Viet Nam is embracing to strengthen biodiversity conservation beyond traditional protected areas and achieve the 30×30 global target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Definition of OECM (CBD/COP/DEC/14/8)
A geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in-situ conservation of biodiversity with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio-economic, and other locally relevant values.
OECMs were first recognised globally as part of the CBD’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010 and formally defined in 2018. Their significance grew further with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, which set the ambitious 30×30 goal to conserve 30% of global terrestrial and marine areas by 2030. As of late 2024, over 6,400 OECMs have contributed to this target, showcasing their role as a complementary approach to traditional protected areas.
In Viet Nam, the National Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 identifies OECMs as a priority for conserving its diverse ecosystems and rich biodiversity. While only 7% of the country’s land is legally protected, many ecologically valuable areas such as protected forests, aquatic resource protection sites and national tourism sites hold great potential for OECM recognition. Efforts are now underway to align these measures with national policies, ensuring effective governance and management frameworks.
Some progress has already been made. In 2022-2023, the collaborated with Viet Nam’s Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Agency (NBCA) to assess the OECM potential in Quang Ninh province. The study identified 116 potential OECMs, including forests, wetlands, and bird habitats. Testing tools like the IUCN site-level assessment offered insights into challenges such as governance overlaps, data inconsistencies, and boundary determinations.
Valuable lessons from India and Colombia, which have successfully implemented OECM frameworks, were also drawn. Both countries emphasise the importance of strong legal foundations, national coordination committees and tailored criteria for identifying and managing OECMs. The use of digital portals to streamline identification and reporting offers a scalable solution that Viet Nam can adapt to its context.
To move the OECM agenda in the country forward, GIZ in collaboration with NBCA and IUCN, have also developed the above roadmap to identify, recognise, and institutionalise OECMs, divided into two phases. The first phase (2024 – 2025) focuses on establishing a working group, developing guidelines, and raising awareness among stakeholders. The second phase, starting after 2025, will prioritise legislative reviews, comprehensive assessments, and piloting management models in key ecosystems.
By embracing OECMs, Viet Nam is not only contributing to global biodiversity goals but also safeguarding its unique ecosystems and supporting local communities. This also demonstrates Viet Nam’s commitment to address biodiversity conservation amidst challenges like climate change and development pressures.
A summary of the findings was compiled to gain a deeper understanding of the potential of OECMs in Viet Nam, including good practices and the proposed roadmap. This summary is based on studies conducted within the framework of the measure “Management of protected areas, which unite different eco-systems” under the Study and Experts Fund commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The summary is created in collaboration with the project “Support to Viet Nam for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement II”, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and IUCN.
Please find the publication here: Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures in Viet Nam: Heading Towards Recognition and Effective In-Situ Conservation Beyond Protected Area – International Climate Initiative (IKI) in Viet Nam
From October 19 to 26, 2024, a delegation from Viet Nam’s Ministry of Science and Technology, led by Deputy Minister Hoang Minh, along with representatives from the Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) project funded by IKi and implemented by GIZ, engaged in in-depth discussions with partners in Germany and France on energy technology innovation.
Specifically, the delegation met with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK), the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM), and the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce Abroad (AHK) to discuss policies on innovation and technology transfer in Germany, as well as federal financial and technical support for small and medium enterprises conducting research, development, and commercialization of new technologies.
In addition, the delegation visited and exchanged ideas with manufacturing companies directly involved in the renewable energy supply chain in Germany, including Siemens Energy, Whitecell Eisenhuth GmbH & Co. KG, GEO Gesellschaft für Energie und Ökologie GmbH, and Getriebetechnik Magdeburg GmbH. These exchanges provided the delegation with updated information on advanced technologies and innovative models, such as hydrogen, electrolysis technology, and wind turbine engines.
