German Ambassador to Vietnam Rof Schulze has announced the German government’s commitment of 3 million EUR to protect biodiversity in Vietnam.

The assistance is for a pilot programme on the protection of biodiversity in four specific areas - the Tam Dao, Cuc Phuong, Bach Ma and Cat Tien national parks.

The programme focuses on making long-term action and financial plans for the protected areas, providing training on conducting biological surveys, and addressing the impact of climate change on biodiversity in the forest eco-system.

Vietnam ’s biological system has specific characteristics that need to be protected. Out of 10 million ha of natural forests in Vietnam , about 2 million are abundant in diversity. However, biodiversity is severely affected by pressure from internal migration, changes in land use and in the environment, the depletion of natural resources, and unsustainable exploitation of the forest.

Since 1990, the German government has provided about 1 billion EUR to cooperation and development projects in Vietnam , Ambassador Rolf Schulze told reporters in Hanoi on Oct. 8, adding that a large number of experts were also sent to the Southeast Asian country to carry out the projects.

The main areas of bilateral cooperation include healthcare and assistance for economic reform and the environment. According to the diplomat, cooperation on the environment gets more attention because Vietnam is among the countries worst-affected by global climate change.

Environment is not simply a national issue, but a global issue, so Germany feels it needs to help Vietnam in this area, he said./.