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.