Strengthening efforts to promote and solicit foreign non-governmental aid.

Through foreign non-governmental organizations, in 2022, 19 projects and 7 non-project initiatives were implemented with a total committed aid capital of over 4.1 million USD. This contributed to socio-economic development in disadvantaged areas of Nghe An province.

Expanding the green of the bamboo forest

A foreign non-governmental project is supporting people in Xet 2 village, Chau Thang commune, Quy Chau district in restoring the Lung forest. Photo: Hoang Vinh

Chau Thang is one of the communes in Quy Chau district with a relatively large area of ​​bamboo, and this plant has provided a stable source of income for the people for generations. To preserve, develop, and effectively exploit this plant, the people of Chau Thang commune have undertaken the responsibility of protecting, managing, and developing the bamboo forest. Mr. Vi Van Co from Xet 2 village, Chau Thang commune, recounted: “Previously, bamboo was not well managed and protected, so people exploited it without a plan, reducing yield and quality, and especially affecting the resource and development of the bamboo forest. Recently, the villagers have received investment from the FLOURISH project (a foreign non-governmental project), which sent staff to directly train and guide them on fertilization techniques, clearing, and bamboo harvesting procedures… As a result, the bamboo forest area is better managed, protected, and developed. On the 1-hectare forest managed by my family, the staff guided us in harvesting techniques, selecting and harvesting about 30% of the bamboo plants that met the standards, so the conservation and development of bamboo is very good.”

To create a stable life for the villagers managing, protecting, and developing the bamboo forest, Mr. Vi Van Co's family and several other households in the village received support from the project in the form of saplings of the *Dipterocarpus* tree, planted interspersed under the bamboo canopy. With the assistance of relevant levels and sectors, and the project, in Xet 1, Xet 2 villages, etc., households have formed project groups to restore, protect, and care for the bamboo forest in Chau Thang commune (each group has about 12 households). This organization operates very effectively because members always share and support each other in the conservation and development of bamboo. Mr. Lo Van Tuan in Xet 1 village has been very successful with the method of propagating bamboo by root separation… With many good practices, the green color of the bamboo forest in Chau Thang commune is expanding. According to Mr. Luong Thanh Trung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Chau Thang commune: "The commune has 210 hectares of bamboo forest, managed and protected by 129 households. Recently, with the support of various levels of government and related projects, the people in the commune have changed their way of thinking and doing things in restoring and sustainably developing bamboo, thereby improving the quality, yield, and value of bamboo in Chau Thang commune."

Forestry officials provide technical guidance on caring for and harvesting trees as part of a foreign non-governmental project supporting local people in Quy Chau. Photo: Hoang Vinh

The green of the bamboo forests is spreading in Que Phong, as this highland area benefits from the FLOURISH project. Over the past period, implementing the restoration of production forest landscapes under the mechanism of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from efforts to limit deforestation and forest degradation; conserving and enhancing carbon stocks associated with sustainable forest resource management (REDD+) and private sector cooperation with the community, funded by the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia & the Pacific (Thailand), the Nghe An Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund has implemented the FLOURISH project on bamboo forest development in Quy Chau and Que Phong districts.

Attracting projects in various sectors and locations.

In Nghe An, foreign non-governmental organizations provide support in many areas, including: Education and Training, with 6 projects and 1 non-project: the "Integrating Learning Through Play Activities for Primary School Students in Vietnam - iPLAY Vietnam" project funded by VVOB; the "Supporting the Implementation of Effective and Sustainable Interventions to Prevent and Combat Child Drowning in Vietnam, Phase 2" project funded by CTFK; the SEEDs Scholarship Program funded by PALS; the "Sharing Little Love" project funded by KTCA… Health, with 2 projects and 4 non-projects: "Improving Sanitation and Clean Water Based on Results Led by Women" project funded by EMWF; the "Promoting the Implementation of Reproductive and Sexual Health Rights of Children and Adolescents in Lam Son Commune, Do Luong District, Nghe An Province" project funded by ACS; The project "Supporting healthcare for individuals under 18 years old from poor and near-poor households with particularly difficult circumstances in Nghe An province" is funded by GIBTK. In the field of natural resources and environment, there are three projects: "Restoring the landscape of production forests under the mechanism of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from efforts to limit deforestation and forest degradation; conserving and enhancing carbon stocks associated with sustainable forest resource management (REDD+) and private-community cooperation" funded by RECOFT; and the project "Financial support based on forecasts in Vietnam" funded by the German Red Cross in Vietnam. This includes projects in the socio-economic development and other fields.

Operating the water supply system for the Vinh suburban water treatment plant project. Photo: Hoang Vinh

Foreign non-governmental projects implemented in Nghe An are concentrated in difficult mountainous areas such as Con Cuong, Que Phong, Thanh Chuong, and Anh Son districts. Non-governmental aid has contributed to enhancing the capacity of local authorities and people in environmental protection, livelihood development, and improving the quality of teaching and learning.

According to assessments, most aid projects are small-scale, have limited funding, and operate in a scattered manner across many localities. In the coming period, Nghe An will continue to promote and mobilize foreign non-governmental aid. This will be carried out in accordance with the orientation in Decision No. 1031/QD-UBND dated April 16, 2021, of the People's Committee of Nghe An province on the Program to strengthen cooperation and mobilize non-refundable aid not under official development assistance of Nghe An province in the period 2021-2025 and the National Program on strengthening cooperation and mobilizing foreign non-governmental aid in the period 2019-2025; ensuring the combination of socio-economic development with the stability of national defense, political security, and social order...

To further enhance the effectiveness of foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) work in the coming period, Nghe An will strengthen coordination and close contact between the locality and central ministries and agencies in the work of mobilizing, promoting, and receiving aid from foreign NGOs, ensuring economic benefits are linked to foreign security. The province will also promote professional training for officials from the provincial to local levels working with foreign NGOs, focusing on skills in developing, mobilizing, organizing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating foreign NGO projects.

Mr. Tran Khanh Thuc - Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Nghe An Province