Environment

At paper recycling company in Phong Khe, a village in the province of Bac Ninh in northern Vietnam, steps have been taken to reduce pollution and to minimize paper loss when it rains. In recent years, CIDA has provided support to the Vietnamese authorities to improve the management of industrial pollution.

Air sampling for quality testing in the city of Haiphong, Vietnam. Canada is helping to strengthen the capacity of key Vietnamese government institutions in the areas of industrial and urban pollution management.

Lab workers test water samples at the Centre of Natural Resources and Environment Monitoring established as part of a CIDA project in the province of Bac Ninh, Vietnam. By supporting the establishment of such laboratories, Canada is helping to strengthen the capacity of Vietnamese institutions in environmental management. Among other actions, Canada is also contributing to policy formulation and implementation plans to curb industrial pollution across the country.

At the main produce market in Port-au-Prince, large piles of trash are burned in an attempt to clear the streets. Pollution in urban areas creates harsh living conditions for millions of Haitians. That is why CIDA and its partners have included the environment in the series of sectors in which they are involved in Haiti. Ensuring environmental sustainability is also a Millennium Development Goal.

Drought and advancing dunes threaten the food security of farmers in the region Niayes, Senegal. Planting casuarina and other such trees is used as a means to stop the formation of dunes. The Rural Entrepreneurship Support Project aimed to help small horticultural enterprises in that region to cultivate onion and potato in those difficult conditions. The project also supported the protection, management, and sustainable use of forest resources.

CIDA was involved in the rehabilitation of farmland following the tsunami that devastated Indonesia in 2004. Land, contaminated with sea salt and debris from buildings, vehicles, and destroyed infrastructure, had to be cleaned up to enable farmers to regain their livelihoods and, in turn, food security. CIDA continues to promote the sustainable management of renewable natural resources and the environment in rural areas of Sulawesi.

CIDA has helped improve the environment in Bel Air, a poor neighborhood of Port-au-Prince long marked by violence. In partnership with Viva Rio, a Brazilian non-governmental organization, initiatives, including tree planting, street cleaning, and solid waste management, were implemented. Initiatives also included the installation of biodigesters for the treatment of wastewater. The biogas produced is used for cooking, reducing the demand for firewood and the pressure on deforestation.

In Port-au-Prince, the accumulation of waste is seriously threatening the health of citizens. CIDA, in partnership with organizations such as World Vision, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and Viva Rio, is working to establish or improve waste management systems in different regions of Haiti.

A stream polluted by a local dye factory in Narsingdi, Bangladesh. Since early 2000, CIDA has worked on strengthening the capacity of Bangladesh's Department of the Environment and civil society to carry out sustainable environmental management across the country. One of the targets of the Millennium Development Goal aimed at ensuring environmental sustainability is to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs.