Annual report 2016 by srdvietnam srdvietnam

ANNUAL REPORT K E E P M O V I N G F O R WA R D

2016 – KEEP MOVING FORWARD

CONTENTS

Happiness in the harvest season

A female farmer of the group of forest planting in Thai Nguyen Province

About SRD

Vision, Mission, Values

Words from the Executive Director of SRD

07 08 10 10

Letter from the President of VUSTA SRD 2016’s Remarkable Figures Key Programs: • Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihoods • Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) • Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program (VFD) Cross-cutting Themes: • Women’s Empowerment • Empowering People with Disabilities • Child Protection and Participation Communication, Research, and Advocacy Organizational Development SRD’s Experience: From Ideas to Practice Words from Donors and Partners 2016 Accolades Map of Projects and Networks Financial Statement Structure of SRD List of Donors

12 14 15 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 28 29

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

People’s smiles are SRD’s happiness

ABOUT THE CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

OUR STORY

SRD

is a Vietnamese non-governmental organization that was founded in 2006 after 28 years of work in the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE Vietnam). SRD works with the government and partners at all levels in order to support sustainable development and alleviate inequality and poverty. Our work focuses on the most vulnerable groups, in particular, poor women, ethnic groups, children, and people with disabilities. SRD works at a grassroots level, guided by the principle “reaching the poorest of the poor” in order to find practical and innovative approaches to improve the lives of disadvantaged people. As an organization, SRD is able to advocate at high levels of government in order to give a voice and agency to silenced people regarding policies that affect their livelihoods.

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

OUR VISION People in rural communities are empowered to sustainably manage their own livelihood systems in an equal and compassionate society.

OUR MISSION SRD is a foremost professional Vietnamese development agency that supports poor rural communities to adapt to the changing environment and sustainably manage their own livelihoods. Its success is underpinned by a holistic approach to development that spans grassroots capacity building to international advocacy.

OUR VALUES Ownership Each individual should have ownership of his or her development. SRD respects personal self-determination as well as organizational autonomy. Accountability/Transparency In each and every activity, SRD ensures that a collaborative, professional and effective working environment is maintained. SRD is accountable and transparent to its partners, beneficiaries and donors. Sharing and learning are prerequisites to development. SRD commits to enabling an open environment for sharing and learning, both within the organization and amongst stakeholders. Results/impacts Results are the ultimate indicators of an actionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success. All actions and activities undertaken by SRD and its staff aim to provide positive impacts on the lives of disadvantaged communities. Participation is the foundation for ensuring rights and the sharing of responsibilities. SRD commits to facilitating meaningful participation of disadvantaged people in the decision-making process.

A filed-based training session of the Vietnam Forests and Deltas Project (VFD)

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

WORDS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SRD

he year of 2016 ended with unexpected events: a series of provinces in Central region from Ha Tinh to Phu Yen were inundated by severe floods. Earlier in the year, the four provinces of Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh and Quang Tri also suffered massive marine life destruction caused by the “Formosa disaster”. A wealth of information on mass media about deforestation, hydropower water discharge, and a wave of rural-to-urban economic migrants made the overall picture of 2016 less positive. There have been many warnings by scientists, environmentalists, development experts and inhabitants that the negative impacts of climate change have increasingly affected human life, especially the disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. With a vision towards the sustainable development for people in the rural and mountainous areas, SRD has constantly been seeking appropriate solutions to support the poor in coping with the increasingly serious impacts of human-caused climate change and mastering their own lives through suitable livelihood initiatives and models. As a national non-governmental organization of Vietnam focusing on sustainable development, SRD realizes that the issues at the local level cannot be resolved by individual efforts but by collective actions through the connection, networking and cooperation among groups and organizations. Therefore, SRD has actively participated in diverse multilateral development forums at the national and regional levels, and across the globe to foresee new development trends as well as mobilize resources and support from the international community. SRD maintains a leadership role in two large NGO networks: VNGO-FLEGT and VNGO&CC. This position enables SRD to learn, lead, and collaborate with the community of CSOs and stakeholders, and thus expand our advocacy efforts. SRD makes internal organizational development strategies a high priority in order to further

