Workshop on the implementation of the Biodiversity Law in Vietnam over the past six years (Source :baomoi) A workshop on the implementation of the Biodiversity Law in Vietnam over the past six years took place in Hanoi on October 19.
It was organised by the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE).
Opening the workshop, Deputy Head of the Committee Nguyen Vinh Ha said that since the Biodiversity Law went into effect in 2009, biodiversity in the country has been preserved more effectively, with a biodiversity management system established at the central and local levels.
According to MONRE, 166 protected areas have been established, covering a total area of 2.1 million hectares across the country. This includes 134protected areas of the special-use forest system and six marine protected areas alongside two World Natural Heritages.
However, the Government has seen some challenges, including a delay in the issuance of documents to assist in the implementation of the law, overlaps in current regulations on biodiversity preservation and a lack of capable human resources.
Pham Anh Cuong, an official with the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), said most of the work to manage and protect biodiversity was completed by central-level agencies. But there was lack of co-ordination between government bodies in the natural resources and environment, agriculture and rural development sectors.
Attendees stressed the need to re-examine and amend laws that also regulate biodiversity protection, such as the Law on Forest Protection and Development and the Fishery Law, to avoid overlaps.
Additionally, the VEA asked for an increase in state funding for biodiversity management and preservation.-VNA
