In late 2018, the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) Vietnam received formal approval from BMU/IKI for grant funding for a project which aims to promote an innovative public-private partnership (PPP) approach to achieve reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) objectives in the Lang Biang Landscape – a priority conservation area and UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve located in the northern part of Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands – which is threatened by agricultural expansion (especially for coffee). The project will be implemented by SNV in collaboration with the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and was recently formally approved by the Lam Dong Provincial Peoples’ Committee (PPC), with the catchier title of CAFÉ-REDD.
At the official launch on 21 March 2019 in Dalat, the Director of Lam Dong DARD welcomed the project and sincerely thanked BMU for their much-needed support in addressing deforestation, forest degradation and restoration of forest landscapes, as well as the transition towards higher quality and more sustainable agriculture and green growth in the province, specifically in the target district of Lac Duong. Mr Son also recognised SNV’s history of related work in the province and pledged the full cooperation of relevant agencies in implementation of the project.
SNV provided further details on the project design to workshop participants comprising representatives of relevant provincial agencies, Lac Duong District Peoples’ Committee and line agencies, Bi Doup Nui Ba National Park and Da Nhim Forest Management Boards, various development partners, as well as several private sector (coffee-buying) companies. In essence, the project follows a three-pronged strategy:
- Development of a multi-stakeholder PPP platform and strengthened institutional capacity for climate-smart landscape governance (including integrated planning, collaborative forest management and monitoring).
2) Engaging the private sector in monitoring and traceability systems to realise deforestation-free coffee supply chains.
3) Supporting local ethnic minority communities and smallholder farmers to promote sustainable and higher value coffee production (including reduced coffee expansion and the promotion of shade-grown coffee-agroforestry) as well as the development of alternative livelihood opportunities for young people.
The project is one of the first in Vietnam that aims to achieve REDD+ goals through a cross sectoral approach and explicit engagement with the private sector on agricultural supply-chains, and will also have a fourth component aiming to develop relevant knowledge products and host events on related themes, cooperating with the State Steering Committee Office on Sustainable Forest Development and REDD+, the Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board (VCCB), and other related initiatives.
The project is currently working with various stakeholders towards the development of a Protection Production and Inclusion (PPI) compact for Lac Duong District, which builds on a Letter of Intent jointly developed by SNV and IDH and signed by the District PC, Bi Doup Nui Ba National Park, several development partners (SNV, IDH, UNDP, CIAT, and ICRAF) and companies (Olam, JDE, ACOM, Arabica Vietnam, LaDoPhar, Dalat Mushroom Company) in late 2018. The project is also initiating baseline surveys and support for the development of several demonstration coffee-agroforestry mini-landscape models in the coming months.
Contact: Richard Rastall, SNV Vietnam, Email