improve the quality of its operations. Training new generations for future senior leadership positions and build the capacity for the whole staff are considered the key to ensure SRD’s mission, vision and strategies are fulfilled with high quality. The year 2016 was special because it market SRD’s 10th anniversary since its establishment. Throughout the past decade, SRD persistently pursued the values of “Connecting and Sharing” in order to bring the most positive impact to the rural communities that we work with. None of SRD’s proud achievements would be possible without the support, cooperation and efforts of government agencies, international donors, I/NGOs, and especially people in the communities that SRD has been working with. On behalf of SRD, I would like express my most sincere gratitude to all of you for your invaluable assistance. As the year 2017 brings new challenges and opportunities, SRD remains committed to continuing our work for future sustainable development.

Sincerely, Vu Thi Bich Hop Chair of SRD’s Founding Committee and Executive Director Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE VIETNAM UNION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATIONS (VUSTA)

always feel honored to write a few words for SRD’s Annual Report on each Tet (Lunar New Year) occasion, because it is also an opportunity for me, as the President of Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), to review and reflect on SRD’s operations since it is one of the leading organizations of VUSTA” As a national Non-governmental Organization in Vietnam, SRD has always performed the leading role in several fields, from initiatives for establishing and managing large networks, to sustainability through community-development projects, and more importantly, the transparency and accountability in the usage of funds from international donors. SRD’s commitment to sustainability is demonstrated clearly through active participation of all stakeholders in SRD’s projects. Thanks to this approach, the capacity of vulnerable groups in poor, mountainous, and remote communities is strengthened. After the projects are implemented, people are able to confidently continue the work in order to sustainably manage their livelihoods. Moreover, the successful projects are then replicated in other areas. VUSTA leaders and local communities highly appreciate this cycle. SRD is also an organization that has boldly applied new initiatives into practice. In addition to the “Waste-free Closed-loop Farming System in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho” which was selected as one of the best models of sustainable development by VUSTA in 2016, various other livelihood models were successfully employed. These include Climate Smart Agriculture, Climate Smart Rice, and Community-based Forest Management and so on. These models significantly contributed to the elimination of poverty and improvement of living standards for the poor. They also contributed to the fight against climate change.

SRD, built from experienced leaders and conscientious staff, is always a reliable partner for international donors. The organization’s timely and effective financial-management system, and especially its priority of transparency and accountability, have fostered donors’ trust and continual cooperation. This year, these values of SRD were recognized as “The Organization with Best Practice on Transparency and Accountability 2016” by IRISH AID within the framework of the “Inspiring CSOs in 2016”. With a profound belief in the vision and mission of SRD, and on behalf VUSTA, I would like to send my warmest congratulations to SRD’s leaders and all staff. I firmly believe that SRD will continue achieving its goals for the year of 2017, in order to successfully implement the current strategic plan (2013-2017) and well prepare for the journey in the next five years of a new strategic plan (2018-2022).

Prof. Dr. Dang Vu Minh President The Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

SRD’S 2016 REMARKABLE FIGURES

05 386

Policy recommendations were sent to the negotiators of the VPA/FLEGT of Vietnam and the EU by SRD on behalf of the VNGO-FLEGT network

Poor women at 2 project communes of Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province have accessed small-scale loans to improve their livelihoods

1,779

Households in Tinh Gia, Thanh Hoa province trained in Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) to improve their livelihoods

400

Farmers at Thuong Xuan and Ba Thuoc districts, Thanh Hoa province were trained in the Climate Smart Rice method through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and farmer clubs

800

School children in partner communities in Thai Nguyen actively participated in campaigns to advocate for pesticidefree agriculture and buffer zones around schools

Independent audits and reviews conducted by international donors and government agencies confirm that SRD has a transparent and professional financial management system

598 & 1,794 Are direct and indirect beneficiaries from the project “Empowering People with Disabilities” implemented in 5 communes in Quang Tri province

Ardisia was collecting by farmers for selling to medical enterprises

Suitable livelihoods models have contributed to the poverty elimination for local people

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

SRD’S KEY PROGRAMS

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND LIVELIHOODS

Forest-dependant households established interest groups of bee raising to produce safe honey for the market

Farmer engagement for sustainable livelihood improvement

n 2016, SRD continued to promote its cornerstone program for Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihoods with the ultimate goal of promoting the engagement of vulnerable people in determining their livelihoods for the long term. Community involvement in project activities is crucial for sustainable rural development. SRD applies the participatory approach in the whole project implementation cycle in order to maximize the participation and engagement of all stakeholders, especially the poor and local women at a grassroots level. Their active participation also contributes to improved project performance.

