PUBLISHMENT OF THE FIRST BASELINE STUDY FOR THE PROJECT “VIETNAM NATURE CONSERVATION FUND”

The baseline study “Investigation of the willingness to fund the conservation foundation of the private sector in da nang city, Vietnam”, starting to conduct from the beginning of the second quarter of 2021, has been completed. This is a new result of our efforts to implement the project of Vietnam Nature Conservation Fund – co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

In this study, the team has done a survey with 220 businesses and in-depth has interviewed 20 participants, representing the private sectors in Da Nang. The project implementation was well monitored to ensure progress and quality.

INDICATORS OF WILLINGNESS TO PAY

According to the research, 74% of surveyed enterprises are willing to contribute to the Nature Conservation Fund through their suitable ways of donation. This figure shows us the high feasibility of the project’s financial mobilization goal. The average contribution is calculated to be 2,897,500 VND.

The results show that the willingness to pay is summarized through the following indicators:

76.4% of social sponsorship activities of Da Nang businesses are directed to emergency relief activities (natural disasters, epidemics). 85.9% of that are motivated because they would like to support the community.

There are 30 businesses (accounting for 13%) in this study that already have CSR or CSV programs. 45% of businesses consider their activities to be unrelated or very related to Natural resources and Biodiversity.

98% of businesses consider that Environmental protection is important and very important. More than 80% of businesses are interested in and want more information about the 17 development goals of the United Nations.

55.5% of businesses think that the Conservation Fund is necessary. 32.7% think that the fund should be established and acts as a third party connecting donors with social organizations. However, there are still 6.4% of enterprises do not believe in the success of the fund.

BARRIERS

“Through this study, in addition to showing the technical parameters of the contribution of enterprises, we also indicate the factors affecting their contribution, which contribute to the Conservation Fund in the future.” – said the research leader, Mr. Hoang Van Chuong.

Through in-depth interviews and surveys, the research team has answered the questions about the type of social sponsorship activities, the awareness of enterprises towards nature conservation as well as barriers between business and conservation.

56% of businesses says that the reason for not sponsoring is lack of funding. 77% of which is from the Construction & Industry sector. 60% of businesses under 10 years of operating also explain the same about why they are not willing to sponsor.

49% of businesses indicate that they are not willing to fund due to the lacking trust. They do not believe that the money is used for the right purposes. The more years of establishment, the bigger the rate of lack of trust.

50% of business owners believe that information on conservation is poor, and not interesting. Other 29% of business owners stated that it is difficult to access the information on conservation.

JOIN HANDS FOR BIODIVERSITY

The research has shown barriers between business and conservation activities. The removal of the barriers should be an effort from both sides conservation organizations and businesses, to bring new opportunities for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.

“Through this research, we have the scientific foundation to identify the needs of businesses when participating in conservation activities. In the process of project implementation, we consider the relationship with businesses as cooperation for mutual development, not simply a one-way donation as previously misunderstood concepts.” – said Ms. Duong Thi Mai Ly, the project coordinator.

With this study about the willingness of this private sector to contribute to the conservation, the project “Vietnam Nature Conservation Fund” continues to take another closer step towards truly changing the biodiversity conservation environmental protection in Vietnam.

Download baseline study here. 

The number of businesses willing to contribute in cash, in-kind, and volunteers is almost the same

Operational effectiveness is the highest standard when selecting grantees or continuing/terminating sponsorship activities. In addition, the reputation of social organizations, the recommendation from a consultant, the transparent financial mechanism along the regular updating of information is also highly appreciated.

The favorite donation frequency is annual, the favorite donation channel is bank account transfer.

41% of businesses expect to be recognized by sponsors. In addition, businesses also want to be communicated on social networks, certified by the government, communicated in the press, and want the company Logo to appear in the event.

68% of businesses want the Fund and the organizations receiving grants to design activities for their employees to participate. In addition, businesses want more information about the conservation fund’s activities, strategies long-term operation, and coordination, with specialized personnel to coordinate activities.

Regular seminars, dialogues, and meetings are all welcomed by businesses and considered as a form of connection between businesses and CSOs. In addition, businesses want to design environmental protection programs into investment opportunities, honoring businesses, and training programs on corporate roles with CSR.

The project “Establishing a funding foundation for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability in Danang City, Vietnam” (in short, the “Conservation Fund” project) aims to establish the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund in order to mobilise funding sources and increase the capacity of local CSOs focusing on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection initiatives in Central and Central Highland, Vietnam. This project is implemented by GreenViet (Vietnam) – the lead and Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI, Germany) and co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.