuat@greenviet.org

Proposal submission deadline: 17:00, June 17, 2022 (Vietnam time). If any proposals are submitted after this time, they will be rejected.

Evaluation: Proposals will be considered for validity by the Proposal Appraisal Council. It included:  experts coming from local and international at Greenviet, GSI, and the National Advisory Board (NAB) of Alliance in VietNam which was called Viet Nam Business For Environment (VB4E) initiated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Further information on the call for proposals

All the information of this Call for proposals (Guideline, templates in English and Vietnamese version) will be published on this post.

An online information session will be organized at 14:00, 26 April 2022 (Vietnam time) to provide key information and address direct questions from the potential sun-grantees and their partners.

Register to participate in the information discussion session and respond to questions about the proposal submission procedure follow the LINK HERE.

A Project Proposal Writing training program will be held on April 14th -15th, 2022.

If applicants have any further questions about this call for sub-grantees, send to project management board until June, 01st 2022 using the email address: info.euproject@greenviet.org

The Q&A section will be published on the project’s website 10 days before the deadline for submission of proposals.

The document list:

• Guidlines for Sub-grant application
• Application form
• Budget
• Declaration honour
• Full set document

24th-25th February 2022, GreenViet centre cooperated with GSI Institute to organize a training on project & Financial Management for Sub-Grantees from the project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam”.This project is implemented by GreenViet (Vietnam, and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany), co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

The training program has the participation of representatives of leaders of Da Nang Union of Science and Technology Association; GreenViet centre; GSI institution; Center for Community Research and Development (CCRD), Hue ; Chairman of DIM Club (DIM),The University of Da Nang – University of Science and Education ; Coffee collaboration group Xary 2, Quang Tri province; Center for Development of Community and Environmental Initiatives (C&E), Ho Chi Minh City Hanoi.

Accordingly, the program is held in two days with two platforms online and offline. On the first day of training on project management, the sub-donors introduced the project and work plan, and everyone participated in a group discussion to share experiences, lessons and topics. expected output. The second day of financial management training included regulations and forms related to project financial management in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Vietnam and the regulations of the GreenViet Center as well as the European Union.

Speaking at the training , Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phuc (Vice President of the Union of Science and Technology Associations of Da Nang City) emphasized that: In addition to Project Management, to ensure the project process and goals, the financial management of small projects comply with not only local regulations (Vietnam’s tax and accounting requirements) but also European Union’s criteria on sponsorship grants.

This training course supports the sub-grantees to effectively manage and implement both technical and financial aspects of small projects. Also, it enhances the capacity of local CSOs, especially the youth-based organizations. It contributes to the 2 objectives of the Conservation Fund project :(1) promote the participation of local social organizations in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Central and Central Highlands provinces in addressing issues of biodiversity conservation and sustainable environment; (2) improve the capacity of local social organizations, especially social organizations and grassroots organizations operating in the field of biodiversity conservation and sustainable environment.

Ms. Luong Ngoc Tram-Representative of Xary 2 group, shared: What has been trained in the past two days is really useful. Honestly, I had the opportunity to explain the concerns and aspirations of our Forest Garden Coffee project (in Tay Truong Son, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province) . Besides,  I have received enthusiastic support from Experts. 

Truong Cong Thanh (3rd year student,Da Nang University of Education): I am very honored to be represented by the DIM to participate in this training program. This is an opportunity for me to learn and hone the necessary skills for upcoming projects as well as demonstrate the responsibility of the young generation to the community.

Throughout the program, the Sub-Grantees actively discussed and raised questions to be answered by experts. Besides, thoughts and aspirations of the sponsors, organizers, and Sub-Grantees are also shared openly with the desire to achieve the highest efficiency in the project implementation process.

Coming from many different lands, each Sub-Grantees brings their own story and mission. But  they have a common message of enhancing the  awareness and participation of the community to protect the environment and biodiversity.