Furthermore, working sessions with research institutes like Agora in Germany and the network of Institute for Research and Technology in France offered insights into global trends and policies regarding research and development in renewable energy technology and carbon reduction in industrial processes.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the experiences gained from this tour, along with the network of government agencies, businesses, and research institutes, will serve as a critical foundation for the Ministry’s upcoming strategies and initiatives.
This study trip was organised by GIZ, via the CASE project in collaboration with the State Agency for Technology Innovation (SATI) under the Viet Nam’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The trip is expected to guide the development of technology, innovation, and international cooperation in Viet Nam’s energy transition process.
For more information about CASE project, please visit: Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) | Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative (IKI)
In 2019, by ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, Viet Nam committed to phasing down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – synthetic gases commonly used in cooling and refrigeration, which are a rapidly growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming. According to the agreement, HFCs emissions are to be reduced by 80% by 2045, starting this year 2024. With the objective to enhance the use of natural refrigerants in cooling sector in Viet Nam, the project “Green Cooling Initiative III” (GCI III) aimed to: (i)strengthen the capacity of both public and private stakeholders in green cooling practices and; (ii) promote Green Cooling in Viet Nam by facilitating the transformation of the cooling sector towards energy efficient technologies promoting natural refrigerants (i.e. carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, ammonia, etc.) contributing to achieving Viet Nam’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Over three years of implementation, from 2022 to 2024, the project successfully achieved its goals, yielding impactful results and accomplishments. On 24 October, the closing workshop of GCI III was held in Hanoi by GIZ – the GCI III Implementing Agency in Viet Nam, with the participation of Representatives from Viet Nam’s National Ozone Unit (NOU), Department of Climate Change (DCC), Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, and other partner organisations, experts and project implementers.
In his welcome address, Mr. Oemar Idoe, Cluster Coordinator of GIZ Viet Nam Environment, Climate Change and Agriculture , applauded the project’s achievements: “Today I would like to congratulate the joint GCI III project team from DCC and GIZ as well as its cooperation partners such as Hanoi Industrial Vocational College and Hanoi Vocational College of Electronics and Refrigeration for the achievements of the Green Cooling initiative III in Viet Nam. We also note the decision of the Vietnamese government to join the voluntary Global Cooling Pledge at COP 28, which is an encouraging sign of Vietnam*s commitment to advance sustainable cooling.”.
In the “Strategic Forum on Green Cooling Activity Deployment in Viet Nam” taking place in the morning, the project results of were highlighted by Mr. Nguyen Ba Tu, GCI III Project Coordinator for Department of Climate Change (DCC), Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MONRE). Accordingly, GCI III has supported providing access to Green Cooling instruments and arguments, offering demand-based support services and strengthening stakeholders networking to incorporate Green Cooling measures for the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) sector into Viet Nam’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in 2022.
Additionally, a study was conducted by an expert team from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (Dr.-Ing. Trinh Quoc Dung and Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien): on Data collection and elaborate a market study in the domestic and retail refrigeration subsectors under the food cold chain sector in Viet Nam, and (i) Market Analysis Results and Proposed Transformative Plan to Green Cooling Technologies in Vietnam Food Cold Chain.
The cold chain sector has also become a significant and rapidly expanding market in Viet Nam. According to FiinGroup, the participation of both domestic and international investors has been robust, leading to a 44.8% increase in the design capacity of cold storage facilities between 2020 and 2023. The logistics market for cold chains in Viet Nam reached a value of 211.2 million USD in 2023, with projections indicating a 70% increase in cold storage capacity over the next five years, from 1 million to 1.7 million pallets. The growth of the cold chain and domestic refrigeration or refrigeration sector in general has led to a significant increase in energy consumption and GHG emissions. The average HFC consumption during this period reached 5,700 tons, equivalent to 10.7 million tons of CO₂ eq. Notably, a 2% increase in 2022 HFC consumption led to a 9% rise in CO₂ emissions, indicating a shift towards higher-emitting HFCs.
The Market study, conducted in shopping malls, large and medium supermarkets and convenience stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, offered an overview of the current market for domestic refrigerators and freezers in households, stand-alone and remote refrigerators/freezers and the current market penetration of natural refrigerants.
