The Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment has taken advantage of support from domestic and foreign organisations and individuals to implement cooperation programmes and projects on environmental protection in order to mobilise capital sources, strengthen scientific and technological capacity, learn experiences from other countries and international organisations, thus contributing to effective environmental management in the city.

Da Nang People's Committee Ho Ky Minh (4th from the right) hosts a reception for the delegation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on June 21, 2023. Photo: K.H

In the 2021 - 2024 period, in Da Nang, more than 10 agencies and organisations have deployed more than 13 programmes, projects and activities to provide technical support on the environment with a total funding of more than VND83 billion. Notable among them are the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Centre for Environmental and Community Research (CEC), Programme ‘Clean Cities, Blue Ocean" (CCBO), International Development Enterprises (iDE), Live&Learn Environmental Education, the Centre for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub)

The city has also received the attention and recommendations from regional and global networks, including the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). Technical cooperation contents are increasingly deepening, covering most of the fields of environmental protection and management such as the formulation of policies and laws on environmental protection and environmental quality improvement, solid waste management, pollution control, biodiversity conservation, response to climate change, ocean plastic waste mitigation and marine environmental management.

In particular, in the 2020 - 2023 period, the city has implemented 2 technical assistance projects on environmental protection under the Local Works Programme initiated by USAID. Through the implementation process, more than 25 initiatives on environmental protection in Da Nang have been researched. 55,000 people have participated directly in activities and 5 data on environmental management were established.

Some outstanding results can be mentioned such as through the 'Local Solutions for Plastic Pollution' (LSPP) project funded by USAID under the programme of Local Works for Environmental Health, with many effective models, attracting active participation from community.

The Da Nang Women's Union has established 7 green living clubs in 7 districts with 126 active members, mobilising many people to participate in collecting and sorting more than 30,000 cans and nearly 1,500 tonnes of plastic garbage, more than 700 tonnes of paper, more than 750 tonnes of metal.

The money collected from the collection and sale of the aforementioned recyclables has supported 98 households living in difficult circumstances. The Centre for Adaptive Capacity Building (CAB) has implemented the model of “Green School- Say No to Plastic Waste” at 3 primary schools with the involvement of more than 2,000 students and more than 60 teachers in building 2-way communication activities on changing behaviour towards the environment, especially reducing plastic waste amounts.

Since then, these aforementioned schools have cooperated with the Da Nang departments of Education and Training, and Natural Resources and the Environment, to develop a table of rules for building green schools for students and teachers and develop policies for reducing the procurement of plastic stationery.

In an effort to promote the achieved results, in the coming time, the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and the Environment will continue to effectively manage supportive sources for environmental protection from cooperation activities to effectively implement the project ‘Building Da Nang into an Environmentally-friendly City" in the 2021 - 2030 period, a basic step to realise the goal of heading towards an ecological city.

Reporting by NGUYEN THI KIM HA - Translating by A.THU