WWF began operating in Vietnam during the 1980s, working with the government and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to create a national conservation strategy for the country. WWF set up a representative office in Hanoi during 1991. Since that time, WWF has worked on programmes for conserving and protecting forests, marine areas, and species, as well as entire ecoregions (including the Truong Son).

WWF’s priority conservation programmes in Vietnam:

Forest Conservation Programme: To protect, manage, restore and develop sustainable forests.

Marine and Coastal Conservation Programme: To protect delicate marine areas and to encourage sustainable fisheries.

Species Conservation Programme: To protect endangered species such as rhinos, tigers, elephants, saola, dugongs, marine turtles, and to discourage the illegal trade of wildlife.

Environmental Education Programme: To promote and provide skills to Vietnamese people in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and natural resources management.

Policy work in Vietnam: In 2005, WWF Vietnam established a policy team. This team works across all programmes and projects within WWF Vietnam and across the wider WWF Greater Mekong Programme.