Forested areas in Vietnam’s central region increased by 373,887 ha in the 2015-2019 period (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Forested areas in Vietnam’scentral region increased by 373,887 ha in the 2015-2019 period, according tothe Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD).
Provinces seeing the highest forest area increaseswere Quang Nam, with about 30,070 ha, Binh Dinh 51,095 ha, Phu Yen 42,305 ha,and Quang Binh 21,739 ha.
The central region is currently home to more than 5.55million ha of forests, or 38.01 percent of Vietnam’s total, data from theforestry administration shows.
Of the figure, natural forests cover more than 3.79 millionha while planted forests span over 1.76 million ha.
The region’s forest coverage reached 55 percent,following only the northeast, with 56.28 percent.
MARD and the World Bank (WB) - the trustee agency ofthe Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) - signed an Emissions ReductionPurchase Agreement (ERPA) in October.
Under the terms, the FCPF will pay Vietnam 51.5million USD if it fully implements its commitments, under which thenorth-central and central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh,Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue are to reduce CO2 emissions by 10.3 milliontonnes in the 2018-2024 period.
The region, however, has lost over 3,100 ha offorests in recent times to deforestation and fire.
Forest coverage nationwide rose to 41.89 percentlast year from 40.84 percent in 2015 and is projected to hit the targeted 42percent this year.
As of the end of 2019, Vietnam had close to 14.61million ha of forests, of which 10.29 million ha were natural forests./.
