Hanoi, November 12, 2009 - Education for Nature - Vietnam (ENV), in co-ordination with Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV), awarded ‘Green Grants’ to six protected areas in Vietnam. The grants aim to support staff in carrying out environmental education activities in the buffer zones of their national parks or nature reserves.
In May and August 2009, ENV held two training courses for representatives from eleven national parks and nature reserves. After the training course, participants submitted proposals to a joint ENV-TMV Green Grant review board for consideration. The proposals were judged based on specific criteria such as creativity and design, practicality, capacity to achieve the stated objectives, and conservation priorities.
Organizing the training courses at ENV’s Environmental Education Training Center at Tam Dao National Park and supporting ‘Green Grants’ is one part of the long-term cooperation project - ’Go Green - The Preservation of Nature‘ - between TMV and ENV. The project aims to increase environmental awareness in communities bordering national parks and nature reserves by supporting training and awareness activities. Thus far, ENV has organized four training courses for 42 staff from 22 protected areas, with 13 parks and nature reserves receiving ‘Green Grants’. This is one of activities of the overall Go Green Program – a collaborative program with the Vietnam Environment Protection Administration (VEPA) and the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) that has been carried out since 2008.
Mr Akito Tachibana - General Manager of TMV said: “Raising awareness amongst Vietnamese people about the relationship between human activity and the natural environment, and helping them to understand that every citizen is responsible for using natural resources effectively, is the main purpose of the program. We hope that the outcome is for more environmental protection activities to be carried out in national parks and nature reserves across the country”.
In 2008, after two intensive training courses for 22 staff from 11 protected areas in the country, seven protected areas: Cat Ba; Ba Vi; Chu Yang Sin; Phong Nha - Ke Bang; Bidoup - Nui Ba; Bu Gia Map and Pu Huong, received a total grant sum of 156 million VND to support environmental education activities. To date, educators from seven protected areas have held 166 nature club meetings for as many as 5,000 students in secondary schools bordering their protected areas and 61 meetings in local villages for more than 3,200 local residents. Green Grants have also supported the airing of 264 radio shows on local public address systems from 2008 until now.
This year, a total of 160 million VND was awarded to educators from the Lo Go Xa Mat, Can Gio, Pu Mat, Chu Mom Ray and Ba Vi National Parks and the Muong Nhe Nature Reserve. Recipeints plan to implement a range of environmental activities in local schools and villages, distribute awareness materials, and broadcast on local radio
“Through our partnership with TMV, we have been able to make significant gains in reaching out to likeminded and motivated park staff and educators throughout the country,” said Dang Minh Ha, Director of Education and Training at ENV. “The Green Grant program goes beyond the utilization of our expertise in training environmental educators,” says Ha. “The grants provide direct support to the graduates that we feel can make the most difference, and we follow the grants with additional training and support in the field through our growing environmental education network.”
Since 2000, ENV has carried out nearly 60 environmental education training courses for community leaders, teachers, forest rangers, and protected area staff at 37 national parks and nature reserves and 16 universities. ENV coordinates a national network of environmental educators comprising former graduates of ENV training courses and other practitioners working to raise awareness about the need to protect nature and the environment in Vietnam. Through this network, ENV distributes news and resources and provides ongoing support, training, and technical assistance to network members.
ENV wishes to thank our ‘Go Green’ partner, TMV for supporting this important program to help increase environmental awareness across Vietnam.