1.1. ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme and the role of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) was established to address the biodiversity challenges across the Southeast Asia. The ACB works on regional strategies towards the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The ASEAN Heritage Parks[1] (AHP) Programme is one of the flagship programmes of ASEAN designed to promote biodiversity conservation and improve the livelihood of the communities by developing and enhancing the capacity of AHP managers and multiple other stakeholders involved, including the communities that depend on the forest and other natural resources.
1.2 Small Grants Programme Phase II (SGP II)
The ACB has initiated a dynamic and innovative Small Grants Programme (SGP) with assistance of German Financial Cooperation (KfW) in support of the AHPs’ efforts to protect biological diversity, while simultaneously assisting livelihood development in and around the ASEAN Heritage Parks. The pilot phase (SGP I) focuses on selected AHPs in the two countries of Indonesia and Myanmar; and since 2017, the financial cooperation between KfW and ACB extends its support to participating AHPs in Vietnam in the second phase (SGP II).
Viet Nam has ten (10) AHPs of which four (4) have been selected for implementation of the SGP II, namely Hoang Lien National Park (HLNP), Ba Be National Park (BBNP), Chu Mom Ray (CMRNP) National Park, and Kon Ka Kinh National Park (KKKNP).
1.2.1. Objective
The overall programme objective is the protection of biological diversity and the sustainable management of natural ecosystems in the ASEAN region and to contribute to the improvement of livelihoods of the local population. The SGP II aims to:
- Improve biodiversity protection in line with the interest of local population directly dependent on selected AHPs and adjacent areas;
- Improve the livelihood of local communities directly dependent on selected AHPs or adjacent areas;
- Improve capacity and coordination for biodiversity conservation of AHP system in Viet Nam, including monitoring and evaluation system;
- Strengthen the role of ACB in promoting biodiversity protection among the ASEAN Member States (AMS).
The SGP aims to support a co-management approach for government-managed protected area landscapes and adjacent areas through multi-level co-management as means to link the protected area officials with the local stakeholders. This approach highlights eight thematic fields of protected area management i.e. i) General Park management, ii) Wildlife research and monitoring, iii) Law enforcement, iv) Habitat and species management, v) Community outreach and conservation awareness, vi) Community development, vii) Ecotourism, and viii) Sector policy development; introduces the concept of establishing protected area working groups; and linking the core zone and the buffer zone agendas, comprising key landscape stakeholders.
The outcome of this link will be a jointly developed 5-Year AHP Participatory Small Grants Action Plan (PSGAP), which are stipulated as a condition for AHP nominations. The PSGAP will direct small grant investments towards priorities for conservation and livelihood investments in the eight thematic areas.
1.3 Participatory Small Grant Action Plan (PSGAP)
1.3.1 Rationale and aims
The PSGAP provides a strategic framework for implementing SGP II and clear guidance to the development of small grant supported projects. It also serves as a reference for projects planning of relevant stakeholders. The PSGAP adopts a participatory planning approach that will actively engage all stakeholders to ensure the involvement and acceptance of all stakeholders to the small grants action plan.
The Plan is developed based on the national Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFMP) and annual local Social-Economic plans that are developed by local authorities. These action plans shall meet the objectives of SGP II as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Separate Agreement, requirements of the SGP II investment, and Financial Cooperation with KfW, and in line with Viet Nam Government regulation and policies.
1.3.2 PSGAP Development Process
Service providers (SP) of the respective participating AHPs are contracted by ACB to develop the PSGAP with the support of international Consultants. The development of the action plan will involve the following steps:
- A thorough review of existing SFMS as approved by the Province Peoples Committee (PPC), and the Local Socio-Economic Development Plans (LSEDP), if any, of the local authority;
- Identify and elaborate together, through a consultation, with relevant stakeholders (such as AHP, DARD, DPC, CPC, Village Heads, SP, PMU, ACB, and the consultants) on the target areas, communities, measures and activities to address the biodiversity conservation and livelihood issues; and
- Development of action plans that are accepted by all stakeholders. The PSGAP will be signed by all stakeholders and will be used as a commitment for the grant making and implementation of SGP II.
1.4 Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)
The ESMF aims to ensure the SGP II funded projects/ sub-projects comply with the relevant Environmental and Social Safeguards as stipulated in the 2021 KfW Sustainability Guideline[2]. The SGP II Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) identified overall project risk rating as Category B+ (substantial risk) under the KfW Sustainability Guideline. Given the anticipated contextual risk, and the risk associated with grant selection and specific activities, the ESMF has detailed the generic procedures of addressing these risks as well as the implementation of ESMF monitoring in SGP II.
Based on the rapid assessment findings of law enforcement and practice in the 4 AHPs, and discussion with KfW, the PMU and ACB decided to exclude most of the law enforcement activities. Table 1 below shows the possible activities to be supported in SGP II and the related risks.