The project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project) aims to establish the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund to mobilise funding sources and increase the capacity of local CSOs working in biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in Central and Central Highland, Vietnam. This project is implemented by GreenViet (Vietnam) and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany, co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

The Conservation Fund Project Management Board would like to invite interested organizations, associations and groups to submit your proposals on financial support, following the instructions below:

The overall objective is to provide financial and technical support to local CSOs with preferences to CBOs and grassroot organisations working in the field of biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability in Da Nang city and Central Highland provinces.

Document list

• Guidines for Sub-grant application
• Application form
• Budget form
• Declaration honour
• Full set of document

Eligibility of Applicant: Be a certain type of organisation, such as a non-registered community-based-organisation (for lot 1), or a registered non-profit organisation (for lot 2), established in Vietnam

Location: The action must take place within the territory of Central and Central Highlands of Vietnam

Duration: The initial planned duration of a project may not be lower than 4 months nor exceed 10 months.

Grant amount per Proposal:

Lot 1: community-based organisations without registration

Size of grants

• Minimum amount: from 106,000,000 VND (€4,000)
• Maximum amount: up to 132,000,000 VND (€5,000)

Lot 2: registered NGOs

Size of grants

• Minimum amount: from 477,000,000 VND (€18,000)
• Maximum amount: up to 530,000,000 VND (€20,000)

Proposal form: Proposal is prepared in Vietnamese or English according to the attached form. If submitted in Vietnamese, an English summary is required. Proposal submissions should be sent to the email address: nopdexuat@greenviet.org.

The Proposal documents include: The Proposal, the Budget form, and the Declaration Honor which attached documents as in the Proposal Submission Instructions

Evaluation

To ensure a fair and transparent selection, an evaluation team composed of Greenviet and GSI local and international experts and the National Advisory Board (NAB) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) initiated Alliance in VietNam called Viet Nam Business For Environment (VB4E) .

Further information on the call for proposals / application process

All the information of this Call for proposals (Guideline, templates in English and Vietnamese) will be published on https://greenviet.org/conservation-fund/ on 22 July 2021.

The two online information sessions will be organised at 15:00, 29 July and 12 August 2021 (Vietnam time) to provide key information and address direct questions from the potential applicants and their partners.

If you have any further questions about this call for applications, you can send them to us until 3

September 2021 using the email address: info.euproject@greenviet.org

Carried out from the second quarter of 2021, the follow-up research “Development of an investigation of the demands, advantages and barriers of Civil Society Organisations working in the field of biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability in Central and Central Highlands, Vietnam”  was completed as a prerequisite for the important steps of the Conservation Fund Project.

The study surveyed 42 CSOs through questionnaires, in- depth interviews with 10 businesses and eight-organization discussion groups, the study length is relatively around 3 months which was monitored and ensured its objectivity and progress.

Overview of the CSOs

The study identified characteristics of the civil society organizations (CSOs) working in the field of  Biodiversity conservation and Environmental Sustainability as well as examined the demands, advantages and barriers in the organization process; and their need resource improvement

The characteristics of the civil society organizations working in the field of  Biodiversity conservation and Environmental Sustainability in Central and Central Highlands are summarized as follows:

• Youth organisations accounted for 52% of the total number of interviewed organisations. The other forms of the CSOs are non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Community-based organisations such as women’s unions, fishermen’s associations, etc.; Youth organisations such as environmental clubs, green clubs and Youth Union; social networking groups and associated groups implementing environmental projects/community groups.
•  The result showed that CSOs are distributed mainly in Da Nang city, Hue city (Thua Thien Hue province), Hoi An city (Quang Nam Province) in Central and Central Highlands. Next, NGOs and CBOs accounted for 17%. The figures show that most  organizations operated in Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Thua Thien Hue provinces..
• The results indicated that 60% of CSOs had operated from 1 year to less than 5 years, coming from youth clubs and social network groups. However, the survey showed that 2% of clubs and groups had only been active for less than a year and were deactivated at least once due to the pandemic. Besides, 10 organisations of the total interviewed CSOs have operated over 10 years (accounting for 24%), which belongs to the type of NGOs, CBOs and the traditional youth clubs in universities.
• The financial sources for their operational expenses are diverse, depending on the type of organisations. The operating expenses of NGOs / NPOs are mainly funded by international organisations; Concerning the community-based organisations such as women’s unions, fishermen’s associations, their operating expenses come from local authority and their members’ contribution; Regarding the youth-based organisations (i.e. youth clubs or groups), their financial source for operating mainly come from crowdfunding.

