ICEM Projects in Detail:

ICEM / MONRE / IIED Workshop on climate change adaptation in development policies, plans and programs in Vietnam:

Hanoi, 22nd October 2007, ICEM with MONRE and IIED conducted a workshop on climate change adaptation in development policies, plans and programs in Vietnam. 60 representatives from different ministries, donors, international development organizations, and projects attended the workshop.

This workshop was a forum to stimulate in-country discussion on opportunities for mainstreaming climate change adaptation into key development planning processes in Vietnam and to provide suggestions for the relevant projects undertaken by the participating government and international partners. It is being undertaken as part of MONRE’s Office of Climate Change’s on-going program, the IIED global initiative “Considering Climate Change Adaptation Issues in Development Policies, Plans and Programs”, and ICEM’s work on implications of climate changes on coastal areas in Vietnam.

The workshop focused on the following issues:

• Understanding key risks posed by the climate change and the need for awareness raising of decision-makers and planners
• Main options for integrating climate change adaptation into development planning
• Key planning instruments relating, for example, to land-use, socio-economic development, water resource management, and the coastal zone management which need to be adjusted to address climate change
• Main opportunities for considering climate change adaptation within these planning processes and recommendations for their further development
• Key assessment instruments (SEA and EIA) and the main opportunities for using them to consider climate change adaptation and recommendations for their further development
• Recommendations for possible innovations in future policies, legislative/procedural frameworks, institutional arrangements and capacity

Key issues raised in discussion and the main outcomes and suggested areas for innovation and improvement arising at the workshop have be recorded in this summary report. It will be used as a framework of discussion points within government and between government and the international community on priorities for action and coordination of effort in this field.

The summary report identifies key opportunities and challenges for integration of climate change adaptation issues into development planning processes. The report and future discussion on the points it makes may be used for elaboration of future projects and collaboration on climate change.

Return to top

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
of Multi Annual Adaptation Strategy (MAAS) of Mauritius:

The European Commission requires a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to be carried out for the Mauritius "Multi-Annual Adaptation Strategy- Action Plan 2006-2015: Safeguarding the future through consensus" (MAAS) and for the EC support to this "MAAS".
Read and download details about this project.

Return to top

Effective Management of World Heritage Sites and Capacity-Building for Protected Areas in the Marshall Islands:

The project “Effective Management of World Heritage Sites and Capacity-Building for Protected Areas in the Marshall Islands” was devised by the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) in consultation and partnership with the national working group, the Coastal Management Advisory Council (CMAC) of the Marshall Islands. The Project is funded by the Australian Regional Natural Heritage Programme (RNHP), commenced in November 2006 and is scheduled to complete in May 2007. An ICEM team is working closely with key natural resource management agencies, including the national fisheries authority (MIMRA) and the environmental protection authority (RMIEPA) as well as educational institutions and local NGOs in order to support ongoing conservation area planning and policy processes.

The Marshall Islands is currently develolping nominations for two World Heritage sites; Bikini Atoll and Ailinginae Atoll. This project is supporting the community consultation processes and the development of management plans for these sites, which are intended to stand as flagship conservation areas for the Marshall Islands.

The other major focus of the project is to build capacity at national insititutional level by facilitating the development of a National Conservation Area Plan, reviewing and providing guidance on the legal framework for conservation areas and by clarifying roles and responsibilities of national agencies in order to work together collaboratively on community-based conservation and resource management.

Return to top

Asian Development Bank SEA of the Hydropower Sector – Vietnam

This pilot Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) focuses on one river basin in Vietnam. SEA is now a legal requirement in Vietnam but it is a new tool and awareness, understanding and capacity in its use is in early stages. The ADB is providing technical assistance (TA) and training to support capacity building for SEA and Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA). The TA includes the development of a pilot SEA in the hydropower sector in Vietnam to assist in achieving sustainable energy development in the country. The pilot considers all planned and committed hydropower and other development activities in the Vu Gia - Thu Bon River basin in Central Vietnam. The assessment is demonstrating the process and benefits of SEA/CIA in identifying likely positive and negative impacts on environmental variables in the watershed. Key outputs will include recommendations on the mitigation and monitoring of impacts and technical, policy and institutional guidance for SEA and hydropower development in the Basin. It is acting as a pilot and demonstration for application of SEA of hydropower in other river basins and for national and provincial hydropower plans.

