That is the call given by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Dang Quoc Khanh at the National Launching Ceremony of Viet Nam Seas and Islands Week, Month of Action for the Environment in response to World Oceans Day and World Environment 2024.

This year, World Environment Day was launched by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with the focus on “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience” under the slogan "Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration." 

In Viet Nam, with the complicated drought and saltwater intrusion, the flow on rivers and reservoirs in the Northern region is lower than usual. The El Nino phenomenon, high tides, combined with low water from the Mekong River upstream, have seriously aggravated the situation of saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta. In addition, over one-third of the total natural land area is affected by degradation and fallowing, leading to desertification. This situation is continuing to increase and will have a major impact on the agricultural sector. 

In response to this situation, like many countries, Viet Nam is strategically searching for marine resources to meet the need of domestic development.

“Viet Nam has a lot of potential and advantages in developing the marine economy: big seascapes, a gateway for international exchange, making Viet Nam a wealthy nation with marine resources,” said the Minister. 

“There is no more time for us to hesitate. It is a race against time, requiring immediate action, with the participation of the whole society to solve three challenges: climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss,” Dr. Van Ngoc Thinh, CEO of WWF-Viet Nam spoke at the launching ceremony.

By 2025, it will be 30 years of WWF accompanying Viet Nam in protecting and restoring the land and sea’s ecosystems and natural habitats. Inspiring and calling people to act are always a priority of WWF-Viet Nam and its partners.  

These include efforts to bring sea turtles back to the beach where they were born to nest after during the past 30 years. Recent information about mother turtles returning to Nhon Hai, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh beaches to nest and lay eggs, or the model of releasing baby turtles in Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area with turtle eggs brought from Con Dao have been reported. Successful incubation has always become a great source of inspiration for the community to continue taking action.

Most recently, after a survey, in 2020, WWF coordinated with the local government to launch a beach cleanup event with the participation of 300 volunteers including people living around the Hon Yen area, Phu Yen province and from Phu Yen Xanh Club youth. Five "garbage streams" and 500m of Hon Yen beach have been cleaned and handed over to the local community to  self-manage. The cleanliness of these areas are maintained to this day.

Coinciding with the call for "Awaken new depths" of this year's World Oceans Day, in the period 2024-2025, WWF-Viet Nam is aggressively raising awareness among all relevant partners on the importance of establishing Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in Viet Nam.

These activities make a significant contribution to support Viet Nam in implementing the National Biodiversity and Action Plan (NBSAP), and the country's commitment to the 30x30 Global Initiative on ocean conservation, contributing to the 2020 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The above communication initiative is part of WWF's new conservation program, Mekong in Balance, focusing on the Greater Mekong Subregion, implemented throughout five countries including Viet Nam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.