Human resources management

Human capital is also one of the characteristics of the non-profit sector in general and of the CSOs in particular. The study has shown the following interesting characteristics:

• The result presented that young staff accounted for 67% of the total staff of CSOs. And the data also indicated that young members hold leader positions at CSOs with 69% of the total leaders. According to the survey from CSOs, the evidence showed that 80% of women hold leadership positions in each institution. All interviewed CSOs showed respect for female colleagues and always try to ensure gender equality in their organisations.
• The survey showed that staff regular assessment only applied at 55% of the interviewed CSOs, the rest 45% of organisations did not regularly evaluate their staff. Only 30% of the CSOs also have organised annual training courses with the various skills including: communication, interpersonal skills, negotiation, and foreign language skills. The interpersonal skill is focused on practice , mainly by NGOs and community-based organizations. Therefore, the improvement of professional knowledge is also interesting for the interviewed.

CSOs’ challenges and opportunities in the future

In recent years, the activities of the CSOs have been concerned by the community. The realization, evaluation of the social background, and organization’s difficulties help them recognize opportunities and challenges in the new stage.

According to the result of the background study, financial resources are the biggest challenge for most CSOs working in the fields of Biodiversity conservation and Environmental Sustainability in Central and Central Highlands, Vietnam. Because Vietnam is no longer on the priority list for receiving assistance and funds from foreign sponsors.Additionally, the fierce competition among domestic NGOs is to secure their working budgets.

The second challenge is the shortage of human resources resulting in the absence of generational transfer planning and low income. In fact, a number of young and talented people, especially those who have considerable expertise and good English skills, are not much interested in NGO work.

Download here

Be promoted to deploy from the beginning of the first quarter of 2021, up to now, the study “Investigation of the businesses’ willingness to fund the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund in  Da Nang city, Viet nam has been completed. This is a solid foundation in the process of the Conservation Fund project, co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

Be conducted based on the results of consultations with more than 220 businesses and in-depth interviews with 20 enterprises representing the Da Nang community, the research on the contribution of Da Nang businesses works comprehensively. It is also monitored during the process to ensure the quality of implementation.

Optimistic parameters of willingness to contribute

According to the research report , the project’s financial mobilization goal is highly feasible when up to 74% of enterprises participating in the survey are willing to contribute to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Project through the applicable form of donations The calculated average contribution is 2,897,500 VND with results gathered as below:

• 98.2% of enterprises said that the environmental protection and conservation of plant and animal species are very important and/or important. 80% of enterprises are interested in and expect more relevant information.
• 55.5% of enterprises responded that a Conversation Fund (CF) is necessary because it is time to proactively finance activities for nature conservation and environmental protection in Vietnam. 32.7% of them responded that the Fund is good as it acts as a third-party connecting donors with CSOs, individuals and communities in nature conservation. 6.4% do not believe that the nature CF can be successful in Vietnam,
• 76.4% of social sponsorship activities of Danang enterprises have been set up towards emergency relief activities (e.g. Floods, Diseases) with 85.9% for benefiting the community.
• 13% (30 businesses) already have CSR or CSV or Sustainability components/programs. 45% of enterprises confirmed that their production and business activities are very not related to the environment and natural resources.

Barriers between enterprise and conservation

The Research leader, Master Hoang Van Chuong said: “Through this study, in addition to show the technical parameters of the contribution level of enterprises, we also study the factors affecting the business management, which we consider to be the key to determining future contributions to the Conservation Fund.”

