Vietnam Net Bridge
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched a regional project to enhance the resilience of wetlands in Lower Mekong countries on the occasion of World Wetlands Day (February 2).
Funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), and to be implemented until 2020, the project builds climate resilience by harnessing the benefits of wetlands in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Việt Nam.
Mekong WET will help the four countries address their commitments to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, and to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
With wetlands featured as a key ecosystem, the project also supports governments in implementing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) under the Convention on Biological Diversity and pursuing their commitments on climate-change adaptation and mitigation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
There are a total of 28 Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance) in the four Mekong WET countries. The project will develop management plans, with a focus on climate-change adaptation and resilience building, in 10 selected Ramsar sites, and improve regional collaboration on transboundary wetlands management.
This will include the sharing of best practices, as well as capacity building for 150 wetland management staff and 300 community representatives.