Bio-diversity

Marketing chances are created all over the world when the trend of economic liberalization and government decentralizing process are creating new markets and strengthening the locals decision-making powers in managing biodiversity resources. Thus, the local communities have more and more opportunities of having benefits from those resources. However, the increasing demand of the biodiversity resources products may lead to over-exploitation. As a result, there comes the decline of resources and the continuous poverty of the exploiters. Consequently, the biodiversity resources products need to be traded stably. GEF SGP Vietnam, which started in 1999, approved more than 70 projects, 40 of them specialized in stable biodiversity resources utilization and preservation of natural and agricultural ecosystems. Biodiversity projects have sustainable livelihood development components based on new incomes or income increase. However, none of them place special attention to stable support to business community and consuming market solutions in order to strengthen the projects economic effects and their afterward expanse. Referring to the ideas of GEF SGP projects in the fields of biodiversity and to the market survey on the natural regenerating chestnut forests products in Hai Duong province, cajuput forests products in Bac Giang province and Luong forests products in Thanh Hoa province, it is said that there are numbers of difficulties that people face: Subjective: - People s marketing skills are weak. They sell products but they do not promote (including producing, processing, marketing and distributing) them. - Partnerships between producers and businessman are lacking. - Consuming and producing communities are not existing. - After-crop processing and preserving technologies are weak so products are of low quality and uncompetitive. - Long-term plans and strategies on promotion, quality and stable market haven t been given yet. Objective: - Local authorities do not take enough care. - Infrastructures (traffic and transportation) are deficient. Long term goals: Strengthening market access capacity, developing products combined with preserving agro-forestry biodiversity resources for local people and contributing to the poverty reduction and stable development. Short-term goals: Enhancing local people s awareness, managing and practicing skills in stable resources business. Constructing stable business model of Non-timber Forest products, especially products in chestnut forest in Hai Duong province, cajuput forest in Bac Giang province and Luong forest in Thanh Hoa province. Main activities: 1, Constructing performing model applying FAO s developing and analyzing method - Evaluating the actual situation to confirm specified potential products. - Determining products, markets and marketing method. The most potential products and taste segments are chosen in this period. - Building and carrying out stable business developing plan. 2, Building capacity for the local partners through coaching, training and technological supporting activities. 3, Building models of producing and consuming organizations, which provide technical and commercial services (cooperating, purchasing groups and taste segments). Building tight relationships between farmers and the community, scientists, businessmen and administrators in trading products. Drawing care and support of the authorities and related offices in helping people with producing and consuming products. Strengthening products competitive capacity through building quality standard, processing technical support, after-crop preserving and promoting. 4, Providing people intensively with market information.

Vietnam