SRD focused on maximizing the economic opportunities for poor farmers by working in the value chain to strengthen the connection between farmers and all related stakeholders, especially commercial food suppliers. Thanks to this approach, safe quality agricultural products made by farmers have reached more consumers in the market and helped to increase farmers’incomes. More importantly, the integration of the livelihood models into local socio-economic development plans contributed significantly to sustainable development regarding both local resources and famer’s household incomes.

A model of connecting medical trading enterprises with farmer groups to ensure the GACP-WHO standard is met

Key results from projects in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces: • 5 hectares of protective forest were planted with local species by local households in project sites in Dong Dat, On Luong and Yen Lac, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province. • 17 project groups in five different sites in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces raised red worms, chickens, and pigs through a biological padding system. 600 households directly participated and over 3,000 households indirectly participated. • Two food companies from Hanoi and Thai Nguyen have cooperated with the People’s Committee of Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province in order to purchase and distribute to markets all agricultural products from local farmers, including chickens raised by red worms, safe honey, and quality rice. • 5 nursery gardens were established and are now run by 24 households in 5 different villages in Phu Long district, Thai Nguyen province. • 21 households in three project sites in Thai Nguyen province were trained to plant medicinal plants following the standards of the Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP-WHO). • 76 impoverish households were lifted out of poverty in 5 project sites in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces.

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

National consultation workshop on VPA/FLEGT in September 2016

FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND TRADE (FLEGT) AND REDUCING EMISSION FROM DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION (REDD+)

Promoting the voice of civil society organizations (CSOs) with evidence-based advocacy

s the Founder and Chair of the VNGOFLEGT Network since 2012, SRD has actively maintained its key role in leading the network through a number of advocacy and research activities in order to promote the role and position of the Network.

In 2016, SRD partnered with other members of the VNGO-FLEGT Network to conduct three VPA/FLEGT preliminary studies on timber legality compliance at the household level in Quang Ninh, Quang Nam, and Quang Binh provinces. The findings from baseline studies in 2015 and 2016 served as the initial point of reference for VPA independent monitoring which will be led by CSOs in the coming years. Also, the network published and distributed five policy briefs to the VPA negotiators from Vietnam and the EU in order to bring to the table the concerns of the CSOs and the communities that SRD represents. SRD also mobilized members of the network to review and provide feedback on several government and agency forestry policy documents. SRD’s Executive Director acts as the CSO representative of the Program Executive Board, and in this position was able to provide input on annual evaluation report of the UNREDD Vietnam Program phase II. A number of capacity building activities were held for the network’s members and communities on a variety of themes, including: advocacy methodologies and tools, research skills, policy brief writing skills and story of change writing skills. These trainings helped to enhance the capacity of the network’s members so that they could engage in efforts to maintain and improve the effectiveness of initiatives on forest governance across the country.

Key results from the project: • Reviewed and commented on new draft circular, which replaced the circular No 35/2011/TTBNNPTNT, draft Law on Forest Protection and Development (revised) and the draft National REDD+ Action Programme (revised) • 7 workshops on FLEGT and REDD+ were organized by SRD in collaboration with other network members and VUSTA for about 400 participants from CSOs, communities and local authorities.

SRD and VNGO-FLEGT Network frequently provided comments and inputs for technical workshops at different levels

• SRD and network staff actively attended and contributed to various FLEGT, REDD+ and other forest governance forums and workshops such as Community Rights Network (CRN - Belgium), ANSAB-WB (Nepal), UNREDD, and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF Vietnam).

