Germany Helps Vietnam Protect Forests, Coastal Ecology

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) recently signed two technical cooperation program on forest conservation and coastal ecology protection, reported the Saigon Giai Phong newspaper. Accordingly, the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity and ecosystem services program will be implemented from 2015 to 2018 with a budget of EUR4.5 million ($4.95 million). Meanwhile, phase II of the integrated coastal management program (ICMP) aims to enhance institutional, financial and planning capacities to boost the development of the Mekong Delta region to be able to adapt to climate change. The ICMP phase II, managed with a budget of up to EUR8.8 million ($9.7 million), will be carried out through 2017 with the participation of GIZ and the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang and Soc Trang provinces. (vietnamplus.vn Aug 10)