USAID RDM/A Regional Environment Office Weekly Report Week Ending April 26, 2008

USAID Supports Landmark Policy for Payment for Environmental Services in Vietnam.
On April 10, 2008 Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Hoang Trung Hai signed into effect the "Decision on the Pilot Policy for Payment for Forest Environmental Services" in Vietnam. This landmark decision is the first national-level policy on payment for environmental services (PES) in South East Asia. The USAID-funded Asia Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program (ARBCP) worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance, and other stakeholders to draft this pilot policy.  From 2008-2010, Vietnamese electric and water utilities and tourism companies are expected to pay an estimated $4 million for forest conservation benefiting over 20,000 people, including ethnic minorities, in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong. The ARBCP will continue to support the implementation and evaluation of the pilot PES mechanisms in Lam Dong under the pilot policy. Results will provide the basis for generating a final Vietnamese national PES policy. Lessons learned will immediately be disseminated and applied in Cambodia, Laos, and other the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) countries.