On the morning of June 4 in Da Nang, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Danang Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Center for Environment and Community Research (CECR) and the Center for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub) to implement activities of the project "Collective Actions for Water Conservation" and the project "Reducing plastic waste pollution with local solutions", accompanying Da Nang city to implement the plan  "Building Da Nang - an environmental city"

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Robert Layng, Director of the Department of Energy and Environment, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shared: “Vietnam is one of the countries affected by climate change and environmental pollution, USAID Vietnam is implementing programs to improve the quality of the living environment for its people – our goal is towards “an open, prosperous, and safe Vietnam, addressing the development challenges in an effective and inclusive manner”. In my view, rapid economic development requires a balance between environmental protection to ensure that short-term growth is not tied to long-term environmental degradation. Promoting environmental protection is a very important factor to balance prosperity, quality of life and sustainable green economic development of Vietnam.”

On that basis, Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment, USAID, CECR, and GreenHub held the Signing Ceremony to implement activities of the project "Collective Actions for Water Resourcé" and the project "Reducing Plastic waste with Local Solutions” in Da Nang city. The Projects aim to promote local initiatives, strengthen the capacity of local organizations and individuals, empower local communities to promote joint actions to reduce plastic pollution, protect water sources, and improve health in Hai Chau district, Cam Le district, Hoa Vang district & Thanh Khe district, Da Nang city, aiming to replicate the model to the whole city and the whole country.

At the signing ceremony, Ms. Dinh Thu Hang, Director of the Center for Environmental and Community Research (CECR) said: “Water pollution is a serious problem that has a direct impact on public health and economic development. According to a 2019 World Bank report, without immediate action, water pollution in Vietnam can cause economic losses of up to 3.5% of GDP. With funding from USAID, CECR, and the Vietnam Water Conservation Network (VIWACON) will work in collaboration with the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment to implement the project "Collective Actions for Water Conservation", mobilizing the participation of experts and resources from local governments, private sectors, universities, and communities. Thereby, deploying innovative and integrating solutions to prevent sources of water pollution from wastewater and waste, to protect the quality of surface water sources in Da Nang city.”

Discussing the project "Reducing Plastic Pollution with Local Solutions", Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Deputy Director of the  Center for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub) raised the project's new approaches: Strengthening local capacity; Mobilizing the participation of the parties; Local ownership; Co-build a community digital platform. Ms. Trang shared: “This is a timely project to join hands to develop the City-level Plastic Waste Reduction Action Plan and implement specific plastic waste reduction actions in Hai Chau and Cam Le districts; this is also a premise to replicate on a city-wide and national scale."

At the signing ceremony, Mr. Vo Nguyen Chuong, Deputy Director of Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment highly appreciated the support of USAID and the organizations that have accompanied the Action Plan of Danang City towards becoming an Environmental City, at the same time affirming Da Nang's commitment to people's participation towards this goal: “Today's online signing ceremony of the projects is also a very special event in a series of activities to respond to World Environment Day 5/6 with the theme "Ecosystem Restoration"; is a day to remind and motivate each citizen to join hands to participate in specific activities, having practical meaning for our own living environment. For Da Nang city, water conservation, plastic waste management, and waste separation at source, we determine that this is a very important criterion to aim to become an Environmental City and will be a cross-cutting activity in the city's environmental protection in the coming time."

The signing ceremony marked a new step, a strong commitment of Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment, in collaboration with Center for Environment and Community Research (CECR), Center for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub) to carry out activities to improve water quality, promote local initiatives, connect and use the information to solve challenges related to plastic waste, the impact of plastic waste to public health.