Based on these findings, Dr.-Ing. Trinh Quoc Dung proposed a National Transformation Plan outlining both short-tearm (2024 – 2026) and long-term (2027- 2040) strategies for the transformation of two subsectors transformation to using green cooling technologies. The experts emphasised the importance of collaboration among key ministries and relevant stakehoders, adoption of low/ultra-low global warming potential refigerants, renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, promotion of technician training and certification, implementation regulatory compliance and monitoring systems, and support for research and development for innovation technology and alternative refrigerants. The discussion that followed provided insightful exchanges and knowledge sharing among representatives from MONRE, the private sector, experts and the project’s implementers.
In the afternoon session, the Strategic Forum on Training and Capacity Building for the Transformation to Green Cooling in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector in Viet Nam, representatives from vocational colleges shared results and achievements from the successful two Hands-on Practical Training on Safe Use of Natural Refrigerants provided to 30 Trainers and Practitioners from 8 vocational colleges and 3 RAC enterprises. The following five Replicated Practical Training Courses in Safe Use of Natural Refrigerants and Green Cooling Approach have been delivered to the first 75 Vocational Students from Hanoi Industrial Vocational College and Hanoi Vocational College of Electronics and Refrigeration. Additionally, to promote gender responsiveness in the Green Cooling sector, the vocational programme was tailored to better accommodate female participation.
Dr. Tran Xuan Ngoc, Rector of Hanoi Vocational College of Electronics and Refrigeratory Technics, highly appreciated the efforts of the GCI III project in strengthening capacity on Green Cooling and the Safe Use of Hydrocarbon-based Refrigerants for source officials, technicians, and trainers. He expressed hope that the GCI III project could serve as a crucial foundation for implementing similar initiatives in Viet Nam in the future.
For the closing remark, Ms. Nguyen Dang Thu Cuc – Viet Nam NOU Coordinator, DCC stated: “The project has introduced good practices in the technology of using natural refrigerants to Viet Nam, these technologies, when applied synchronously in training programs at vocational colleges, will allow trainees to meet the increasing demand and requirements of the market for the environment, health and well-being aspect.”
For more information about the GCI III project, please visit: Green Cooling Initiative III | Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative (IKI)
To learn more about the GCI III project deliverables, please visit: IKI Document Library Archives – International Climate Initiative (IKI) in Viet Nam
In Viet Nam’s Mekong River Delta, farmers are receiving valuable information in the form of Agro-Climatic Bulletins. The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT was the sole international organisation recognised by the Vietnamese government for expanding these services to reach over 270,000 farmers.
Enabling hundreds of thousands smallholder farmers to practice climate service-informed decision making, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) honored the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT its Certificate of Merit for developing and disseminating Agro-Climatic Bulletins (ACBs) across the 13 provinces in the Mekong River Delta.
“ACBs contribute to the success of production at all levels from central to local levels, helping farmers change their farming practices, reducing input costs as well as crop losses,” Ms. Tran Thi My Hanh, technical staff of MARD’s Department of Crop Production (DCP) said. “The recognition emphasises the contribution of ACBs to agricultural development, encouraging and motivating individuals and government agencies to maintain and further scaling out ACBs in the country.”
The Alliance is the sole international organisation to receive this certificate, alongside two other local agencies and 10 government staff, due to its pivotal role advancing rural and agricultural development in the country’s delta region. The timely release of the bulletins remains instrumental in empowering more than 270,000 farmers to make informed crop decisions, enabling them to better manage risks and prepare against unpredictable climate conditions.
Advisories through multiple channels
The bulletins provide localised recommendations, aligned with climate adaptation and mitigation strategies based on seasonal, monthly, and 10-day climate and weather forecasts. These advisories allow farmers to significantly reduce the risk of production losses, particularly in the face of challenging climatic conditions such as saltwater intrusion and drought, a local media reported.
