Illustrative photo. (Source: worldbank.org)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam set a target to increase its forestcoverage to 41.45 percent to raise the timber export value to over 7.5 billion USDby 2020, Ha Cong Tuan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment has told the Government Portal.
He said to achieve this target, it is important that the country pursuesustainable forestry development in its five year plan from 2016-2020.
“Vietnam has been and will be seriously affected by the climate change. It is hightime for our people to realise the important role played by forests in ourlife. The forests are the earth’s lungs. They play a very important role inbalancing biology while maintaining the earth’s biodiversity. In addition, theforests also help make the climate equable, protect the environment andmitigate natural calamities,” Tuan said.
He called on people from all walks of life to participate in protecting andplanting forests while using and wisely tapping the forests’ factors in orderto ensure the country’s sustainable economic development, to improve thepeople’s livelihood and to maintain the sustainability of the homeland and thenation.
He also said that in 2016, Vietnam faced quite a lot of difficulties due to theharsh climate with long cold spells, serious droughts and other factors, butthanks to the Vietnamese people’s hard work and the Government’s specialattention, the forestry sector achieved comprehensive and significantsuccesses.
According to a report from the General Directorate of Forestry, in 2016,encroachment acts as defined by the Law of Forest Protection and Developmentdecreased by 9 percent compared to 2015.
In2016, almost 222,000 hectares of concentrated forest were planted; over 58million scattered trees were planted and 360,000 ha of forest werere-transplanted. Also in 2016 the export value of forest products gained 7.3billion USD.
However, Tuan said, in 2016 many cases of forest fires were reported,particularly in areas adjacent to rich natural forests. The tree plantingcampaign to replace forest land that has been used for other purposes achievedonly 55 percent of its target.
Though some initial successes in implementing the programme to restructure theforestry sector in 2016 were achieved, the livelihood of people living onforestry activities has faced with many difficulties and challenges.
As per tradition, the first few days of the New Lunar Year inspire many treeplanting festivals. This year, the campaign was launched on February 6th.In his opinion, Tuan said the planting festival should gear toward sixobjectives to achieve the development goal of sustainable forestry developmentnation-wide. They are as follows:
Firstly, alllocalities, sectors, socio and political organisations should combine effortsto promote an information, education and communication campaign on theobjective and significance of Tet planting festivals. The campaign should makethe people to understand the benefits of planting trees in the context ofsocio-economic development, environmental protection, natural calamitiesreduction and adaptability to climate change.
Secondly, all localities and unitsshould set up their own targets on the number of trees to plant. Forestryplantation must be closely linked to the implementation of the forestrysector’s target set for the year 2017, particularly the missions of replantingforests, including the water-shed protection forests and coastal forests.
Thirdly, the forestry sector mustprovide healthy young trees to ensure that they will survive after theplanting. It is the duty of the forestry enterprises to take care of the treesand pay special attention to the work of fire prevention in the dry season.
Fourthly, the country must applyadvanced science and technology to help the forestry sector to developsustainably and to increase the livelihood of forestry workers.
Fifthly, the forest sector shouldwork out policies to attract investors inside and outside the country to investin forestry development projects.
And finally, the task of sustainableforestry development must go hand in hand with a comprehensive and workablelegal system and in harmonisation with international laws and practice.-VNA
He said to achieve this target, it is important that the country pursuesustainable forestry development in its five year plan from 2016-2020.
“Vietnam has been and will be seriously affected by the climate change. It is hightime for our people to realise the important role played by forests in ourlife. The forests are the earth’s lungs. They play a very important role inbalancing biology while maintaining the earth’s biodiversity. In addition, theforests also help make the climate equable, protect the environment andmitigate natural calamities,” Tuan said.
He called on people from all walks of life to participate in protecting andplanting forests while using and wisely tapping the forests’ factors in orderto ensure the country’s sustainable economic development, to improve thepeople’s livelihood and to maintain the sustainability of the homeland and thenation.
He also said that in 2016, Vietnam faced quite a lot of difficulties due to theharsh climate with long cold spells, serious droughts and other factors, butthanks to the Vietnamese people’s hard work and the Government’s specialattention, the forestry sector achieved comprehensive and significantsuccesses.
According to a report from the General Directorate of Forestry, in 2016,encroachment acts as defined by the Law of Forest Protection and Developmentdecreased by 9 percent compared to 2015.
In2016, almost 222,000 hectares of concentrated forest were planted; over 58million scattered trees were planted and 360,000 ha of forest werere-transplanted. Also in 2016 the export value of forest products gained 7.3billion USD.
However, Tuan said, in 2016 many cases of forest fires were reported,particularly in areas adjacent to rich natural forests. The tree plantingcampaign to replace forest land that has been used for other purposes achievedonly 55 percent of its target.
Though some initial successes in implementing the programme to restructure theforestry sector in 2016 were achieved, the livelihood of people living onforestry activities has faced with many difficulties and challenges.
As per tradition, the first few days of the New Lunar Year inspire many treeplanting festivals. This year, the campaign was launched on February 6th.In his opinion, Tuan said the planting festival should gear toward sixobjectives to achieve the development goal of sustainable forestry developmentnation-wide. They are as follows:
Firstly, alllocalities, sectors, socio and political organisations should combine effortsto promote an information, education and communication campaign on theobjective and significance of Tet planting festivals. The campaign should makethe people to understand the benefits of planting trees in the context ofsocio-economic development, environmental protection, natural calamitiesreduction and adaptability to climate change.
Secondly, all localities and unitsshould set up their own targets on the number of trees to plant. Forestryplantation must be closely linked to the implementation of the forestrysector’s target set for the year 2017, particularly the missions of replantingforests, including the water-shed protection forests and coastal forests.
Thirdly, the forestry sector mustprovide healthy young trees to ensure that they will survive after theplanting. It is the duty of the forestry enterprises to take care of the treesand pay special attention to the work of fire prevention in the dry season.
Fourthly, the country must applyadvanced science and technology to help the forestry sector to developsustainably and to increase the livelihood of forestry workers.
Fifthly, the forest sector shouldwork out policies to attract investors inside and outside the country to investin forestry development projects.
And finally, the task of sustainableforestry development must go hand in hand with a comprehensive and workablelegal system and in harmonisation with international laws and practice.-VNA
VNA
