Nhan Dan online-Phu My Lepironia Wetland Conservation Project Vietnam is among other 25 initiatives selected for the Equator prize 2006 finalists.

The Lepironia Wetland Conservation Project is being deployed in Phu My commune, southern province of Kien Giang. The lepironia grasses are customarily woven into a variety of traditional handicrafts. These grasses comprise the last extensive remnant of lepironia grassland ecosystem of the Mekong river delta. To save the species as well as the community’s most valuable resource, the Phu My Lepironia Wetland Conservation Project was born. Villagers have been enforcing a new model of lepironia harvesting, such that harvesting only the desirable grasses has replaced mass and indiscriminant cutting. Invasive weeds have also been targeted and eradicated. As a result of these new practices, the lepironia crop has grown significantly and the average income amongst the villagers has tripled.

The Equator Prize is a prestigious international award that recognizes outstanding local efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. As many as 310 nominations from 70 nations have been competed for the prize.

The Equator Initiative's Technical Advisory Committee will select five among the finalists for the prize, which will be presented in Germany on the International Environment Day, which falls on June 5, 2007. In addition to international recognition for bio-diversity protection in the world, each winning project will be awarded US $30,000.

The Equator Initiative is a partnership that brings together the United Nations, civil society, business, governments and communities to help build the capacity and raise the profile of grassroots efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The Equator Initiative champions and supports community efforts to link economic development and income generation with the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

By Ngoc Anh