Integrated Management of Lagoon Activities in Thua Thien and Hue Provinces - GCP/VIE/029/ITA . This project will provide support to people dependent on the lagoon system in Thua Thien Hue (Vietnam). Its aim is to improve their livelihoods by promoting a participatory sustainable management of the hydro-biological resources in the lagoons, in accordance with the socio-economic and production systems requirements of the population and with particular emphasis on the gender roles, the achievement of food security and the alleviation of poverty. The immediate objectives are:
-To understand the present issues in the lagoon, with respect to the hydro-biological resources status and use, human activities, current institutional responsibilities and management practices; -Based on the sustainable use of natural resources within the lagoon, to identify priority issues in an effort to support the existing, and develop new, management policies in order to improve peoples' livelihoods and reduce risks for poorer people who are dependent on the lagoon resources. These policies should be developed in a participatory way resulting in a draft Lagoon Management Plan which will provide, in a gender sensitive way, special attention to poverty alleviation amongst landless and lagoon communities; -To prepare for the implementation of the Management Plan, including preparation of the official enactment of the plan, implementating strategy at all levels, capacity building, as well as identification of credit, savings, insurance and organizational needs and investment requirements; -To strengthen the provincial institutional capacity in such a way that the Management Plan, once approved, will be implemented actively according to the strategies formulated and that the provincial institutions are able to formulate and implement policies related to the management of the lagoon system that are environmentally and socially sustainable; -To disseminate the findings and results of the project on a national and international basis, so that others may use this example in their formulation of Management Plans. By disseminating the knowledge gained it would most probably attract the interest of donors and government agencies for similar plans in other provinces in Vietnam.