Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)Son La (VNA) – In 2019, Vietnam’s forestry sector will foster the implementation offorest development policies and the building of a production chain, said VuXuan Thon, head of the Management Board of Forestry Projects under the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Thon made the statementat a ceremony to launch the tree-planting campaign in Moc Chau district of thenorthern mountainous province of Son La on February 18.
The event wasorganised by the MARD in cooperation with the United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID) and Winrock International.
Thon also notedthat 2018 was a successful year for the forestry sector, adding that this year,it will work to connect businesses with forest owners and growers to enhanceforestry values, thereby raising incomes for local people.
On the occasion,the USAID-funded Vietnam Forests and Deltas (VFD) project offered assistance inplanting 2,200 trees at the Dai Yem (Pink Blouse) Waterfall ecotourism site in MocChau district.
During the2012-2018 period, the initial phase of the VFD project put into practicenational climate change development, policies and strategies with a focus onreducing emissions from forestry and agriculture sectors, and strengthenedclimate-smart livelihoods and settlements.
Since 2018, thesecond phase of the project has further assisted Vietnam in the payment for forestenvironmental services – an important component of the country’s forestry programmesto become an effective tool in realising economic, social, and environmentaltargets.
In the eightyears since its launch, Vietnam’s system of payment for forest environmental serviceshave become an example of mobilising domestic resources for the improvement offorest management, protection, and development.
As of December2017, forest environmental services generated more than 8 trillion VND (350million USD) to manage and protect 5.98 million ha of forest, or half of thecountry’s total forest areas.–VNA
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