Vietnam has established an extensive national system of protected areas to conserve its biodiversity assets. This project will strengthen the national PA system by addressing specific bio-geographic gaps in wetlands coverage and will overcome deficiencies in wetlands PA management. It will strengthen the PA system by tailoring policy and regulatory frameworks for the specific characteristics of wetlands and by putting in place a sub-system administration for wetland PAs. A diverse array of wetland types comprise 30% of its national territory: at least 39 of 42 defined by the Ramsar Convention are found here. These are extraordinarily biodiversity rich ecosystems also provide essential services for local livelihoods and for national development. This project has been designed to engineer a paradigm shift to manage wetland PA sites and activities in the immediate landscapes to address both direct threats to biodiversity at the wetland sites, and those emanating from the landscape. This is because, wetland PAs, compared to other terrestrial PAs, are more likely to be impacted from activities outside their borders (such as through water abstraction and pollution), which can undermine ecosystem functions vital to the PAs. It will also establish two new protected areas covering globally important wetland sites and ensure their management to be effectively embedded into sustainable management of linked landscapes. In doing so the project is consistent with Biodiversity Focal Area Objective 1: Improve Sustainability of PA Systems and Outcome 1.1: Improved management effectiveness of (existing and) new protected areas. The project will also institute mechanisms for sustainable financing of these protected areas, thereby directly contributing to Outcome 1.2: Increased revenue for protected area systems to meet total expenditures required for management and Output 3: Sustainable financing plans. The project works on Component 2 also fits BD2: Mainstream Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use into Production Landscapes, Seascapes and Sectors as the project is supporting the integration of biodiversity considerations into land use management in critical landscapes linked to wetland protected areas through Component 2 which fits with BD Outcome 2.1: Increase in sustainably managed landscapes and seascapes that integrate biodiversity conservation and Output 2: National and sub-national land-use plans (number) that incorporate biodiversity and ecosystem services valuation.The Government of Viet Nam has identified conservation of wetlands a priority in its National Portfolio Formulation Exercise for the use of GEF5 STAR resources. Wetland conservation has also been noted as a priority due to the immeasurable social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits to the country including water storage and replenishment, and for the sustenance of economically important inland fisheries. The importance of wetlands is recognised in the Biodiversity Law of 2009 that has explicitly called for the creation of wetland protected areas, and their management through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment .The project is clearly aligned with this Law and will pioneer the application of the associated Decree No. 65/2010/ND-CP on Guiding Implementation of the Biodiversity Law and Decree No. 109/2003/ND-CP on the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Wetland Areas. Since 1994, the Viet Nam NBSAP has identified the need for wetland conservation and Tam Giang Hai as a priority wetland area for conservation. An additional new protected area sites are indicative and will be confirmed during full project preparation based on global importance. Additionally, the project is also aligned with priorities identified in Viet Nam National Action Plan on Biodiversity by 2010 and orientations towards 2020 specifically increase the total area of wetlands and marine reserves of national and international importance and Develop, adopt and implement master plans on wetland and conservation plans for each wetland PA. The project will also contribute significantly to the implementation of the Action Plan on the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Wetlands that is part of the National Strategy for Management of PAs System. This Action Plan calls for the development and updating of policy and legal framework and the conservation of wetlands of international importance. An evaluation of this plan implementation recommended the development of specific guidelines for local conservation planning and sustainable development of wetland areas. The project will contribute to this by focusing on tailoring the PA system framework for the specific challenges of wetlands management and by demonstrating wetlands PA operations that combine site specific and landscapes management to effectively mitigate threats to wetland biodiversity.