Field research were conducted to bring evidence from grass root level to relating Government agencies for policy advocacy

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

VIETNAM FORESTS AND DELTAS PROGRAM

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Key results from project in Thanh Hoa province:

Farmers in Quan village, Van Xuan commune, Thuong Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province evaluated the productivity of Climate Smart Rice (CSR) model

Cooperation for Climate Change Response and Sustainable Development

he USAID-funded Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program (VFD program) supports Vietnam’s transition to climate resilient, low emission and sustainable development. SRD is proud to be one of the five partners, including Winrock International (Lead), the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), American Red Cross, and Vietnam Red Cross, who are working to implement the VFD program in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, and Long An provinces.

In 2016, SRD significantly contributed as a partner to these key achievements of the VFD program: • 5 provinces in the Red River Delta region worked to create localized versions of the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). These plans were foundational for the success of the Red River’s Forum calling for inter-regional funding for climate change response. • SRD lead several trainings on climate change for government officials in 4 project provinces. • SRD organized a training workshop for local NGOs on the Provincial REDD+ Action Plan (PRAP) in order to enable the NGOs to independently implement and monitor PRAP in their local communities. • SRD organized 11 workshops on climatesmart agriculture for over 400 officials. SRD also supported hundreds of local farmers in Ba Thuoc and Thuong Xuan districts with climateadaptive livelihoods and low-emission development.

Local community volunteered in planting mangrove forest at Da Loc commune, Hau Loc district, Thanh Hoa province

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

and VSLA groups. These workshops addressed business and livelihood matters like raising poultry, planting trees, sustainable economic models. The workshops also confronted social issues in the community, including gender equality and sexual violence. These regular meetings over an extended period of time created an open environment for poor women to gather together to learn and share their experiences with each other.

• 32 community-based women groups were established and maintained their social welfare activities.

Poor women feel more confident to participate in social activities

ingle women-headed households are historically disadvantaged, especially in rural communities. SRD’s interventions aim to enable them to deal with the issues that affect their development, such as: poverty, limited participation in social activities, and a lack of voice in the decision-making process in their communities. Participation in community-based organizations is a powerful and sustainable mechanism to enable social inclusion for single, economically disadvantaged women. In 2016, SRD supported 15 village-based Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups in Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province. Through these programs, 438 women were able to access flexible savings and small-scale credit for their daily needs. Additionally, SRD conducted capacity-building workshops and meetings on a regular basis for women members of Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs)

• 15 VSLA groups were maintained with the participation of 438 women members. 450 million VND was mobilized from 15 VSLA groups with the aim of supporting poor women for livelihood improvement. Through this club model, poor women were able to access community leadership roles. • 386 households were supported to access a loan for livelihood development • 2 advocacy and awareness raising campaigns on gender equality were organized with the participation of over 550 local people in 2 project communes.

Awareness on Gender Equality and women’s roles were raised thanks to communication activities at communities

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

EMPOWERING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Key results from project in Quang Tri province: • 5 PwD clubs were consolidated and maintained, comprising about 280 PwDs and Children with Disabilities (CwDs) caregivers. • A livelihood support loans of 280 million VND was provided together with training for income generation for 68 PwDs/CwDs households. • 7 Village Saving Loan Associates (VSLA) clubs were formed with 148 members. Over 120 million VND was mobilized from the clubs and available for the members in need. • 155 CwDs/PwDs were visited and provided with rehabilitation advice, health checks and treatments at home and health care centers. • 06 trainings on group knowledge and soft skills were organized for about 170 key PwDs. • 03 regional and provincial workshops were organized to advocate for PwDs in forming their official organizations at provincial and district levels.

