Posted on August, 21 2022

The partnership programme for “Water conservation in Xuan Son National Park, Phu Tho province, Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve in Dong Nai province and Dong Thap Muoi Ecological Reserve in Tien Giang province” will be implemented over 4 years with a total committed a budget of up to VND 30 billion, funded by HEINEKEN. The programme will help restore important freshwater ecosystems as well as plant and regenerate forests in order to maintain and improve water regulation services and water supply to the local communities. It will also help support local livelihood activities in these three important river basins.

The programme is part of HEINEKEN Viet Nam's efforts to protect watersheds, and an important step toward HEINEKEN Viet Nam's ambition of 100% water balance by 2025 – whereby the company seeks to return to the environment the amount of water that goes into its beers. The programme is also an integral part of WWF-Viet Nam’s goal of restoring ecosystem integrity and biodiversity in the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta.

The basins of Red, Dong Nai and Tien River has a high biodiversity and economic value to the local communities. However, the overexploitation of water, forest and land; the ineffective management of waste sources; coupled with the impact of climate change have reduced the amount and the quality of water in these regions.  

“Protecting water is one of the top priorities in HEINEKEN Viet Nam's sustainability strategy, especially when beers are 95% water,” said Ms. Holly Bostock, Corporate Affairs Director, HEINEKEN Viet Nam. “In our production, we are constantly increasing our water efficiency and improving water circularity, however beyond this we also have the ambition to fully balance the water that goes in our products. The partnership programme with WWF-Viet Nam will improve water quality and restore water management mechanisms in 3 critical river basins which feed into where 3 of our breweries are, in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Tien Giang. This programme with its positive and comprehensive impacts on the environment and community will be a crucial part of our ‘Brewing A Better Viet Nam’ sustainability strategy.” 

 “The programme is designed with a comprehensive approach to address water security issues with nature-based & community-based solutions,” said Mr. Hoang Viet, Freshwater Lead at WWF-Viet Nam, “With a strong commitment and close cooperation of the Department of International Cooperation, the Department of Water Resources, the General Department of Irrigation and the Department of Special-Use Forests Management, the Department of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and local partners, as well as the funding from HEINEKEN Viet Nam, WWF-Viet Nam believes that the ecosystem in these critical water basins of Viet Nam will be protected and developed in a sustainable way, improve water supply in the area, and address shortage in the lower rivers, especially in the dry season.” 

By 2025, the programme aims to have (i) the freshwater ecosystem in Xuan Son National Park, Dong Nai Nature Reserve - Cultural Heritage, and Dong Thap Muoi Ecosystem Reserve restored and protected; and (ii) local communities to form new habits and contribute to the goal of replenishing a total of 3 billion liters of water every year, of which:

• Approximately 2 billion liters of water is expected to be increased through the nurturing and enriching of 1,100 hectares of natural forest in all three river basins.
• 200 million liters of water will potentially be increased through the planting of 32.3 hectares of large timber forests and native trees. 
• Nearly 800 million liters of water is planned to be replenished specifically in Dong Thap Muoi Ecosystem Reserve through water management programmes in wetlands. 
• Additionally, communities living in the core and buffer zones of Xuan Son National Park, and Dong Nai Nature & Cultural Reserve will receive training to adjust their living and farming habits to help reduce negative impact on water resources.

The cooperation programme between WWF-Viet Nam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and HEINEKEN Viet Nam, if implemented successfully, can become a model of public-private cooperation in protecting, developing, and conserving water resources in important river basins of Viet Nam. This is in line with a society-wide approach to reversing biodiversity loss, which is currently the challenge of the century for Viet Nam and the world.