Vietnamese AO Victims Association Visits Laos

A delegation from the Vietnamese Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) on May 23 met with Laotian Deputy Prime Minister, Senior Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith, as part of their visit to Laos from May 22-24. At the meeting, the VAVA President, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, who led the delegation, informed his host about the outcomes of the meeting with the Laos Veterans Association and a number of ministries and branches in Laos. He stressed the serious impacts caused by Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin as well as unexploded bombs and mines left over from wartime. In Vietnam, the US sprayed 80 million liters of the deadly chemical on 25 percent of the area of Southern Vietnam. The toxins destroyed millions of hectares of forests and crops, directly infected millions of Vietnamese people and had repercussions for following generations. Rinh said Laos is likely to suffer from the consequence of Agent Orange/dioxin and suggested that Vietnam and Laos work together to help AO victims and join with international efforts to ask the US to take responsibility for their actions. Sharing Rinh’s views, Deputy PM Phichith, who is also Laos Defense Minister said he was extremely moved when hearing about the suffering Vietnamese AO victims go through because of the chemical. He stressed his support for Vietnam in its struggle for justice for AO victims. The two countries should join efforts to campaign against weapons of mass destruction, said the Lao Deputy PM.

Source: Vietnamplus

Informal pathbreakers: civil society networks in china and vietnam

This thesis re-conceptualises civil society as a process of cross-sectoral networking and alliance building among individual activists and organisations. Civil society networks are built on personal connections and develop into flexible, often informal structures that engage in path-breaking advocacy with authorities and elites. In the challenging political contexts of China and Vietnam, civil society networks have brought about significant social change. The findings of extensive fieldwork in both countries demonstrate a wider range of advocacy techniques and strategies than previously documented in one-party authoritarian political systems. Four in-depth qualitative case studies are presented to illustrate a range of network structures, histories and advocacy strategies: the Bright Future Group of people with disabilities (Vietnam), Women’s Network against AIDS (China), the Reunification Park public space network (Vietnam), and the China Rivers Network. Research questions concern how civil society networks form, how they operate, and what strategies they select to influence and interact with state actors and other stakeholders, as well as how network members evaluate the effectiveness of their actions. The thesis concludes with comparative evaluations of the case studies and recommendations for donors and international partners to support networks that form organically.

Source: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/1631/

Directory of International NGOs working in Vietnam

The INGO Directory lists member NGOs of the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre, contact details and other information - see below.

A more detailed printed INGO Directory is also published and on sale to the public. As well as information about international NGOs and their work it provides other details, including contact details for United Nations agencies and Vietnamese Government ministries and legal documents governing the work of international NGOs in Vietnam.

Member NGOs of the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre can view the full directory online. They should log in at the bottom of this page, then click the INGO Directory button on the menu bar at the top of the page.
Comments, inquiries and updates about the online and printed versions of the INGO Directory should be submitted through the contact numbers or email at the bottom of this page.

Link: http://www.ngocentre.org.vn/ingodirectory

Eisenhower fund invites Vietnamese candidates

The President of the US educational fund ‘Eisenhower Fellowships’, John Wolf, has invited all eligible Vietnamese candidates to apply to the Eisenhower Fellowships programme for Southeast Asia.

At a reception given for Wolf in Hanoi on May 21, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, praised the expansion of the Eisenhower Fellowships programme in Vietnam , which, he said, will be a boost to the country’s human resources.

Hai added that the Vietnamese Government will do everything it can to facilitate the programme in the future.
Founded in 1953, “Eisenhower Fellowships” is a non-governmental and non profit organisation with its funding mainly coming from public donations as well as organisations and the business community in the US . It has sponsored more than 2,000 people from 100 countries around the world, with almost 200 from Southeast Asia.-VNA

France to Fund EUR100M for Vietnam Water, Environment Projects Yearly

The French Development Agency (AFD) will annually provide EUR80 million-EUR100 million in official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam’s water and environment sanitation projects by 2015. Of the sum, 30% will be spent on clean water supply and environment sanitation improvement, Director Jean-Marc Gravallini said. The funding will focus on upgrading dyke works; repairing and expanding water supply systems; as well as developing infrastructure for the water sector. In fact, Vietnam has been officially added to the list of the nations that are facing the water shortage due to uncontrolled exploitation. The country is also facing a high risk of exhausted underground water, experts warned. The overexploitation of water resources has been blamed for situation, which has gone beyond the withstanding of the ecological system, they attributed. To improve water resources, specialists urged to build wastewater treatment systems and waste research programs as these are the mainly culprits of water source pollution in Vietnam. Since 1997, France, through different financial cooperation fools (the AFD and French Treasury) has implemented 30 projects on water and sanitation in Vietnam with a total capital of over EUR350 million, he attributed. The projects include a EUR16 million wastewater collection and treatment project in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, a EUR8.84 million wastewater and solid waste treatment project in the central city of Hoi An and a EUR16 million sewage treatment project in the southern city of Vung Tau. (Dau Tu – Investment May 18 p19, saigonnews.vn May 18)

