Locals and rangers in the Chu Yang Sin forest, Dak Lak (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has collected nearly 1.1 trillion VND (48.4million USD) from forest environment service fees from water suppliers,hydropower companies and tourist agencies, accounting for 66.3 percent of theyearly plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said.
The figure is expected to increase from the estimated 1.2 trillion VND (52.8million USD) in 2017 to 2 trillion VND (88 million USD) in 2018 as forestservice fees will be raised for hydroelectricity companies.
MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong has directed the Vietnam Administration ofForestry (VAF) to review collection from forest service fees and have rationalinvestment, especially in Muong Nhe (Dien Bien), Central Highlands and mangroveforest.
The Prime Minister has decided to allocate over 1.2 trillion VND (52.8 millionUSD) for the forestry sector, fostering sustainable forest development andprotection.
Toincrease incomes from forests and protect forests sustainably, the VAF hascompleted documents of the North Central Region Emission Reduction Programme tobe sent to the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
Earlier, the FCPF pledged to pay for emission reduction efforts with 60 millionUSD for 10.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from 2018 to 2024.
The North Central Region Emission Reduction Programme, the first regional-levelREDD programme implemented in Vietnam, aims to reduce emissions and absorbabout 33.06 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
The country has benefited from forest products and forest environment servicefees. It exploited 13.2 million cubic metres of forest in the first nine monthsof the year, up 10 percent from the same time last year, and earned 5.76billion USD from export of forest products, a year-on-year surge of 10.6percent.-VNA
VNA