Currently, ACBs are active in 70 districts and 547 communes in the Mekong River Delta. While farmers are reached through multiple communication channels – such as digital media, loudspeakers, printed posters and capacity training sessions by government agencies and civil society groups – the bulletins have been largely disseminated through the mobile messaging application, Zalo which is the most common messaging app used by Vietnamese, including smallholder farmers.
On Zalo, farmers are notified of tailored district-level advisories every 10 days for more efficient crop farming – saving them both time and resources by knowing when it is best to sow seeds, apply inputs, and harvest crops, among others. The messaging application alone has efficiently reached more than 50,000 users within 979 chat groups, at least those who have access to smart phones and the internet.
Video: Agro-Climatic Bulletins for Vietnam ‘s Farmers via Mobile Messaging App
Integration into Viet Nam’s Policy
The bulletins were piloted on commune level in 2020, replicated in one province in 2021, expanded to seven provinces in 2022, and scaled to all 13 provinces in the Mekong River Delta in 2023.
With the agriculture ministry’s landmark decision to recognise the ACBs as technical advance, the advisory services became part of Viet Nam’s policy, which, the government hopes, will contribute to the state’s crop management and national climate change adaptation strategy. It has received an annual national budget of 400 million Vietnamese Dong (approximately 17,000 USD), paving the way for other provinces to follow suit and employ the ACB approach with a better chance of accessing local government funding.
The institutionalisation of the bulletins has since prompted DCP to issue regional instruction letters and establish a regional Technical Working Group (TWG) to further support the bulletins’ implementation across all 13 provinces.
Amplifying farmers’ voices
The Alliance employed a multi-stakeholder and participatory approach in the implementation of the bulletins, securing farmers and local experts at the front and center of climate change action.
In a series of capacity sharing sessions since the launch of the ACBs in 2020, farmers and agriculture professionals have played key roles in developing the bulletins as they provide relevant expertise on the status of crop growth and local climate conditions in the area. They have also been involved in determining the most appropriate type of ACBs: from the content, design, and timing of dissemination through communication channels such as online messaging groups and on-site meetings.
For Mr. Le Thanh Tung, vice director of DCP in the South of Viet Nam, the participatory nature of the bulletins increases the tool’s sustainability: “The department reaffirms its continued collaboration with the Alliance to further improve the bulletins towards digitalisation, ensuring the efficiency and quality of advisories while making it more accessible to meet farmers’ needs.”
What’s next?
The recent recognition has fueled the Alliance and its partners to increase the reach of the bulletins, serving more smallholder farmers beyond the delta region, Climate Action Lead in Asia Cornelis Swaans said.
Applying Human-Centered Design principles, the ACB approach is being improved to ensure that users and partners are placed in the center of the development process. This approach guarantees that products and services are being adapted and improved based on evolving needs. Supplementary training materials are also being developed and will be integrated as QR codes in the bulletins’ 10-day advisory shared through Zalo, which will then be tested with users in the coming months.
The Alliance and DCP are keen to optimise the quality and dissemination process of the bulletins through incorporating low-emission, nutrition-sensitive, and conservation agriculture advisories, and promote two-way interaction with farmers, using a digital platform.
With strong government buy-in, the bulletins will have an opportunity to be scaled up across Viet Nam to help accelerate agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change while helping farmers stabilise their livelihoods under an unpredictable, ever-changing climate.
In the center of the Mekong Delta, the IKI funded Sustainable Sand Management in the Mekong Delta Project (IKI SMP), managed by WWF-Viet Nam and Viet Nam Dike and Disaster Management Authority (VDDMA), proudly announced the results of the first ever delta-wide Sand Budget for the Mekong Delta on 29 September in Can Tho City. In the midst of escalating sand demand, the study provided the most updated data of sand balance of Tien and Hau Rivers, two main branches of the Mekong in Viet Nam, to the responsible authorities. The study shows that, if the extraction rate remains as usual, in only 10 years, we will use up the mobile sand stock accumulated over hundreds of years by the Mekong River.