ADB Signs $500M Loan Contract for Metro Project in Vietnam Biggest City

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and authorities of Vietnam’s biggest city of Ho Chi Minh May 17 signed a $500 million loan contract for metro route No. 2, state media reported on May 18. The loan agreement to this effect was signed by Principal Transport Specialist for Southeast Asia, Robert Valkovic and Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Tin. The metro route 2 has a total investment of $1.25 billion with $540 million expected to come from ADB, EUR150 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and EUR240.75 million from the German Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW). The second metro route was designed to have length of 20 kilometers, beginning at Thu Thien and ending in An Suong Bus Station. The project will be divided into two phase, with the first phase focusing on construction of 11-kilometer section from Ben Thanh market to Tham Luong with 11 stations. It is slated for completion in 2016. Earlier in early 2011, the Vietnamese government signed the first loan agreement worth EUR28 million with the Germany government for the project. (Phap Luat TPHCM – HCM City Law May 18 p4, Lao Dong – Labor May 18 p3)

Eco-Tourism Has Spinoff for Ethnic Villagers

Tourism will ensure stable incomes for residents in buffer zones around national parks and will ensure better protection of the parks and the wildlife they shelter. Pham Hoang Nam reports.Tham Thi Men was everywhere at the same time. The 48-year-old ethnic Tay woman was on stage singing a traditional song; she was being an attractive hostess inviting guests to enjoy Tay cakes that she and her neighbours had made, and she was in the kitchen preparing lunch for visitors at the communal Long House. The Long House is located near the new ethnic Stieng resettlement area in Ta Lai Commune, Tan Phu District, in the southern province of Dong Nai. The 125sq.m house was built in five months with bamboo, wood, rattan and other natural materials. It opened to visitors in the middle of February. The house is the first community-based tourism guesthouse in the area. It was built under a project, funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), that promotes community-based ecotourism in Viet Nam's national parks. The project has been carried out by the WWF in collaboration with the Nam Cat Tien National Park since 2008. It directly benefits the livelihoods of local communities while conserving nature, WWF Viet Nam director Tran Minh Hien said. "Ecotourism planning in and around the park is carried out through a participatory multi-stakeholder process and is incorporated into development plans at commune, district and provincial levels," she explained. According to the chairman of Ta Lai Commune, Dang Vu Hiep, the house offers not only cultural meaning but also economic value to ethnic groups living in the region. "Community-based tourism will create stable livelihoods for local people by helping reduce pressure on natural resources, raising people's awareness of environmental protection and promoting cultural characters of ethnic communities," he said. The house is all set to receive visitors now. To introduce the Long House to travel agencies including adventure tour operators, project managers organized a trip few weeks ago to the national park. Everything had been carefully prepared. Special dishes typically eaten by local ethnic minorities of Stieng, Ma and Tay had been prepared. People in the communities had been employed as chefs, guides and hospitality service providers. The community-based tourism model applied here had the participation of around 30 households. "I have liked to sing and dance since I was a little girl. Now I can join the team to perform for visitors, that's my dream. I can earn a living from what I like to do best," 17-year-old K'Nhung said happily. Would visitors come to stay in the Long House, the few people wondered. "There are a few Vietnamese tourists who like adventure and eco-tourism. But the potential to attract foreign customers is very huge," said Jean-Luc Voisin, director of the VietAdventure company. The company is major partner with the park in the project. "I believe the model will develop better in the near future. Tourists will enjoy a night in the forest, taste special food and traditional art performances by local residents," he added. From Ta Lai Commune, 12km from the head-office of Nam Cat Tien Park's management board, tourists can trek or go cycling through the forest. "If permitted, we would like to reopen the 60km cycling route through the park and Ta Lai will be our stopping place," said Le Van Sinh, CEO of SinhBalo Adventure Travel company. Project managers hope that around 4,500 visitors would visit Ta Lai each year. They are also offering another buffer zone of the park, Dak Lua, as a tourism destination. "We have already looked at Dak Lua, where has a very big rice field. We have chosen to develop the home-stay model there and three houses were selected. But Dak Lua is not as attractive as Ta Lai with its many traditional customs," said Nguyen Thi Hai Ha, managing director of Innoviet company. "We know it is very hard, but it's a starting point to help villagers get involved in community tourism and improve their living standards while sharing the responsibility to protect the park," said K' Yeu, head of Ta Lai Village. (Vietnam News May 15)

