Authorities of Vietnam’s central province of Thua Thien-Hue have approved a EUR2-million project to preserve forest biodiversity funded by the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety. The project will be carried out in Saola Reserve in Bach Ma National Park and a green corridor in Nam Dong and A Luoi districts in the 2011- 2014 period. It will focus on re-afforestation, forest restoration and afforestation as well as limiting illegal timber exploitation and tightening control over wood trading in border areas. Vietnam is home to 10.3 million hectares of natural forests, accounting for about 31% of forest areas across the country. However, only 0.57 million hectares of primeval forest is still in existence. With 58 natural reserves and eight UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserves, Vietnam is home to about 700 species of endangered flora and fauna, of which 300 are facing extinction in the world. (Nong Nghiep Viet Nam – Vietnam Agriculture April 04 p2)