PwDs are able to overcome barriers and feel more confident to participate in social activities through the model of community groups, for instance: groups of incense producing, ...

n 2016, SRD continued working with People with Disabilities (PwDs), aiming to remove barriers of poor self-esteem, low participation, and disempowerment. SRD offered not only direct assistance to PwDs, but also promoted and fulfilled their rights through the strengths approach to empower them to actively participate in their community, social, economic and political life. A number of methods and application of adaptive livelihood models suitable for PwDs were introduced and facilitated by SRD, for instance: chicken raising, pig raising, and small business’s establishment. The model of VSLA was also replicated in the project communes so as to help PwDs maximize their small but flexible capital for their urgent needs and other income generating activities. Such livelihood and social activities enabled PwDs to realize their own strengths and value, and have more confidence to independently overcome difficulties in their life. PwDs also actively prepared for the establishment of Disable People Organizations (DPOs) at district and commune levels so that their organizations could be legalized and further developed. This

A CwD has been taught at home (Gio My commune, Quang Tri province)

enabled DPOs to effectively make progress in their action plan, working to ensure all PwDs have equal access to social services, as established by the law.

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

CHILD PROTECTION AND PARTICIPATION Children conducted survey by interviewing farmers about the practice of using pesticides in agriculture

Promoting children’s participation into project activities

long with the Child Protection Policy developed and integrated into all projects, SRD has a strong commitment to promoting child participation by creating opportunities for the engagement of children into different phases of the project cycle. This aims to enable children to participate in decision-making processes that may be relevant for their lives and to influence decisions that impact them – within the family, the school or the community. SRD starts by building capacities for children’s groups at schools and communities, encouraging both girls and boys to identify the issues that affect their lives and development at a local level. Children collect information, define their needs and bring their opinions to the duty bearers to request appropriate interventions. SRD expects that in the near future, children in project communities will be active players for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of community activities in a safe and child-friendly environment.

Children brought the findings from field survey to forums at community level for requesting interventions from local authorities “For the first time students were given opportunities from the get-go to organize a large-scale event. This event which took place in Dong Dat 1 Primary School saw an active participation of 300 pupils. The event also attracted high profile personnel from local leaders. As a result, the local leaders agreed to send a letter on the impact of pesticides on children”.

(PAN ASIA-PACIFIC regarding a child-lead activity in 2016)

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

COMMUNICATIONS,

ORGANIZATIONAL

RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT

ADVOCACY SRD actively participated in regional and global events

Strengthening networking and evidence-based practices for effective communication, research and advocacy

SRD

has applied more effort on putting evidence-based research into practice by conducting several studies in the field of forest governance, climate change adaptation and mitigation, REDD+ and FLEGT, and climate smart agriculture (CSA). The findings from this research have been used to identify development issues and new trends in order to bridge the gaps between current policies and policies needed to address current issues.

Research results and communication materials were well-documented and openly shared

At the same time, evidence-based practice has been translated into specific projects and programs in order to solve the root causes of the issues affecting the poor at the community level. SRD continued strengthening its connection to the global field of sustainable development by participating in numerous international dialogues, including: regional workshops on VPA FLEGT by FERN in Lao PDR, World Forest Week by FAO in Italy, Workshop on Gender and Diversity Disaster Risk Reduction by JICA in Japan, High level meeting No2 of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation in Kenya, and many other international events. These external interactions helped SRD to expand its professional network, identify possible funding opportunities, and foresee the global trends in the development sector. A wide range of communication activities and campaigns were organized at different levels with the aim of promoting positive change in the attitudes and behaviours associated with community-related problems. SRD supports communities to organize regular meetings, form village regulations, perform cultural traditions, produce user friendly media programs, and conduct other communications campaigns in order to help address communityproblems as best we can.

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

SRD always focuses on creating professional development opportunities for all staff

An organization of continuous learning, sharing and development

SRD

is always aware that building the next generation of leaders and high quality human resources is crucial for long-term organizational development. In 2016, with recommendations from an experienced Australian consultant, SRD introduced a new training component named “SRD Emerging Leaders Program” with the aim of supporting the next generation of leaders within SRD. This was a unique learning and development opportunity for those staff aspiring to take up management responsibilities in the future. All staff across the organization were encouraged to apply for the program and 2 staff were successfully enrolled in a special comprehensive training integrating both theory and practice with direct mentoring and coaching from SRD’s managers. The Management board will continue the program by selecting highly motivated young staff for the program in 2017. This addition to our leadership team will significantly contribute to the achievement of superior results of SRD for the next strategic plan of 2018-2022.

