The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has always accompanied the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) in the journey of environmental protection and climate change adaptation. This was affirmed by Mr. Prasanna De Silva, Executive Director of Country Offices Management at WWF International, during a meeting with Deputy Minister of MONRE Le Cong Thanh on October 14th in Ha Noi.
Warmly welcoming the Executive Director of Country Offices Management at WWF International, the leadership of WWF-US, and the leadership of WWF-Viet Nam to MONRE, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh acknowledged WWF as one of the Ministry's key international partners across numerous areas of collaboration. These include nature conservation, biodiversity, marine plastic waste, and climate change response. Notably, WWF has actively supported MONRE's participation in the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Canada. Furthermore, the two sides have jointly implemented various other collaborative projects.
Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh warmly welcomes the Executive Director of Country Offices Management at WWF International.
Expressing his gratitude to the Deputy Minister, Mr. Prasanna De Silva took this opportunity to extend his congratulations to the newly appointed Minister of MONRE, Mr. Do Duc Duy. Mr. De Silva emphasized WWF's continued commitment to working alongside MONRE in cooperative activities within Viet Nam. Mr. Prasanna De Silva highlighted the successful implementation of numerous dynamic projects and programs focused on reducing marine plastic waste, mitigating environmental pollution, and responding to climate change.
Mr. Prasanna De Silva said that WWF has always been side by side with MONRE in cooperative activities in Viet Nam.
Sharing his perspective with Mr. De Silva, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh recalled WWF's presence in Viet Nam for over 30 years and the strong partnership between WWF and MONRE since the Ministry's establishment over 20 years ago. During these three decades, Viet Nam has undergone a period of renewal, achieving significant socio-economic progress while also facing environmental consequences. The Vietnamese government has firmly established the principle of "not trading the environment for economic growth at all costs," which is concretized in various laws and decrees. The Deputy Minister expressed his hope for WWF to join hands with Viet Nam in general and MONRE in particular to promote solutions for plastic waste issues, especially marine plastic waste, enhance plastic lifecycle management, encourage plastic reuse, and promote household solid waste sorting at the source.
WWF is an important and reliable partner of MONRE.
Agreeing with the Deputy Minister's proposal, Mr. De Silva affirmed WWF's crucial role in supporting the Vietnamese government's fight against plastic waste. WWF hopes to collaborate with Viet Nam and other nations towards an upcoming Global Agreement on Plastic Pollution. Additionally, Mr. De Silva expressed his willingness to coordinate with MONRE and relevant ministries and sectors in applying technology for natural monitoring and biodiversity conservation.
Regarding this matter, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh stated that the Vietnamese government is strongly focused on digital transformation. Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh believes that applying technology in nature conservation and biodiversity holds immense potential and urged the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity to pay close attention to this area.
Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh and Mr. Prasanna De Silva both agreed that WWF is an important and reliable partner of MONRE. The two sides will continue to deepen their relationship and have more specific and practical programs and projects to help Viet Nam achieve green and sustainable growth.