Kicked-off in March 2022, the Sand Budget for the Mekong Delta was conducted by experts from Deltares Joint Ventures, including field surveys, secondary data collection, and mathematical modeling to estimate the current sand balance in the delta for the year of 2022, with a vision for 2030-2040. The Sand Budget was built based on four factors: 1) the volume of sand deposited to the delta via two main branches, 2) the volume of sand discharged to the sea, 3) the volume of sand extracted within the delta, and 4) the current mobile sand stock in the riverbed. The measured existing stock of mobile sand in the riverbed varies from 367 to 550 million m3. It is important to understand that this is the sand that was accumulated over many centuries and plays a foundational role for the delta’s stability and climate change resilience. The survey results in 2022 demonstrate that there is only up to 0.6 million m3 of sand discharged to the sea, while the deposited amount to the delta, which is mostly trapped in the upstream dams, dwindles to 2-4 million m3 per year. It is simple math that with the current exploitation rate (35-55 million m3/year), the Mekong Delta existing mobile sand stock may be depleted before 2035.
With the current development demands, it is impossible to halt sand mining overnight, but the Sand Budget emphases the limited nature of sand, and overexploitation for immediate economic benefits will bring much bigger consequences in the long term. The Sand Budget also accentuates the sand’s transboundary nature, recommends a centralised delta-wide management system instead of the current provincial management and licensing system and points out the importance of recognising sand as an important resource with appropriate regulations and sanctions.
Moving forward, 16 sustainable alternatives have been identified in Southern Viet Nam to replace river sand in the construction sector. Overall, a Life Cycle Assessment shows positive signs of environmental impacts of using these alternatives. Out of the 16, eight alternatives to sand and gravel sources have been prioritized and recognised, such as construction and demolition waste, M-sand, rice husk and sugar baggage ash. This was the final activity of IKI SMP in the efforts of providing scientific tools like the Sand Budget and alternative solutions for the paradox of sand in the Mekong Delta.
Shifting to non-forest-based livelihoods has enabled families around Saola nature reserves to increase their income while actively contributing to biodiversity conservation by reducing pressure on nature reserves.
For generations, communities living around protected areas (PAs) have depended on forests for their sustenance and protection. Many of these communities are impoverished and rely on the forest for essentials such as firewood, food, non-timber forest products, and livestock grazing.
“Our family’s primary food source relies on farming, but more is needed. I also weave rattan fabric for sale to supplement my income, yet the profit is not much,” said Ms. Blup Thi Hang from A Luoi, a commune in the buffer zone of the Thua Thien Hue Saola Nature Reserve. “I rallied fellow women to venture into the forest, harvesting bamboo shoots and collecting snails to increase our earnings. The forest’s specialities were highly sought after.”
However, it is also widely recognised that intensive dependence on forest resources may lead to degradation and ecological problems.
Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserves
Located within the Central Annamites Landscape of Viet Nam, PAs in Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces were designated as Saola Nature Reserves in 2011 and 2013, respectively.
These areas harbour a wealth of distinctive Asian biodiversity, spanning 2.2 million hectares of natural forests, 134 mammals and more than 500 bird species. It provides vital ecosystem services to more than 10 million people, including 7 million who depend on agriculture and forestry for their livelihoods. It is, therefore, imperative to protect the natural forest, support sustainable agriculture, and increase climate resilience. This ensures the landscape can continue to sustain both the communities and the biodiversity that depend on it. A conservation programme is now helping residents transition to opt for alternative livelihoods, reducing their dependence on forest resources and promoting sustainability.
Alternative livelihoods
The Village Development Facilities (VDFs), an initiative under WWF’s Carbon and Biodiversity Project phase II (CarBi 2), has emerged as a transformative tool for fostering sustainable livelihoods and forest conservation. Implemented in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces, the VDFs are designed to achieve two main goals: efficiently managing resources to meet community needs and encouraging behavioural change toward forest conservation. Managed by the communities, the VDFs have already made notable impacts, directly benefiting over 700 households and enhancing the resilience of communities traditionally reliant on forest resources.
