CEPF helps conserve biodiversity hotspots in VN

With 9.5 million USD for five years, the CEPF will also preserve biodiversity hotspots in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and parts of China.

Talking with the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily, CEPF Director John Watkin said the CEPF will give top priority to the northern highlands limestone corridor in the border area between Vietnam and China, where special importance is placed on the conservation of primates.

Watkin named the northern provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan and Tuyen Quang, adding that the area is also of global significance for floral preservation as it boasts many rare and unique species of plants and the region’s richest assemblages of conifer species.

Joining in the talks, John Pilgrim, Conservation Advisor from BirdLife International in Indochina, which is the CEPF’s collaborator in the work, said Vietnam is home to 14 biodiversity hotspots, mostly in the northern mountainous region.

He pointed out that most of biodiversity hotspots in Vietnam are threatened by logging, hunting and development projects despite the Government’s preservation efforts.

Pilgrim said a majority part of the 9.5 million USD CEPF will go to non-governmental organisations and community groups as they will act utmost in conservation work.

Apart from coordinating with the CEPF in preserving biodiversity hotspots in Vietnam, BirdLife International has provided the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with information on endangered species and recommendations for the making of the law on biodiversity.

The CEPF is a joint initiative of Conservation International, l’Agence Française de Développement, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. Its main purpose is to get civil society engaged in biodiversity conservation.

Indochina boasts one of the world’s largest and most diverse flora and fauna system, however it is seriously pressured by economic development, increasing human population, over-exploration of minerals and is identified as one of the globe’s 34 biodiversity hotspots.