Workshop on “Sustainable Mangrove Management Through Certified Shrimp Farming Practices in the Red River Delta, Vietnam” in Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province

June 20th, 2018 – A workshop on “Sustainable Mangrove Management Through Certified Shrimp Farming Practices” was held by the Center for Environment and Community Assets Development (CECAD) at Thuy Truong commune’s People’s Committe hall in Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province. This seminar was aimed at raising people’s awareness on the advantages of mangrove forests and organic shrimp farming with certification. This project’s media program is funded by Yuhan Kimberly Group and Eco-Peace Leadership Center of Korean United Nations Environment Programme.

In this workshop, officials coming from three communes (Thuy Xuan, Thuy Hai, and Thuy Truong) of Thai Binh province, along with aquaculture farmers proactively participated and contributed helpful comments.

During this three-hour long meeting, a short video on “Developing certified organic shrimp farming in Vietnam” featuring Mr. Dinh Xuan Lap – Deputy Director of the International Collaborating Center for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), was shown to participants. The video showcased various issues, one of which is the benefits of certified shrimp farming in mangrove forests, as well as its export prospect in the international market.

Following the video is a presentation delivered by Dr. Phan Thi Ngoc Diep from Vietnam Institute of Fisheries and Economics Planning. Dr. Phan spoke about “Certified shrimp farming and its competitive advantages.”

Lastly, participants discuss about “Opportunities and challenges of certified shrimp farrming”. Participants were dived into three groups according to their commune, and with the help of Dr. Phan and CECAD officials, they proactively discussed and voiced their opinions on the matter.

This workshop received great support from farmers, and CECAD were able to gather useful comments on the advantages and disadvantages of certified organic shrimp farming in the locality in particular and Vietnam in general. These collected information are an important foundation for futher planning on organic shrimp farming sustainable mangrove management through certified shrimp farming practices.