HCMC – The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Vietnam is collaborating with the LIN Center for Community Development to address environmental issues and foster sustainable development in Vietnam.
The year 2021 marks the first year WWF Vietnam is partnering with Narrow The Gap Community Fund organized by LIN. The program not only allows WWF Vietnam to identify small local nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that are addressing issues related to plastic waste and climate change in their own local communities but also empowers the grassroots communities so they can improve their situation in the long term.
Throughout the years, particular attention for Narrow The Gap is consistently paid to Sustainable Development Goals focusing on environment protection. Much of the southern and coastal regions where LIN’s nonprofit network operates are extremely prone to disasters.
The issues around changing the living environment are relevant as their effects potentially cut across every aspect of the lives of local people. They require long-term solutions to tackle the negative impacts caused by climate change.
Every year, LIN receives initiative applications from NPOs based in areas that are most affected by disasters, such as Ca Mau, An Giang, Kien Giang and other coastal provinces.
Seawater intrusion, lack of clean and fresh water or pollution caused by plastic waste and pesticides in agricultural activities are some of the common challenges which NPOs seek to address with their initiatives.
WWF decided to join LIN as both organizations share a common ground in nurturing a strong network among all layers of the Vietnamese society, finding synergies between like-minded organizations and companies addressing environmental problems in Vietnam.
Statistics show that Vietnam released 31 million tons of domestic waste and nearly 5 million tons of plastic waste in 2018, putting massive pressure on the domestic environment and ecology, which was not a complete picture.
Therefore, WWF and LIN are calling for the changing mindset of using or consuming plastic, especially single-use plastics, among the community.