Return to top

World Bank SEA of the Hydropower Sector Pilot Project - Vietnam:

This project focuses on producing a pilot SEA that will be used for early identification and assessment of the likely significant natural habitats-related impacts, positive and negative of the proposed program of hydropower development in Vietnam. Broadly, the pilot study aims to demonstrate the value of the SEA in integrating environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of EVN Hydropower plans. In particular, the study would demonstrate the value of the SEA in assessing impacts and defining mitigation options at the program level. It seeks to demonstrate how SEA can overcome limitations inherent in the project by project approach to EIA such as timeliness of findings; limited influence on project choice or design; inefficient use of technical services or expertise; inefficient targeting of new studies; limited value added to national knowledge base. The specific objectives of the study are to assess the significance of the biodiversity impacts of the proposed hydropower plan, and to define alternative mitigation and management strategies. It will identify key resources, institutions, skills required to implement such strategies, identify key information gaps which would be needed to support site specific planning, and define standards and methodologies for assessing site specific problems with regard to biodiversity. The project works through a focus group of government specialist in the energy and environment sectors supported by an ICEM and Birdlife International technical team.

Return to top

Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program:

ICEM is providing on-going technical support to the Asian Development Bank in design, facilitation and consultation relating to the Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program. The CEP is a systematic and integrated approach to conserve the natural systems of the GMS for the ecosystem services they provide. It focuses on the most important fields of action over the next ten years to ensure the sustainability of GMS economic development. The 6 components of the Program provide the means to address the immediate and long-term stresses that rapid economic growth would otherwise have on the environment and natural resources of the region. One component – on biodiversity conservation – has received special attention. It has two related elements–restoration and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services within (i) protected areas and (ii) corridors of land and water linking them. Both parts of this component focus on landscapes within the GMS of the highest priority for biodiversity conservation action.

Return to top

GEF National Strategy Support Project:

Through this project an ICEM team provides guidance on the shape and content of Vietnam's National GEF Strategy with draft objectives, approach, priorities and a proposed approach to monitoring and reporting. Also it proposes steps to be followed in drafting and finalizing the National GEF Strategy by an inter-ministerial working group. The project includes a review of the GEF portfolio by operational programs over the last 10 years with summaries of the projects undertaken, the funding involved, the implementing agencies and the main lessons. The project analyses the processes and coordination arrangements for accessing GEF funding, for oversight of GEF projects and for monitoring and reporting on implementation in the past. It defines lessons from the experience and makes recommendations for institutional arrangements, collaboration and harmonization over the coming 5 years in the context of the GEF Resource Allocation Framework (RAF). This work will involve an analysis of the implications of RAF for Vietnam and an assessment of Vietnam's capacities according to the GEF criteria which determine the level of support it will receive under the RAF. Finally, the project will define and assess the national priorities of key sectors, and determine the opportunities and priorities for GEF funding in each of the GEF program areas. On the basis of the background studies an outline of the format and content of the GEF strategy and the process for its drafting will be proposed.

Return to top

Vietnam Country Environmental Analysis:

The CEA in Vietnam focuses on the manufacturing sector. It is the most comprehensive assessment of industrial pollution in the country so far undertaken. The CEA involves an analysis of Vietnam's economy and major policy influences and trends, a description of the industry sector, its structure, projections and economic challenges, and an analysis of the industry sector's past and current environmental performance including a sub-sector and geographic breakdown. Pollution loads are being estimated based on projected changes and growth in the industry sector with an environmental assessment of its impact at national, economic triangle and provincial level. The policy and institutional analysis linked to this study includes a description of government's response to industrial pollution in terms of policies, institutions, tools and resources, an analysis of what is missing and what approaches are available to fill the gaps. Recommendations are being made to enhance the industry sector's environmental performance. The ICEM CEA team is adopting a SEA methodology for the study.

