The conference was co-chaired by Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phùng Đức Tiến, Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jim Nickel, and UNDP Resident Representative Ramla Khalidi. It also welcomed diplomatic representatives from the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, and other countries, alongside major international conservation organisations such as IUCN, WWF, GIZ, and MCD. The event was organised under the framework of the Canada-funded “Climate-Smart Coastal Communities” (VN-CSCC) project implemented by UNDP from 2024 to 2030, signalling strong international partnership in supporting Vietnam’s transition to a sustainable blue economy.
Urgent call for green transformation amid climate crisis and stringent global market requirements
In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Phùng Đức Tiến described a stark picture of the challenges facing Vietnam’s agriculture and fisheries sectors in 2025. Severe natural disasters throughout the year caused agricultural losses accounting for approximately 80 per cent of total damage nationwide, with fisheries among the hardest-hit industries due to extreme weather events. Despite these setbacks, the sector has shown remarkable resilience: total fisheries production in the first nine months of 2025 reached an estimated 7.26 million tonnes (up 3.2 per cent year-on-year), while aquaculture output rose 5.1 per cent to 4.28 million tonnes. Export turnover for the first ten months hit US$9.5 billion, a robust 16 per cent increase over 2024, securing Vietnam more than 7 per cent of the global seafood trade market share.
Yet the Deputy Minister stressed that growth cannot come at the expense of the environment. “Sustainable, responsible, and environment-friendly fisheries development is no longer an option but an inevitable trend for Vietnam’s deeper international integration,” he declared. He highlighted the urgent need to restore production immediately to meet the sector’s 3.9 per cent annual growth target while simultaneously strengthening forecasting, disaster prevention, and post-disaster recovery mechanisms, especially with the approaching Lunar New Year season. The conference, he said, served as a platform to consolidate international cooperation, particularly with long-standing partners such as Canada and UNDP, and to translate political commitments into concrete action plans.
Canadian Ambassador Jim Nickel underscored the shared vision between the two nations. As the country with the world’s longest coastline, Canada places ocean protection at the heart of its national strategy. “Caring for the ocean is caring for our future,” Ambassador Nickel stated, reaffirming Canada’s commitment to zero plastic waste in fisheries and aquaculture, blue carbon technologies, and the promotion of a green marine economy. He praised the VN-CSCC project as a flagship initiative that directly supports Vietnam’s efforts to build climate-resilient coastal communities and reduce marine plastic pollution.
UNDP Resident Representative Ramla Khalidi delivered a equally compelling message, noting that while Vietnam’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors are critical drivers of foreign currency earnings and livelihoods for millions, rapid expansion has brought serious environmental consequences: water pollution, agricultural runoff, and mounting plastic waste that threaten rivers, coasts, and marine biodiversity. She pointed out persistent structural challenges, fragmented and small-scale production, outdated technology, and inadequate environmental infrastructure, that continue to hinder sustainability. Referring to outcomes from the recent COP30, Ms Khalidi emphasised the indispensable role of healthy oceans in climate mitigation and adaptation, describing investment in sustainable blue development as “not just the right thing to do, but a smart economic strategy”. UNDP, she confirmed, remains fully committed to supporting Vietnam through projects that deliver tangible benefits to millions living along the country’s 3,260-kilometre coastline.
Three years of decision 911: achievements, shortcomings, and the path beyond 2026
A centerpiece of the conference was the comprehensive review of the first three years (2022-2025) of Decision 911/QĐ-TTg, the landmark national scheme approved by the Prime Minister in July 2022 to protect the environment throughout the entire fisheries value chain, from aquaculture and capture fisheries to processing and trade.
Positive outcomes were numerous. At the central level, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment promptly issued implementing plans, guidance documents, and annual conferences that significantly raised awareness from national to local levels. Regular inspections and supervision strengthened state management, while collaboration with ministries such as Science and Technology and Public Security enhanced monitoring capacity. Many localities pioneered creative models of circular economy practices, waste treatment, energy efficiency, and greenhouse-gas emission reduction pathways. Dozens of workshops on circular economy principles and by-product utilisation were organised, fostering public-private partnerships.
Nevertheless, delegates openly acknowledged persistent gaps. Comprehensive inventories of natural capital in fisheries remain incomplete. Early-warning systems for environmental incidents are still underdeveloped. Enforcement against environmental violations lacks sufficient deterrent effect. Lengthy approval procedures for foreign-funded projects sometimes cause missed opportunities, especially for time-sensitive technological or seasonal initiatives.
Director of the Department of Fisheries and Surveillance Trần Đình Luân outlined priority tasks for the coming phase: completing the legal framework, piloting environmental incident prevention models, integrating disease surveillance data with environmental monitoring, upgrading national databases, and establishing rapid-response coordination mechanisms between central agencies and provincial authorities. Special emphasis will be placed on building standardised emission factors for key export species such as shrimp and pangasius to help enterprises comply with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and similar regulations.
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Representatives from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) stressed that “green transformation is no longer a choice but a prerequisite for maintaining market access”. Consumers in the EU, United States, and Japan increasingly demand eco-labelled products, recyclable packaging, and full carbon-footprint transparency. Over the past five years, Vietnamese enterprises have shifted from awareness to action: adopting advanced refrigeration, greenhouse-gas inventories, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), and state-of-the-art wastewater treatment. To accelerate this shift, VASEP proposed a dedicated “Green Fisheries Credit Package” offering preferential interest rates for rooftop solar projects, international-standard wastewater upgrades, and deep processing of by-products, together with tax exemptions on imported green technology and incentives for certified circular-economy models.
Marine plastic pollution and lost fishing gear: a global challenge requiring local action
The afternoon session focused exclusively on marine plastic waste management, a priority for both Vietnam and the international community. Participants examined progress in implementing Decision 687 (2021) on the fisheries sector’s ocean plastic waste action plan 2021-2030, monitoring efforts in marine protected areas, updates on the ongoing negotiation of a Global Plastics Treaty, and practical solutions to reduce abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG).
Delegates shared innovative local initiatives: expanded water-quality monitoring parameters in brackish shrimp farming areas, investment in communal wastewater treatment infrastructure for concentrated aquaculture zones, and research into the current state of plastic waste across the value chain. Provinces called for increased budgetary support and stronger inter-sectoral coordination to turn policy into measurable on-the-ground impact.
Both Canadian Ambassador Nickel and UNDP Representative Khalidi linked these efforts to the broader VN-CSCC project objectives: enhancing gender-responsive climate information planning, nature-based adaptation solutions, mangrove restoration, marine biodiversity enrichment, plastic pollution reduction, and community-based environmental governance. By aligning national schemes (Decision 911 and 687) with international funding and expertise, Vietnam is steadily advancing toward its commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Paris Agreement, and Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water).
As the conference concluded, Deputy Minister Phùng Đức Tiến thanked international partners for their unwavering support and reaffirmed the Ministry’s determination to implement approved plans “vigorously, decisively, and effectively”. With nearly twenty in-depth presentations delivered across two thematic sessions and the participation of virtually every stakeholder in Vietnam’s fisheries community, the 2025 Conference has laid a solid foundation for the sector to emerge stronger, cleaner, and more competitive on the global stage.
The collective message was clear: only by protecting the environment today can Vietnam secure prosperous oceans, resilient coastal communities, and sustained economic growth for generations to come.
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