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The project "Strengthening climate resilience of mangrove ecosystems and local communities in Ca Mau", funded by WWF - Vietnam, was approved by Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 2608/QD-UBND dated October 24, 2022. By April 3, 2025, the project was handed over to the Ca Mau Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations upon the dissolution of district-level local governments.

The Ca Mau Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations and WWF Vietnam co-organized the event (Photo: TD).

In recent years, WWF Vietnam has actively coordinated with the Union of Friendship Organizations of Ca Mau province and local authorities at all levels in the province to organize the implementation of the project to ensure the set progress and achieve many important results. Examples include the implementation of components to improve livelihoods for people through the pilot of the shrimp farming under the forest canopy, with the participation of 13 households. It was carried out on an area of 67 hectares, increasing the rate by 1.87 times compared to the control model; the 4 sharing and replication of the model and the 12 training classes on shrimp farming techniques under the forest canopy and forest protection; the establishment of 3 new cooperatives.

The project also organizes research, guidance, training, and support activities for 2 Forest Management Boards to strengthen management to improve the climate resilience of mangrove forests.

One of the workshop’s highlights is the preliminary assessment of the situation and results of the implementation of the project in the past (Photo: TD).

According to the leader of the Ca Mau Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations, some of the positive results are promoting sustainable livelihoods for people living under the mangrove canopy, making an important contribution to the planting, protection, management, and restoration of coastal forest ecosystems in Ca Mau province.

Ca Mau currently has a forest area of about 97,000 hectares, including more than 84,000 hectares of planted forests and more than 13,000 hectares of natural forests. Forests in Ca Mau are very diverse, including mangrove forests (mainly distributed along the coast), alum mangrove forests (U Minh Ha), and forests on islands (Hon Khoai, Hon Chuoi). The forest ecosystem in Ca Mau not only plays an important role in protecting the environment, preventing erosion, maintaining biodiversity, but also serves as a foundation for sustainable livelihood development for the local community, especially the aquaculture model combined with forest protection - an effective direction that has been successfully implemented by the project in time through.

As the carbon credit market grows, mangroves in Ca Mau have an increasingly strategic role, not only because of their ability to absorb and store carbon, but also because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. They help create more green income sources for the community, contributing to the transformation of the local economy in the direction of green, circular, and sustainable.

The workshop’s goal is to develop ideas for the next phase of the project on mangrove forest conservation and sustainable livelihoods in Ca Mau province. It was held at the time of the merger of Bac Lieu province and Ca Mau province, according to Truong Duong's Resolution, aiming to build a new Ca Mau province on a larger scale with stronger resources and a more sustainable development orientation. In that general strategy, mangrove forests and livelihoods under the forest canopy continue to be the pillars for green economic development, improving climate change adaptation and contributing to the country's sustainable development goals.

One of the workshop’s highlights is the preliminary assessment of the situation and results of the implementation of the project in the past. The participants listen to the context of proposing ideas for the next project to protect and develop mangroves as well as improve people's livelihoods in the shrimp-forest model in the coming time, with 5 basic goals, including planting 105 hectares of new forests and 1,495 hectares of better managed forests in areas that need to be protected, the resilience and sustainability of local livelihoods are improved through the expansion of the application of sustainable aquaculture and mangrove farming models, the management capacity of local authorities and multi-stakeholder cooperation have been strengthened in effective mangrove protection activities in the Mekong Delta region. Sustainable financing plans and funds for mangrove management activities in the Mekong Delta region are developed with significant contributions from the private sector. Also, indigenous knowledge management and sharing mechanisms are applied to share experiences, practical lessons and successful models at the national level.

Many useful comments from Departments, Institutes, and Universities in the region on project proposal ideas in phase II, as well as relevant departments, branches and branches of Ca Mau province were raised. They helped clarify the current situation of mangrove forest management, protection and restoration in the locality, the difficulties and limitations of the industry they are facing, and the needs that need to be supported in the coming time. After the workshop, the organizers gained a more holistic perspective to propose ideas for the construction of the project phase II and subsequent programs and projects.

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