Return to top

Protected Areas Policy Reform Project:

ICEM is providing the principle technical input to the IUCN and MARD initiated Protected Areas Policy Reform Project in Vietnam. The goals of the study are to examine experience gained from internationally funded projects focussing on protected areas in Viet Nam and to place these recommendations within policy documents accessible to decision makers at all levels of Government. The study will assess how protected area management has been implemented over the last decade, the success of the various management models applied, and the level to which successful on-the-ground management has been taken up within policy and legislative development. It will set out policy proposals on PA planning, management, finance and community involvement as a contribution to existing government legislative initiatives.

Return to top

Financial Sustainability for National Systems of Protected Areas:

ICEM is taking the lead in the Thailand component of a UNDP/GEF initiative to develop a full scale, multi-country, project on protected area financing. This phase involves the ICEM team in design, facilitation, consultation and capacity building. The project will take an integrated approach, linking "bottom up" site-based interventions - such as improved PA financial planning which entails: aligning conservation goals and spending priorities, defining cost-effective management approaches, identifying the overall costs associated with revised management plans, and generating new funding - with "top down" national policy level work. Development of site-based financing strategies will be complimented by the identification, and where appropriate and possible, modification of legal and regulatory constraints at the national level. To accomplish this, the project will work with a broad array of government agencies and private sector partners whose decisions influence the finances of protected areas. This integrated approach is the hallmark of the project whose goal will be to: "Ensure that the foundations, structures and processes are in place to achieve the financial sustainability of national systems of protected areas in up to six countries; and increase the likelihood to achieve financial sustainability in additional protected area systems".

Return to top

Strengthening Environmental Management and Land Administration Program:

ICEM is one of three international organizations in a consortium providing the technical backing for implementation of a five year project to strengthen environmental management and land administration in Vietnam. The SEMLA programme works at national and, in particular, provincial and lower administrative levels to provide services in terms of reduced pollution and effective and equitable land administration. The programme aims to improve capacity at national, provincial and local levels to address pollution prevention, control and rehabilitation and to provide efficient and equitable services in land registration, land information, land use planning and land evaluation. The objective of the national component is “improved capacity to provide and enabling policy and legislative context and implementation arrangements for environment and land management at national and local level”. The objective of the provincial component is “improved capacity for implementation of natural resource planning and management in selected provinces”.

Return to top

Poverty and Environment Initiatives:

ICEM provided principle technical input to the design of UNDP poverty and environment projects in Cambodia and Vietnam. The poverty and environment initiatives aim to enhance the contribution of environmental protection and sustainable natural resource use to poverty reduction and sustainable growth in the two countries. They focus on the isolated rural poor and the dynamic links between their livelihoods and the quality and maintenance of natural systems in high priority biodiversity areas. The two poverty and environment projects include strengthening (1) policy and planning mechanisms and tools to address poverty-environment challenges; and (2) monitoring and analysis of poverty-environment indicators and policy outcomes. The projects will enhance capacity within the environment sector at national and local levels. In Cambodia, through the small grants activities, the project will demonstrate community-level strategies and methods, and strengthen the capacity and capability of local communities, CBOs & NGOs.

Return to top

Greater Annamite Mountains Conservation Strategy:

ICEM provided the lead technical input in the WWF initiative in Lao PDR and Vietnam to support the two governments prepare a conservation strategy and action plan for the shared Greater Annamite Mountain chain. The mountains are critical to the development and cultures of the two countries and are one of the world’s most important regions for biodiversity conservation. Lao PDR and Vietnam were supported in an intensely consultative process in preparing biodiversity conservation plans for their respective components of the Annamite range. The two national plans identify threats to biodiversity and sustainable development in the region and define priorities for action. While undertaken as separate national planning processes, the two countries consulted regularly and their priority actions have much in common. The Lao PDR and Vietnam Annamite conservation plans are important steps in promoting wise investment in the region. They provide common frameworks of priorities for government and international partners helping to align government and donor programmes, and drawing on existing initiatives in the ecoregion.

