At present in Vietnam, some 49,200 species have been identified, consisting of nearly 7,500 microorganisms; 20,000 terrestrial and water plants; around 10,500 terrestrial animals; about 2,000 invertebrates and freshwater fish; and in the sea, there are over 11,000 marine species .

The research results show that hundreds of terrestrial and inland freshwater species are new to science and described for the first time in Vietnam, reflecting the high endemism of the biota in Vietnam. From 2006 to 2011 alone, over 100 species new to science were discovered and described for the first time in Vietnam,in particular there were 21 reptile species, 6 frog species and 1 ferret species. Scientists think that many other wildlife species in Vietnam are still unknown and the number of such known species is much lower than the actual number of species in nature. 

In the composition of the identified species, 882 rare plants and animals with high economic value are threatened at different levels, which are listed in the Vietnam Red Book 2007. According to estimations, Vietnam is one of the centres with highly diverse local genetic resources of plants and animals in the world, including about 800 crop varieties, and 14 key cattle and poultry varieties. These are valuable native genetic resources in Vietnam, which need to be protected, conserved and developed.

In recognition of the importance of biodiversity, in the last two decades, the Government has issued a relatively complete legal framework related to biodiversity conservation. Many important laws in the field of natural resource management have been enacted and completed, such as: the Forest Protection and Development Law 1991 (amended in 2004); the Land Use Law, 1993 (amended in 1998 and 2003); the Environmental Protection Law, 1993 (amended in 2005); the Water Resources Law, 1998 (amended in 2012); and the Fisheries Law, 2003. In particular, the Biodiversity Law, 2008 marks an important milestone for conservation that has identified the principles and priorities of biodiversity conservation at all levels, from national and ministerial to local levels; creating the legal basis for local community involvement in the conservation of natural resources through new mechanisms of co-management and benefit sharing. 

In recent years, the Government has issued policies, strategies and plans in order to promote the conservation of biodiversity. In 1995, "the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP 1995)" was first issued right after Vietnam became a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1994. BAP 1995 became the guidelines for biodiversity conservation in Vietnam during the period 1995-2005. By 2005, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had submitted the “Biodiversity Action Plan to 2010 with vision to 2020" (BAP 2007) to the Prime Minister for approval. BAP 2007 issued by the Prime Minister at Decision 79/2007/QD-TTg dated May 31, 2007. After three years of implementation of BAP 2007, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment did a review and reported to the Prime Minister on the implementation of 79/2007/QD-TTg Decision. The report pointed out that there were a number of achievements obtained in biodiversity conservation such as the increase in the area of preserved ecosystems, discovery of new species meaningful to science, and the conservation, restoration and development of genetic resources valuable in selecting and breeding. On the other hand, there were still many challenges and needs to have a vision and strategic steps in line with the international and domestic context in the new period.

Vietnam is a developing country and switching to a middle-income country.People's lives have improved and the pressure on biodiversity resources due to poverty has reduced; however, unsustainable consumption patterns and conservation planning problems have emerged as new challenges to biodiversity.In addition, there are biodiversity conservation issues need to be resolved, mechanisms to share the benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services in a fair and equitable way and to promote community participation to allow the community-based management, conservation and development of biodiversity need be identified. Methodology and approaches for preservation, restoration of biodiversity in response and adapt to climate change need be considered. The government has initiated and directed towards a green and sustainable economy for the country, but while rapid growth has bought economic and social benefits, it has also put a lot of pressure on biodiversity. Vietnam's population increased from under 73 million in 1995 to 87.84 million in 2011, making Vietnam one of the most populous countries in Asia and creating a large demand for resource consumption and land use.

The global context also brings new challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, the climate change has become more severe and had an increasingly negative impact on biodiversity; while on the other hand, biodiversity conservation has been given higher attention than ever before at the global scale,with 2010 being internationally identified as the biodiversity year and 2010-2020 as the biodiversity decade by the UN. For the first time in history, the United Nations General Assembly in its 65th session held a high-level meeting on biodiversity with the participation of the leaders of states and governments. Also, in the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Biodiversity Convention held in the city of Nagoya, Aichi province, Japan, the Parties pledged to build their new biodiversity strategy for the next decades including a vision to 2050 and mission to 2020, as well as implementation measures and mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving the global goals.

In this context, developing a National Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 with a vision to 2030 is both to fulfill commitments under the Biodiversity Convention to which Vietnam is a Party, and to identify goals, objectives and tasks for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in accordance with developments in the new period.