• 50%  of respondents said that conservation information is available but not updated, poor, not interesting. 29% of businessmen who joined the survey claimed that there is almost no conservation information or those which is difficult to access.
• Up to 32 enterprises (accounting for 56%) responded that their enterprises did not have funds for this activity. 13 enterprises of the C&I sectors do not agree to contribute to the CF. Up to 10 enterprises (accounting for 77%) responded that the reason for not contributing was lacking the budget for community activities. Approximately, 60% of enterprises which are under 10 years of operation responded that they do not WTP to the CF due to funding barriers.
• 22 enterprises (accounting for 49%) said that the reason they do not WTP for the CF is they do not believe their money will be used for the right purpose. Interestingly, the larger the number of years established, the greater the proportion of firms that do not have trust in using money for the right purposes.

Opportunity for joining between business and conservation

Research has brought valuable results in identifying barriers between businesses and conservation activities. The removal of this barrier is an effort from CSOs and business. The joining hand from the private sector will bring new opportunities for biodiversity conservation activities.

Ms. Duong Thi Mai Ly- Coordinator of the Conservation Fund Project, said: “Through this research, we have a scientific foundation to identify the demand of businesses when participating in conservation activities. In the process of project implementation, we consider the relationship with businesses as cooperation for mutual development, not simply a one-way donation concept which used to be  misunderstood before.”

 Dowload the report in here

On December 4, 2020, in Da Nang city  – The Da Nang Union of Science and Technology Associations in collaboration with the GreenViet centre organized a workshop for launching the project:. “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam ”.

This project is funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam with a total budget of over 15 billion VND, aims to provide technical and financial support to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in Danang, Central and Central Highland, Vietnam. The project is expected to last 42 months, from July 2020 to December 2023.

Mr. Jesús Laviña, Deputy Head of Cooperation Department, Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, said: “The Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam today is pleased to be present at the project kick-off event to establish a funding platform for biodiversity conservation. The event was held in the context of the COVID -19 pandemic, and this pandemic once again shows us the importance of living in harmony with nature. We fully believe that this project will bring concrete results on biodiversity conservation through the effective operation of the fund.”

“We believe that with this project, CSOs can get more motivation as well as financial support to carry out practical projects leads to facilitating the local authority solve problems related to biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability in Da Nang city and the Central – Central Highlands region”, said Mr. Ha Thang Long- GreenViet’s Chairman of Founder. Besides, Mr. Long also shared: “Solving the problem of financial resources, and at the same time improving capacity in technical and financial management for CSOs help them feel secure about contributing to the environment”.

The main contents of the funding package include some of the following:

Firstly, establishing a financial fund for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability activities.

Secondly, raising the capacity of 50 local CSOs focusing on CBOs and grassroots organizations by training, mentoring, and learning by doing.

Thirdly, funding 21 related initiatives, especially implementing programs to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and promote cooperation from businesses and individuals to create a sustainable financial source for CSOs operating in the field of biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability in the region. Activities of patrolling, monitoring, communication and education to successfully protect the Red-shanked Douc Langurs population in Son Tra Peninsula are also the priority tasks of this funding package.

Ms. Bui Thi Minh Chau, representative of Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany), the co-executor of the project, affirmed: “This project contributes a unique initiative to the city. This initiative is based on studying and building feasible mechanisms for businesses, communities and domestic and foreign tourists to participate in contributing to biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability of Da Nang and the Central Highlands provinces.  In addition, this initiative not only helps conservation CSOs have more diversified financial resources from businesses and communities, but also proposes an innovative new direction for businesses, individuals and visitors to directly contribute to environmental protection in a more sustainable way.”

Besides, the workshop also received comments from many representatives of businesses, social organizations, experts and other organizations inside and outside Da Nang city. In particular, at the end of the program, the representative of Biti’s Branch in the Central region sponsored the GreenViet  a fund of up to 400 million VND for educational activities of nature conservation and tree planting in the city. This action of Bitis’ shows the spirit of cooperation between private sector and CSOs  for natural conservation activities in Da Nang city.