Viet Nam became a party of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1994. The first National Biodiversity Action Plan of Viet Nam was approved by the Prime Minister in 1995. In 2013, the Prime Minister approved the “National Biodiversity Strategy to 2010, Vision to 2030” as Viet Nam’s third biodiversity strategy.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), in cooperation with relevant agencies, has developed the 6th National Report (NR) for the period 2014–2018 to provide an overview of Viet Nam’s progress towards implementing the national targets established under the NBSAP and the global Aichi Targets set under the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2010–2020 of CBD.
The 6th NR follows the guidelines for national reporting according to Decision XIII/27 of the 13th
Conference of the CBD’s parties in Cancun, Mexico and is organized into five sections:
Section I. Information on the targets being pursued at the national level;
Section II. NBSAP implementation measures taken, assessment of their effectiveness, associated obstacles and scientific and technical needs;
Section III. Assessment of progress towards each national target;
Section IV. Description of the national contribution to the achievement of each Aichi Biodiversity Target; and
Section V. Description of the national contribution to the achievement of the targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.
The NBSAP is designed to fulfil commitments under the CBD as well as to identify goals, objectives, and tasks for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in accordance with development during the period. Viet Nam’s NBSAP focuses on biodiversity conservation at the levels of ecosystems, species, and genes. To achieve conservation of these three levels, six groups of measures were developed. Specific measures and tasks are consistent with all 20 objectives of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
This 6th National Report describes Viet Nam’s progress towards these national targets and towards the 20 global Aichi targets. This report captures multiple activities and initiatives taken at the national and local level, including by local government, non-governmental organisations, communities, and businesses. The 6th National Report shows that good progress has been made over the reporting period in several areas, including legislation, policy development, mainstreaming biodiversity, increasing forest cover, and protected areas. However, the 6th National Report makes it clear that more work needs to be done and confirms Viet Nam was unable to reach many targets in NBSAP and remains faced with the huge challenge of conserving biodiversity throughout the country.