The VDFs are a crucial part of the CarBi 2 project, which aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems in the Central Annamites. Building on the successes of phase I, CarBi 2 expands activities to address the region’s biodiversity threats while empowering local people, many of whom depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. A new feature of phase II is the establishment of VDFs to facilitate borrowing for income-generating agroforestry and alternative livelihood activities.
Seeds of change
For individuals like Hang, the VDFs have been life changing. “I heard from my village about the fund of CarBi 2. I hesitated about taking a loan as I was still determining my repayment capability.” Eventually, Hang borrowed US$200 from the fund and ventured into fish farming.
“At first, many fish died; fortunately, the project provided fish farming training, helping me overcome this challenge. Consequently, I successfully repaid the loan, invested more in fish breeding, and improved the quality of living for my family,” added Hang.
Similarly, Mr A Lang Minh from Pho village, a remote area near Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve, used the loan of US$ 400 to start livestock farming. “I bought a cow, which soon reproduced two calves. I sold one, repaid my loan, and now I expect another calf. VDFs have allowed me to earn a stable income without harming the forests,” he said.
Community-driven development
These cheerful stories illustrate the values of VDF’s programme, a model of self-reliance and communal governance. Various funding sources, in addition to the support from CarBi 2, such as Payments for Forest Environmental Services and contributions from the community and village authorities, have been mobilised to support village development and livelihood alternatives through village microfinance programmes.
WWF has provided ongoing capacity-building, equipping community management boards with financial management, accounting, and development planning skills. These efforts ensure transparency and effectiveness, fostering trust among stakeholders. “We’ve learned not only how to manage the fund but also how to monitor and report its use. This has greatly improved our confidence in managing communal resources,” Ms Nguyen Thi Xua, a member of A Xach VDFs Management Board in Nam Dong commune said.
With 30 VDFs established and operated in 30 villages under CarBi 2, the VDFs pilot’s success has prompted the model’s expansion to additional villages, to be scaled up by the WWF – Velux partnership in 2025. WWF and local authorities are working closely with communities to replicate this model, ensuring that more villages benefit from sustainable development and conservation efforts. It is crucial to empower communities and promote their ownership, capacity building, and training for sustainable use of VDFs.
WWF’s innovative path forward
Looking forward, WWF envisions contributing to Viet Nam’s national biodiversity goals, which aim to expand and enhance the management effectiveness of the country’s natural heritage sites and PAs by 2030. A key strategy will be promoting other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) to extend conservation beyond traditional protected areas. Globally, over 6,000 OECM sites have been identified, including 178 in the Philippines, but Southeast Asian countries have yet to establish confirmed OECMs. WWF will work toward developing OECMs in Viet Nam, focusing on biodiversity credits, rewilding efforts, and enhancing ecosystem connectivity, to foster a sustainable future for both people and nature.
IKI Project News
Viet Nam is embracing to strengthen biodiversity conservation beyond traditional protected areas and achieve the 30×30 global target under the […]
From October 19 to 26, 2024, a delegation from Viet Nam’s Ministry of Science and Technology, led by Deputy Minister […]
In 2019, by ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, Viet Nam committed to phasing down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – synthetic […]
In Viet Nam’s Mekong River Delta, farmers are receiving valuable information in the form of Agro-Climatic Bulletins. The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT was […]
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Climate and Biodiversity News
Climate change and funding challenges are putting pressure on Viet Nam’s electricity supply. The Ministry of Industry and Transport (MOIT) […]
In December 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) promulgated two circulars that provide technical guidance and cost-norm […]
The Ministry of Transport of Viet Nam has issued Circular No. 63/2024/TT-BGTVT, outlining technical regulations for Measurement, Reporting, and Verification […]
Events
At the kick-off meeting of the IKI Viet Nam Gender COP last December, we defined the objectives and scope, mapped […]
At this meeting, we will discuss our plans and refine the IKI Interface’s orientation to facilitate coordination and exchange among […]
Paris Meeting Room, IKI Interface Project Office, R. 031, 3rd Floor, Coco Building, 14 Thuy Khue Street, Tay Ho District, Hanoi
The IKI Viet Nam Gender Community of Practice (CoP) was established at the annual IKI Workshop in September. To officially […]
Berlin meeting room, GIZ Viet Nam office, 6th floor, 49 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hanoi.