Vietnam agencies asked to reconsider hydropower plans

Vietnamese non-governmental organizations and experts have urged the country to reconsider its plans to develop more hydropower projects they claim will destroy lives and harm the environment.

In its latest statement, the Vietnam Rivers Network – a forum of Vietnamese NGOs and experts working to protect local rivers -- warned that: “To develop hydropower, even if in a ‘stable’ way, is to exchange environmental and social development for economic development,” VnExpress reported Thursday.

“We should not consider hydropower a clean and cheap source of energy to be developed by all means and anywhere,” it said.

Agencies need to take into account hydropower plants’ effects and make preparations for possible dam collapses to decrease threats to communities affected by dams, VnExpress quoted VRN’s statement as saying.

According to VRN experts, while water power plays an important role in the development of the economy and society, hydropower works on Vietnamese rivers have already badly affected the environment, ecology, people’s livelihoods, water security and food security.

Many hydropower plants have already eaten up whole forests, and have heavily polluted several water sources, Dr. Dao Trong Hung from VRN was quoted as saying.

The people who have to be relocated to make way for the plants have to sacrifice even their local culture, which they lose following evacuations for the sake of investors, VRN said.

Under a plan approved by the government last year, Vietnam will increase its hydropower output from 9,200 MW in 2009 to 17,400 MW in 2020, accounting for over 23 percent of the country’s energy, VnExpress said.

A previous study by the non-governmental and non-profit People and Nature Organization concluded that for every one million watts of energy produced, a hydropower plant destroys 16 hectares of forest, the report said. 

Source: http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/pages/20120518-vietnam-agencies-asked-to-reconsider-hydropower-plans.aspx

Australian NGO Grants 40 Wheelchairs to Disabled People in North Vietnam

The Australia-based Rotary Club of Mosman (RCM) May 16 donated 40 wheelchairs to help Agent Orange (AO) victims and disable people in Vietnam’s northern province of Nam Dinh. The beneficiaries are disadvantaged people in ten districts of the province. This is an annual activity of RCM, and part of a project named ‘Wheelchairs for people with disabilities’ in Vietnam. The Australian Embassy in Vietnam and RCM have presented a total of 110 wheelchairs to AO victims and handicapped people in the province since 2007. AO victims in Vietnam are estimated to reach 4.8 million people as consequences of the Vietnam War lasting from 1954 to 1975 with the participation of American army. In 1961-1971, the U.S. army sprayed about 80 million liters of defoliants including the highly toxic Agent Orange over 10% of total areas in southern Vietnam. The action has left serious consequences on people, environment and social issues in the country. The country is also home to about 6.7 million people with disabilities including more than one million hearing-impaired ones. (Quan Doi Nhan Dan - People’s Army May 17 p8)

Saudi Arabia Provides $37M ODA for Rural Infrastructure Projects in Vietnam

The Saudi Arabian government has agreed to provide $37 million in official development assistance (ODA) in two infrastructure projects in two Vietnam’s central provinces of Quang Tri and Phu Yen. This was released at a recent meeting between Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue and Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, Salah Ahmed Sarhan. Accordingly, the Quang Tri road connecting Thach Kim-Hien Hoa-Lam Thuy-Ben Quan communes will receive investment of $22.6 million in official development assistance (ODA). The road linking the communes of Xuan Phuoc-Ky Lo-Phu Hai in Phu Yen province, in turn, will obtain $14.5 million in ODA. Capital for the two projects is drawn from the Saudi Fund for Development, state media reported. Last November, a representative of the Saudi Fund and the Ministry of Finance signed two agreements, in which the fund provided $14.5 million and $11 million loans to the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan’s general hospital and healthcare centre and the southern province of Ninh Thuan’s vocational training centre respectively. Starting operations in 1975, the Saudi Fund for Development aims to stimulate economic growth in developing nations. It now contributes to the financing of 3,750 projects in 71 countries, consisting of 41 African countries, 25 Asian countries and five countries in other parts of the world. (Vietnam News May 11)