A wide range of training focused on topics relating to professional development were conducted for all staff throughout the year, improving their capacity to fulfill their assigned work at a high level of quality. More importantly, an open learning and sharing environment was established within SRD so as to give staff flexible opportunities to hone the necessary skills for their work in this fast-paced changing context.

Training sessions for staff’s capacity building have been frequently organized by SRD

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

WORDS FROM DONORS AND PARTNERS

SRD’S EXPERIENCE FROM IDEAS TO PRACTICE SRD - CONNECTING FARMERS TO THE MARKET

he current food market is dominated by unsafe products with an unclear origin. In response, many consumers are demanding clean, safe food with a clear origin. This demand creates an urgent need for access safe food, but most quality agricultural are only sold within the local communities that they are grown in because there is no infrastructure for wider distribution. SRD has a clear understanding of consumers’ needs and rights, and has been able to meet their demands by bringing quality organic agriculture products to urban and suburban markets. SRD has achieved this by supporting farmers financially and technically to improve their output through sustainable cultivation and harvesting techniques. In order to foster the connection between farmer and the wider consumer market, SRD piloted a page called “SRD- Connecting Farmers.” This page has allowed SRD to promote the development of distribution networks via sales agents in Hanoi and other cities, promote and introduce products through online platforms, and promote participation in fairs and events regarding access to safe food. These activities ultimately increase farmers’ incomes and living standards, while also satisfying consumers’ desires.

SRD’s stall with safe productions in the Agricultural Fair in Hanoi

Currently, SRD supports and connects a number of products available in the market, including: natural honey, chicken raised on red-worms, fish sauce, shrimp sauce, and probiotics. All of these products are provided to consumers with detailed information of the whole production process to satisfy consumers’ needs. SRD has promoted the Public-Private-People Partnership (4Ps) approach, which is integrated in its livelihood improvement programs. This step supports farmers to form social enterprises that build on successful project results and ensure sustainability.

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

SRD – A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY OF CONNECTING AND SHARING

2016

has been a benchmark year for SRD. It has marked the 10th anniversary of a leading organization in Vietnam that I have been fortunate enough to know and work with for the past six years, as Head of the Southeast Asia desk at one of its main international partners, the Spanish NGO Manos Unidas. This has been a remarkable year that has put the end to a remarkable decade during which we have seen a new generation of SRD’s staff develop their capacity to manage very large projects. None of the organization’s achievements would have been possible without the dedication and commitment of these hard-working men and women who travel long hours and spend many nights away from their homes in order to help alleviate poverty, improve food security and develop sustainable livelihoods in rural Vietnam. Over the past ten years, SRD has become the leading NGO in Vietnam, working alongside farmers and rural communities in order to find solutions addressing their livelihood struggles. They have added a significant number of large projects to their portfolio and have succeeded in getting the support of a wide part of the international development community, including international NGOs, governments and supra-nationals. They have conducted extensive high-quality research that has led them to explore and develop new agricultural techniques that are resilient to the increasingly unpredictable changes in climate and to provide farmers with these adaptive technologies. SRD has continued its careful work in building good relationships with all stakeholders involved, not only the farmers themselves, but also the relevant government authorities at the district, provincial and national level. Its excellent work with small community based organizations has helped them to acquire the capacity they need to achieve their mandate successfully. SRD has also been very active, through membership and leadership of various groups and networks, in advocacy on issues such as climate change or forest governance.

A donor from Manos Unidas in a trip to project site in Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province

2016 represented a period of consolidating past achievements and all the learning gained from them, while responding to new challenges for the poor and disadvantaged in Vietnam. During the past year, SRD has accomplished a great deal in order to fulfill its mission and bring about change by contributing to the reduction of poverty, promoting grassroots democracy, and protecting the human rights of communities and vulnerable persons through capacity building and community empowerment. We at Manos Unidas feel honoured and proud to have unfailingly supported SRD’s work for the past ten years. We see SRD continuing to expand its role as a leading organization that works to improve the livelihoods of farmers by developing and disseminating innovations in ecological agriculture and natural resource management, as well as by building competent and self-reliant farmers’ organizations. We look forward to another successful year of working together in 2017. Patricia Garrido Llamas Head of the Southeast Asia Desk of Manos Unidas (Spain)

