Six Monthly Technical Progress Report July 2011December ... - WWF

disputed
in
a
bigger
way.
The
following
solutions
were
recommended/undertaken:
Build
trust
with
the
IMC/PMU
in
Laos
and
Vietnam
through
discussion
of
scoping
study
results
and
more
focus
on
joint
field
surveys
and
activities.
The
submission
and
approval
of
clear
annual
and
quarterly
work
plans
in
early
November
and
two
planning
meetings
at
national
and
provincial
level
towards
the
end
of
November
and
beginning
of
December,
which
were
organized
by
the
CarBi
team,
were
constructive
steps
in
the
right
direction.
The
First
Secretary
and
head
of
development
cooperation
of
the
German
Embassy
in
Laos,
has
a
particular
interest
in
increasing
transparency
for
concession
quota
allocation
processes,
logging,
etc.
He
has
offered
to
bring
up
the
issue
when
the
German
Minister
for
International
Economic
Cooperation
visits
Laos
next
year
for
a
German‐Lao
bilateral
dialogue.
Feeding
issues
into
in
bilateral
German
Lao
dialogue
is
going
to
be
a
good
opportunity
to
address
our
concerns
at
an
appropriate
level.
Intermediate
result
4.2
At
regular
meetings
between
Salavan
and
Xekong
Provinces
(Lao
PDR)
and
ThuaThien
Hue
and
Quang
Nam
Provinces
(Vietnam),
both
at
technical
and
political
level,
include
results
from
baseline
assessments
of
timber
trade
and
jointly
set
reduction
targets
to
be
monitored.
The
first
cross­border
meeting
takes
place
latest
two
years
after
the
project
start
at
provincial
level,
involving
governors’
offices
(Laos)
and
representatives
from
People’s
Committees
(PPC)
in
Vietnam,
to
agree
on
tangible
measures
to
address
illegal
timber
harvesting
and
to
control
illegal
wood
trade.
Progress
The
first
regional
workshop
of
trans‐border
cooperation
on
timber
tracking
and
control
of
illegal
logging
was
conducted
on
06‐07
December
2011.
The
workshop
was
combined
with
the
regional
PA
components.
It
is
the
first
in
a
series
of
regional
workshops
to
set
up
a
trans‐boundary
agreement
on
provincial
or
district
level.
The
meeting
was
the
first
of
its
kind
(NGO
facilitating
between
Lao‐Vietnamese
Agencies),
and
touching
on
highly
sensitive
issues.
The
agendas
of
the
participating
agencies
and
their
willingness
to
cooperate
were
difficult
to
predict,
and
so
were
the
outcomes
of
the
workshop.
Therefore,
the
agenda
was
kept
flexible,
focusing
on
group
work
and
discussions.
WWF
remained
in
the
background.
A
professional
facilitator
and
a
simultaneous
translator
were
hired.
The
workshop
was
an
opportunity
to
build
a
better
understanding
of
the
component
for
various
stakeholders
at
the
provincial
and
district
level,
but
also
established
a
consensus
on
the
key
contents
next
steps
for
the
trans‐boundary
agreement:
• The
 trans‐boundary
 agreement
 will
 be
 broken
 down
 into
 several
 specific
Annual
 Operational
 Plans
 (AOP),
 which
 translate
 existing
 bi‐lateral
agreements
on
national
and
provincial
level
into
clear
actions
and
timelines
on
 district
 level
 and,
 where
 applicable,
 between
 key
 Lao
 and
 Vietnamese
agencies
on
national
and/or
provincial
level.
25