Vietnam Striving to Reverse Biodiversity Degradation
Vietnam has been adopting solutions, including perfecting the legal framework, to enhance comprehensive actions at all levels to reverse the trend of biodiversity degradation, local media reported.
Competent authorities in Vietnam are urgently finalizing amendments to the government’s Decree 08/2022/ND-CP and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE)’s Circular 02/2022/TT-BTNMT on detailed guidance on the implementation of some provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection which include content on biodiversity impact assessment and biodiversity compensation.
The MoNRE’s Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Department plans to conduct an assessment of the 15-year implementation of Law on Biodiversity this year, creating the foundation for proposing amendments to the 2008 Law on Biodiversity, said the department’s Deputy Director Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan.
Besides, research will be conducted to propose policies and measures for natural landscape protection as well as establish mechanisms for conservation areas beyond protected areas, Ms. Nhan added.
Last year, the MoNRE submitted the draft National Biodiversity Conservation Plan for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050; and the draft national program on conserving endangered, precious, and rare wildlife to 2030 with a vision to 2050, to the prime minister for approval.
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Vietnam is recognized as one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world, with various ecosystems and more than 100 bird species and 10% of flora in the country being endemic. However, experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam (WWF Vietnam) said that the country’s biodiversity is degrading.
Director of WWF Vietnam’s Program Development Pham Minh Thao attributed the degradation to population growth, changes in land use, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, impacts of global climate change, and environmental pollution. She added that the legal system on biodiversity protection is incomplete and ineffective while the awareness of authorities and people about the issue remains limited.