The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) addresses the biodiversity challenges across Southeast Asia by working 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 to promote biodiversity conservation and improve the livelihood of AHP 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.
The Small Grants Programme (SGP), with assistance of German Financial Cooperation (KfW) supports efforts to protect biological diversity in AHPs, while simultaneously assisting livelihood development in and around select AHPs. Since 2017, in the second phase (SGP II), this financial cooperation extends its support to participating AHPs in Vietnam.
In Viet Nam, Kon Ka Kinh National Park (KKKNP) and three (3) other AHPs, Hoang Lien National Park (HLNP), Chu Mom Ray (CMRNP) National Park, and Ba Be National Park (BBNP) have been selected for implementation of the SGP II.
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 supports 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. It highlights eight thematic fields of protected area management: 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.
[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.
This 5-Year AHP Participatory Small Grants Action Plan (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 PSGAP aligns with the AHP’s national Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFMP) and annual local Social-Economic plans that are developed by local authorities.
The PSGAP is implemented by Contracted Service Providers (SP) of the respective participating AHPs with the support of international Consultants.
The PSGAP is required to conform with the appropriate KfW Sustainability Guidelines[1] for implementing international projects through a supporting Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF). The SGP II Environment Social Due Diligence (ESDD) identified overall project risk rating as Category B+ (substantial risk) under the KfW Sustainability Guidelines. Given the anticipated contextual risk, and the risk associated with grant selection and specific activities, the ESMF details 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.
The ESMF and the PSGAP both outline stakeholder engagement at site-level, ensuring that there is inclusive stakeholder engagement, in particular gender and ethnic minority, in the grant projects, and allows for stakeholders’ ability to provide feedback and/or grievance, which are policy requirements in the KfW Sustainability Guideline.
The PSGAP aligns its SGP packages for investment with the findings of the ESMF. Selected grant projects shall not foresee having more than moderate risks. SGP packages rated low risk will require a minimum Environmental and Social Code of Practice (ESCOP). Those packages rated moderate risk will require a site-specific Environmental Social Management Plan (ESMP). In addition, Grantees, SPs and relevant authorities shall be capacitated in addressing the associated risks of environmental and social impacts of the anticipated activities.
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is an instrument to assert indigenous peoples’ rights/ethnic groups/local communities (communities) in development activities in their territories. FPIC builds on the process of meaningful consultation and is established through good faith negotiation (Annex 1). Grant supported projects in SGP II which involved ethnic minorities are required to adopt this engagement approach prior to project implementation.
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