Appreciating local customs at Biosphere Reserves and World Natural Heritage sites in Viet Nam

This is the theme of the seminar held in Ha Noi on Mar.9th in the framework of project “preserving and appreciating local people’s habits about sustainable natural resource using and traditional culture activities at Biosphere Reserve and World Natural Heritage sites in Viet Nam.
The seminar attracted the attendance of representatives from UNESCO office in Hanoi, Committee of Man and The Biosphere Programme, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and international and non-governmental organizations.
The achieved result of the project was also reported at the seminar. According to the report, preserving natural resources and developing local communities are important factors of sustainable development. Furthermore, the cultural heritage of local communities at Biosphere Reserves and World Natural Heritage sites should be also strictly presevered as well as integrated into local livelihood development policy.
Since Sept. 2009, an initiative on the right of using resources on the base of local habits has been carried out by UNESCO office in Hanoi. The initiative aimed to restore the balance between localities’ heritage conservation and livelihood development.
Being deployed within Biosphere Reserves and World Natural Heritage sites, the project attracted the enthusiastic participation of local authorities and people.
With the result given at the seminar, there was 3 main lessons gained from the project implementation including: local knowledge and community’s customs play important roles in livelihood stabilization and resource management; full consideration of impacts on daily living is needed before launching any natural resource management measures; organizing dialogues between local people and authorities is necessary to develop and stabilize livelihoods as well as to improve management capacity at Biosphere Reserves and World Natural Heritage sites.