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

2016 ACCOLADES OF SRD

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS

ooking back on 2016 is a chance to reflect on the power of partnerships. Our program, the USAID-funded Vietnam Forests and Deltas (VFD) program, works across both forest and delta landscapes to support Vietnam’s efforts to achieve climate resilient, low emission, sustainable development. Balancing natural resource management with economic growth goals, while supporting community livelihoods and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change, are complex goals that require integrated solutions – no one organization can do it alone. The successes that VFD has achieved in close collaboration with our local non-government partners are the result of effective partnerships. One of our closest partners over the years has been SRD. We see this clearly, for example, in Thanh Hoa province through the integrated Green

Growth Action Plan that the province successfully launched in 2016. Working across sectors including forestry, agriculture, and energy, VFD and Thanh Hoa prioritized a series of activities that will reduce emissions, reach cleaner production goals, and support greener lifestyles for local communities. One part of this strategy is improving mangrove management in Da Loc commune, work that is being supported by SRD. During a visit there in August, we had a chance to see how communities are becoming more active in planting, protecting, and managing mangrove areas in a way that helps sequester carbon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide a buffer against coast storms and flooding to increase resilience, and support local livelihoods such as fishing and collecting honey. This site provides an excellent example of how

In 2016, SRD’s work was continuously recognized in the form of a number of Awards:

SRD has successfully supported implementation of innovative policies at the community level to support effective climate change response in Vietnam. We highly appreciate the significant contributions of SRD to our program, and congratulate them on a successful 2016. As a team, we very much look forward to ongoing collaboration with SRD and much shared success in 2017 and beyond!

Certificate of Merit on Excellent Achievements in Agricultural and Rural Development from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), April 2016

Certificate of Merit on Excellent Achievement in Environment protection and Climate change adaptation and mitigation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), April 2016

Brian Bean Chief of Party, Vietnam Forests and Deltas (VFD) program, Winrock International

SRD – WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY AND EMPOWERMENT

SRD

’s strengths lie in working closely with communities, achieving strong program impacts and working towards long term sustainability and empowerment. It has been an exciting year particularly with my first visit to the “Empowering People with Disability” project, funded by Caritas Australia. I was filled with hope seeing the great work the project has been implementing,

and look forward to working

from participants about how the project is impacting their life shows the commitment and dedication of SRD to working with the most marginalized. It is not until you hear the voices of the people that you really understand how much the project has made a difference.

closer with SRD to bring about

Patrick Makenen

even more positive change in the

Vietnam Programs Coordinator, Caritas Australia

year ahead. The stories I heard

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

The Certificate for the organization with the Best Practice on Transparency and Accountability 2016 (Large organization category) under the “Inspiring CSOs 2016” Program organized by MSD, September 2016 The model of “Waste-free closed-loop farming system for ecology, health and income generation in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces” was honored as the Excellent Sustainable Development Model of 2016 by VUSTA, December 2016

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

MAP OF PROJECTS AND NETWORKS

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS BALANCE SHEET As of 31 December 2016 Unit: USD No.

ASSETS

Cash

713,324

826,958

Cash on hand

4,708

4,874

Vietnamese dong

1,528

1,653

Foreign currencies

3,180

3,220

Cash in bank

708,616

822,085

Vietnamese dong

633,934

733,632

Foreign currencies

74,683

88,453

Short-term investments

10,776

2,245

Receivables

Receivables from donor

377

Advances to employees

6,823

Other receivables

3,953

1,869

IV.

Fixed assets

28,320

34,047

Tangible fixed assets

28,320

32,461

55,921

54,277

(27,602)

(21,816)

1,587

7,839

7,934

(7,839)

(6,347)

752,420

863,251

- Historical cost - Accumulated depreciation 2

Intangible fixed assets - Historical cost - Accumulated amortization

Long-term investments TOTAL ASSETS

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

2015

II.

III.

2016

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

BALANCE SHEET (Continued)

STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

As of 31 December 2016

For the fiscal year ended 31 December 2016

No.