Return to top

Action Plan for Improving Forest Management and Conservation in the South-east Agro-ecological Region of Vietnam:

ICEM provided the lead technical input in the WWF initiative in Vietnam to support ten provinces in preparing a conservation and sustainable resource use action plan for their shared South-east Agro-ecological region. This Action Plan is based on the Government commitment to conservation and sustainable use of forest resources, to the overall increase in forest cover and quality, and to promoting the role of forests in local and national development by maintaining and enhancing the ecosystem services and products they provide in their natural state. The goal is to conserve the 36% of natural forest remaining in the region as a permanent forest estate, to enhance its quality, and to rehabilitate other important forest lands - all with the purpose of optimising the contribution that forests make to regional development. An important theme of the Action Plan is the need to identify and value those contributions, and to establish mechanisms so that sectors, provinces, and entities benefiting from them pay for their conservation. The Plan is prepared following consultations with the provinces of the region under the umbrella of the Forest Sector Support Program (FSSP), established in 2001 as a partnership between MARD and 19 international organisations (bilateral and multilateral donors, international non-governmental organizations). A priority action underlying all others in this plan is the need to establish a SEAR Regional Forest Conservation Forum involving all provinces in regular consultations and exchange, and facilitating decentralization of the FSSP.

Return to top

Review of Protected Areas and Development in the Four Countries of the Lower Mekong River Region:

ICEM led a technical partnership supporting the four Governments of the Lower Mekong Region in a process of comprehensive studies, piloting and consultation. The Review of Protected Areas and Development examined the growing tensions between economic and conservation objectives in the four countries of the Lower Mekong River region. It identified the many development benefits flowing from protected areas and the need to reflect them in the plans and budgets of forestry, agriculture, energy, tourism, fisheries and other key economic sectors. The lessons of more than a decade of protected area management experience in the region were related to new and innovative approaches elsewhere in the world.

Eight volumes were published:

Cambodia National Report
Lao PDR National Report
Thailand National Report
Vietnam National Report
Regional Report
Lessons learned in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam
Lessons from global experience
Field Studies in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam


The reports can be downloaded from the ICEM website, the PAD Review website or ordered from ICEM.

Return to top

Vietnam Environment and Investment Project:

Over a period of six years, ICEM provided the principle technical advice to Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment in implementation of the Environment and Investment Project, an initiative of UNDP and MPI. The project was concerned with reform to the development planning system in Vietnam so that resources are used sustainably and the environment is maintained and enhanced. The project sought to reinforce changes already taking place in the planning system where they were consistent with the principles of sustainable development, and to test new approaches where needed. The project worked at central level and in three provinces to test and demonstrate a range of innovative planning methods. It led to the National Agenda 21 preparation and implementation project.

An integrated package of handbooks, technical reports and training modules resulting from the project can be downloaded from the UNDP Vietnam website at: www.undp.org.vn/projects/vie97007/Documents.htm

Return to top

Biodiversity planning in Asia:

ICEM provided the technical support and facilitation in an IUCN initiated process of consultation and review of the experience with national biodiversity planning in seventeen Asian countries.

Most countries in Asia have now developed – or are preparing – a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan as a critical process in reversing the negative trends in biodiversity loss. In this project which ran over two years, more than 30 leading conservation managers and policy makers in the countries and key international agencies working in the region were involved in a series of sub-regional meetings and drafting activities to share their views on progress made and on the challenges which lie ahead. Country studies explore how effectively national biodiversity strategies and action planning have been in meeting these goals. They identify the main obstacles to progress, the strengths and weaknesses of the process, its main achievements and the opportunities for improvement.

Return to top

Study on Aid to the Environment Sector in Vietnam:

ICEM provided the principle technical input in design and implementation of the multi donor and government study of aid to the environment sector in Vietnam. The study assesses the level and effectiveness of foreign aid to the whole environmental sector, an urgent and important issue, as the Government and donors seek ways to improve Vietnam’s capacity to balance social - economic development with environmental conservation. This study of lessons-learned provides needed experience and recommendations for the directions and nature of future actions both by the Government and donor support. The project was the result of active involvement of many Government ministries, agencies, NGOs related to the environmental sector. Close to 200 people contributed to the study, mostly Government officers representing 62 departments and institutes covering 13 ministries; others come from 21 donor agencies, 17 NGOs and 16 environmental aid projects currently operating in Vietnam. Consultative methods were used to optimise the participatory and collective wisdom of a wide spectrum of stakeholders, through working groups, questionnaires and interviews. Eight roundtables were held in two stages with Government, donors and NGOs.

Return to top