Cat Tien National Park officially achieves the title of IUCN Green List

On June 21, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) officially recognized Cat Tien National Park as the 72^nd protected and conserved area in the world to achieve the title of IUCN Green List after a comprehensive evaluation process with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Biodiversity Conservation Component of the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation (VFBC) Project.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Mr. Pham Xuan Thinh, Director of Cat Tien National Park, said that Cat Tien is the first national park in Vietnam to achieve the title of IUCN Green List. This recognition demonstrates the park's commitment to nature conservation and biodiversity conservation in Vietnam.

"Since 2016, when the IUCN Green List Program began to launch, with the wish to further enhance effectiveness in conservation management, Cat Tien National Park has voluntarily pursued 17 criteria with 50 indicators of the IUCN Green List Program. Cat Tien National Park has spent many years making continuous efforts to advance to the title of IUCN Green List. The National Park has implemented projects on biodiversity restoration and monitoring, habitat restoration, and species conservation," Mr. Thinh emphasized.

The IUCN Green List is a set of global standards that identify protected areas that have achieved successful nature conservation outcomes. This set of standards provides a process of guaranteed verification and awarding certification to areas that meet a set of 17 global criteria, assessed by 50 indicators covering four components, including good governance; sound design and planning; effective management; and successful conservation outcomes.

The Green List's assessments are provided by the IUCN through a recognized verification system. This certification also develops and supports a professional assessment process adjusted to suit local conditions in the country. This ensures that the Green List Standard remains globally consistent but is adapted and applied to each local context.

"Achieving Green List certification is not just about pursuing a title but represents a long-term and persistent commitment. This demonstrates the determination of the Vietnamese government to improve the management standards of protected areas. We wish to continue to cooperate with other protected areas to complete the Green List application by the end of 2025," shared Mr. Jake Brunner, Head of IUCN's Lower Mekong Sub-Region.

In recent times, the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project has implemented many activities to help manage and improve the quality of conservation and biodiversity in forests, such as Smart patrol activities, camera traps to monitor species, dismantling camera traps, etc. Besides, another important activity that the project has implemented in recent years is to support national parks and protected areas in building and completing documents submitted to IUCN for Green List recognition.

According to the plan, in 2024 and 2025, the project will continue to support at least three national parks to complete their documents for Green List recognition, including Bidoup - Nui Ba, Bach Ma, and Cuc Phuong.

"The inclusion of Cat Tien National Park on the IUCN Green List is a significant milestone not only for the park itself but also for the broader conservation community in Vietnam. This achievement is a testament to the efforts as well as reemphasizing the VFBC project's commitment to protecting the rich biodiversity of Viet Nam. The project will continue to support and accompany national parks and conserved areas to strive for Green List status during the remaining time of the project," said Mr. Vu Van Hung, the Director of the VFBC project and Deputy Head of the Management Board of Forestry Projects, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Asia accounts for 50% of the globally approved Green List sites. Vietnam was one of the first countries in Asia to adopt the Green List (since 2015), along with China and the Republic of Korea. This recognition for Cat Tien National Park marks a turning point for conservation in Vietnam.