Unit: USD LIABILITIES

Short term borrowings

Accrued expenses

Payables to employees

2016

2015

Unit: USD No.

163,223

154,460

150,588

137,427

Payables (based on salaries)

Tax payables to the State budget

610

Other payables

12,635

16,423

II.

Budget sources

589,197

708,791

Advanced budget

Foreign exchange differences

Professional development fund

341,399

307,260

Operational expenditures

30,442

Projects' expenditures

Funds used for fixed asset acquisitions

ITEMS

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

2015

Income Donors funding during the year

940,215

1,219,313

4,172

8,239

12,911

1,155

1,391

41,249

958,689

1,270,052

Programme expenditure

967,475

1,319,238

163,515

Indirect overhead costs

134,854

98,550

189,036

203,968

Total expenditure

1,102,328

1,417,787

28,320

34,047

752,420

863,251

SURPLUS (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR

(143,640)

(147,735)

Bank interest Foreign exchange gain Other incomes Administration incomes from projects

TOTAL LIABILITIES

2016

Total income II.

III.

Expenditure

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

DRIVER/ COOK/ GUARD INT’L VOLUNTEER INTERN

Country

Manos Unidas

Spain

Project: Participatory land use and management – PLUM in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces, phase II Project: Towards a Sustainable livelihood of the Poor single women – headed

COM. ASSISTANT INT’L VOLUNTEER INTERN

household by applying climate-smart agriculture approach In Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province Project: Rainforest recovery by local species nursery garden development in Thai Nguyen province

Caritas Australia PROGRAM ASSISTANT INT’L VOLUNTEER INTERN

HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER ACCOUNTANT COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Donor and Donating Partners

Australia

Project: Empowering People With Disabilities In Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province Project: Communities for Disaster risk reduction in Quang Tri province

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

PROGRAM ASSISTANT INT’L VOLUNTEER INTERN

PROGRAM OFFICER

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE MANAGER

Winrock International (funded by United States Agency for International Development_USAID)

United States

Project: Vietnam Forests and Deltas

Pesticide Action Network, Asia and the Pacific (PANAP)

Malaysia

PROGRAM ASSISTANT INT’L VOLUNTEER INTERN

PROGRAM OFFICER

Project: Towards a Non-toxic environment in South East Asia CENTRAL PROGRAM MANAGER

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

PROGRAM OFFICER

FLEGT AND REDD+ MANAGER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

VUSTA

STRUCTURE OF SRD

DEPUTY DIRECTOR/ CHIEF ACCOUNTANT

ADMIN OFFICER

LIST OF DONORS

FERN (funded by European Union)

Belgium

Project: Promoting FLEGT in Southeast Asia through Proactive participation of CSO engagement

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

SRD’s 10th anniversary of establishment, April 2016

With the vision towards sustainable development for poor communities, SRD has been trying its best in order to continue moving forward. In 2017, the last year for implementing the Strategic Plan 2013-2017 and preparing for the new Strategic Plan 2018-2022, the whole SRD’s staff will continue our commitments in order to bring the best values for people’s development as set in SRD’s Mission.

VIETNAM LAWYERS ASSOCIATION HONG DUC PUBLISHING COMPANY

Abundant crops are the joyfulness and happiness of everyone

Address: 65 Trang Thi-Hoan Kiem-Hanoi Email: nhaxuatbanhongduc@yahoo.com Tel : 04.3 9260024 Fax :04.3 9260031 Editted by: Vu Thi Bich Hop - Executive Director of SRD Communication Dept of SRD SRD’s staff Photos: from SRD’s photo library Cover photo: Vu Ngoc Dung

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SRD)

Responsible for publishing Manager: BUI VIET BAC Responsible for content Editor-in-chief LY BA TOAN Editor: Ngo Thi Hong Tu Illustrator: Pham Dang Giang Designer: Quang Minh

Print 400 copies, size 19 x 26cm Print at Quang Minh Trade and Communication Limited Mobile: 0904 267080 Register number for publication: 1039-2017/CXBIBH/02-15/HD Decision number of Publishing House: 533/QD-NXHBD on April 07 2017 Printed and Copyright deposited in 2017

SRD - 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

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