Date and time: Thursday, 21 November | 1.30 pm – 5:00 pm Venue: Berlin meeting room, GIZ Viet Nam office, […]
Berlin meeting room, GIZ Viet Nam office, 49 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hanoi
We invite you to this year’s IKI Interface Viet Nam Workshop on Tuesday, 17 September 2024, following a Networking evening […]
Press Club Hanoi, 12 Ly Dao Thanh St., Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Recent Publications
The Green Cooling Initiative III (GCI III), spearheaded by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), is a comprehensive and ambitious global endeavor designed to advance sustainable cooling practices worldwide. This initiative targets key countries, including Viet Nam, with the goal of promoting the adoption of energy-efficient cooling technologies that use natural refrigerants. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) plays a pivotal role as the primary implementing agency for this project.
Through these collaborative efforts, GCI III aims to bolster the ability of stakeholders to adopt and implement green cooling solutions effectively. This, in turn, contributes significantly to advancing Viet Nam’s sustainability agenda and achieving its climate targets, positioning the country as a leader in the global movement towards environmentally friendly cooling technologies.
This assignment centers on elaborating a market study and developing a transformation plan for green cooling technologies in the domestic and retail refrigeration subsectors under the food cold chain sector in Viet Nam.
Viet Nam is a rapidly developing nation facing both population growth and the impact of climate change with over 99 million people and a high population density, Viet Nam’s economic expansion and urbanization contribute to an escalating demand for cooling. It plays a major role in economic and social development including the food processing, freezing, electronics and pharmaceutical industries. However, this growth also intensifies the environmental strain, since the cooling sector is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2016, it constituted 9% of the country’s total emissions, emitting 28.7 Mt CO₂eq (GIZ, 2019).
Addressing this issue becomes the objective of the project, aiming to conduct a comprehensive market survey and develop a transition plan that prioritises green cooling technologies, particularly within the domestic and commercial refrigeration subsectors. The project focuses on the cold food supply chain and aligns with the dual objectives of economic growth and environmental sustainability. Through strategic adoption of green cooling technologies and low GWP refrigerants, this initiative not only aims to revolutionise cooling practices but also seeks to foster a sustainable, resilient, and environmentally conscious trajectory for Viet Nam’s development.
The summary report on “Developing a National Program for Transition to Electric Transport in Viet Nam” outlines a strategic framework to shift the country’s transport sector towards electric vehicles (EVs). It underscores the urgency of this transition, as road transport accounts for over 85% of the sector’s energy demand and 80% of its greenhouse gas emissions.
The report details a series of strategic initiatives designed to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) across Viet Nam. It emphasises the importance of developing a robust charging infrastructure, providing financial incentives for EV purchases, and implementing supportive policies that encourage both public and private sector investment in the electric transport ecosystem. The report also presents various development scenarios, each based on different levels of policy intervention, illustrating how Viet Nam can progressively increase the electrification rate in its transport sector.
On the 16th and 17th of September, the IKI Interface Viet Nam Networking Dinner and Workshop convened implementers from 27 IKI projects, together with German and Vietnamese political partners, for annual discussions and knowledge sharing. This year’s event, themed ‘Economic Instruments for Climate and Biodiversity Protection,’ opened in-depth discussions among IKI implementers about the opportunities and impacts of economic incentives in promoting climate and biodiversity protection in Viet Nam.