Table 1. Possible activities to be supported in SGP II and the related risks
| Area of management | Examples of specific activities and investments | Risk |
| General park management | Establishment of multi-stakeholder groups to provide advice on management | L |
| Facilitation of processes/capacities for encouraging stakeholder participation | L | |
| Travel for meetings and information exchanges | L | |
| Human wildlife conflict management | L | |
| Participatory management planning | L | |
| Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) (including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)) | L | |
| Study tours (in-country) | L | |
| Wildlife research and biodiversity monitoring | Wildlife monitoring equipment and infrastructure (e.g., camera traps, binoculars)[3] | L |
| Participatory research (natural resource use groups) | L | |
| Data management information systems | L | |
| Survey training (wildlife) | L | |
| Pilots for wildlife survey and monitoring | L | |
| Biodiversity inventory and developing indicators | L | |
| Biodiversity monitoring programme | L | |
| Law enforcement | Travel for meetings and information exchanges | L |
| Human rights training | L | |
| Habitat and species management | Special protection measures for the management of species | M |
| Necessary equipment (e.g., fire-fighting equipment, nursery materials etc.) | L | |
| Training required for this component | L | |
| Reforestation (native trees) (e.g., reforestation interventions and the removal of invasive species) | M | |
| Forest fire management (e.g., village meetings, prescribed burning and fire-fighting activities) | M | |
| Wetland restoration | M | |
| Ecosystem restoration | M | |
| Restoration of rare and endemic species | M | |
| Small demonstration plots for new NTFP species | M | |
| Technology for monitoring forest loss and degradation | L | |
| Community outreach and conservation awareness | Necessary equipment (e.g., overhead projectors, printing materials, student booklets etc.) | L |
| Training required for this component | L | |
| Community conservation meetings | L | |
| Student and teacher conservation activities | L | |
| Awareness activities at public events, in schools | L | |
| Problem household engagement | L | |
| Enforcement agency awareness raising | L | |
| Media (local radio, videos, multimedia, exhibitions, social media) | L | |
| Community development | Village natural resource management and land-use planning | L |
| Sustainable arming activities e.g., organic farming | M | |
| Sustainable small-scale animal husbandry; fish farms | M | |
| Agroforestry, nurseries | M | |
| Woodlots | M | |
| Fruit trees, timber trees, NTFPs | M | |
| Energy efficient alternatives[4] | M | |
| Small economic activities; women empowerment[5] | M | |
| Water harvesting | M | |
| Travel for meetings and information exchanges | L | |
| Community capacity building and training | L | |
| Ecotourism | Community-based tourism and ecotourism (including tourist destination management, traditional crafts and souvenirs) | M |
| Establishment of village guides; village tourism cooperatives | L | |
| Establishment of entrance fee sharing mechanisms | L | |
| Promotional materials (e.g., brochures, website, social media, video documentation etc.) about biodiversity of the protected areas and related tourism activities offered | L | |
| Capacity building – hospitality services; tourism products, equitable sharing negotiation, traditional crafts for tourism product etc. | L | |
| Small scale tourism facilities e.g., maintenance of trails, view- points, sign boards, tourist informative board | L | |
| Development of cultural tourism packages | L | |
| Sector Policy Development | Policy to strengthen the AHP management in Viet Nam: Propose policy for management of AHPs in Viet NamEvaluate the implementation of biodiversity law in the AHPsPropose action plan for AHPs in Viet NamEcosystem services valuationClimate change responseAssessment of climate change impacts in the AHPSustainable financing mechanism for AHPStrengthen the coordination and information sharing mechanism between AHPs and national database system:Evaluate of project reports and implemented activities AHPs in Viet NamMonitor project pilot sitesRegularly evaluation meetingsStandardisation of information sources, update of biodiversity conservation information into national database systemSet-up sharing mechanism of information and experiences between AHPsCapacity building on AHP management and biodiversity conservation | L |
* Note L indicates low risk; M indicates moderate risk
The ESMF and the PSGAP both outline stakeholder engagement at site-level, ensuring that there is inclusive stakeholder engagement, in particular to involve both genders and ethnic minorities in the grant projects, and allow for stakeholders’ ability to provide feedback and/or grievance, which are policy requirements in the KfW Sustainability Guideline.
The PSGAP will align its SGP packages for investment with the findings of ESMF. Selected grant projects shall not foresee having more than moderate risks. In addition, Grantees, SPs and relevant authorities shall be capacitated in addressing the associated risks of environmental and social impacts of the anticipated activities.
1.5 Beneficiaries
The primary beneficiaries of the programme are the local communities in particular the marginalised groups and women, and CBOs in AHPs and adjacent areas. These include, among others, fishermen, hunter-gatherers, and other communities dependent on the natural resources in and around the AHPs, with strong vested interests (short to medium term income generation opportunity and longer-term natural resource sustainability) in the project interventions offered. The SGP implementation emphasizes active participation of ethnic groups, women, the youths, and other the vulnerable communities in project planning and implementation.
Other core partners / beneficiaries that will be institutionally strengthened within the scope of the SGP are professionals and executives of the environment, forestry, water, energy, and other relevant sector authorities at the national level; the nature conservation administrations; the management of AHPs; as well as universities and NGOs. Local government field staff (agriculture/forestry technicians) engaged in community-based resource management shall be capacitated to provide the required extension support. In addition, village leaders, key farmers, local businesses and cooperatives, CSOs and NGOs are also seen as target group for capacity building.
[1] AHPs are defined within the ASEAN context as “protected areas of high conservation importance, preserving in total a complete spectrum of representative ecosystems of the ASEAN region”. The establishment of the AHPs intends to present the uniqueness, diversity, outstanding values, and the importance of the conservation areas. This effort is one of the important strategies to tackle the challenges on the environmental degradation in the ASEAN region, as well as part of ACB’s contribution in the region.
[2] https://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/PDF/Download-Center/PDF-Dokumente-Richtlinien/Nachhaltigkeitsrichtlinie_EN.pdf
[3] Watch towers were previously considered but are excluded from consideration.
[4] Small biogas systems, woodlots, efficient stoves and similar
[5] Value added production, small handicrafts and similar.