A Japan-funded project with a total funding of 3.83 million USD was officially launched on March 24 in Lam Dong province with a view towards improving local people’s livelihoods through tourism.

The project, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), seeks to get residents living in or near the Bi Doup – Bui Ba National Park involved in eco-tourism services.

With the overall objective of bettering the residents’ lives, the project will provide training for local people to qualify them as guides and instruct them to launch tourist services such as home-stays and gong performances.

It will also provide the locals with plant seeds and training on farming practices as well as harvest and post-harvest techniques that are environmentally friendly and sustainable.

The programme is expected to not only better protect natural resources in the Bi Doup – Nui Ba reserve through developing co-management between the park authorities and local people, but also improve the living standards of people in the project site in Lac Duong district, who mainly come from the Cill and Lach ethnic minorities./.