Dr Nguyen Van Tai, Director General of Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, and Mr. Axel Neubert, HSF regional representative for Vietnam, welcomed leading researchers and participants from various research institutes to a workshop on natural capital in Vietnam on 9th November.

Stocks and flows of physical and biological resources, e.g. water air, soil but also biodiversity, which provide environmental services and are used in economic production, are described as natural capital. Natural capital contributes directly to livelihoods by providing food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, medication etc. However, it is impacted by production, use and investment and can be damaged if natural resources are heavily exploited. Natural capital is a fundamental building block for a Green Economy.

Currently natural resources are being over-exploited and heavily polluted, biodiversity is diminishing and man-made natural disasters as well as negative health impacts are on the rise. For a transition towards a Green Economy investment is needed for restoration and conservation of Vietnam’s natural capital as well as its sustainable use. This will increase ecosystem resilience, and in the long term will also be more cost-effective than man-made capital.

The workshop aimed at discussing policy recommendations for valorizing natural capital in Vietnam.