8 million ethnics to benefit from improved land management project

• According to research reported at the ceremony, ethnic minority populations live in remote areas, face language barriers, have low access to education and depend primarily on forest and agricultural lands for their livelihoods. They are also living under the poverty line.. A shortage of land for farming and foresting was blamed for the situation, the participants said.And the root of the problem is local authorities’ poor management in allocating land for the ethnic minority people, they added.
   

  
  
  The introduction workshop for the project "Promoting Land Rights for Ethnic Minority People in Vietnam"
  
  
  
  Mr. Biniam Haile, Director of CARE International in Vietnam

  Therefore, the three-year project, with financial support of about US$700,000 from the European Union, was established to protect and promote the ethnic minority people’s rights in accessing forest and farming land.The project will take effect in six provinces of Lao Cai, Lang Son, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Kon Tum, and will be implemented by Care International in Viet Nam and Culture Identity and Resources Use Management (CIRUM).

  Speaking at the launching ceremony, Mr. Thomas Anthony Corrie, Deputy Head of Co-operation of the EU’s delegation in Viet Nam, said the project would contribute to the restoration of the rights of ethnic minority people and the communal forest lands over which they traditionally had free access and control.
   

  
  
  Mr. Thomas Anthony Corrie, Deputy Head of Co-operation of the EU’s delegation in Viet Nam

  It would do so through a two-pronged approach of garnering support from policy makers for the reorganisation of ethnic minority rights in the forthcoming amendment of the Law on Forest Protection and Development, he said.

  
  
  Ms. Tran Thi Hoa, Director of CIRUM

  CIRUM Director Tran Thi Hoa said the project will provide ethnic minority women, who are in the most disadvantaged group, with financial aid to encourage them engage in the decision making process during land and forest, management and use. They will also have chances to participate in workshops, discussions and policy dialogues. Ms. Hoa hoped the effective community-based forest management models of the project will be taken into consideration by policy makers during the revision of policies on land and forests.
   

  
  
  Mr. Giang A Chu, Vice Chairman of the Ethnic Council of the National Assembly
  
  
  
  Mr. Vu Dinh Tuyen, Deputy Director General, Economic Department, Office of the Government

  
  
  Mr. Quach Dai Ninh, Deputy Director General, Administration of  Forestry
   

  Vice Chairman of the Ethnic Council of the National Assembly Giang A Chu said he supported the project and hoped the EU would continue to implement intensive assessments of ethnic-minority policies of Viet Nam and contribute ideas to help the country perfect its regulations.

  
  Ms. Ho Thi Con, Van Kieu ethnic minority from Quang Binh

  Ms. Ho Thi Con, a Van Kieu ethnic minority woman living in the central Quang Binh Province’s Truong Son Commune, said she hoped that her Van Kieu ethnic minority group and all ethnic minority groups would be able to allocate more land for farming. These measures would help ethnic minority people escape from poverty more quickly, she said
   

  VNA, VNP/ Photos by CIRUM