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RECENT FOREST POLICY REVIEWS IN VIET NAM

Phan Trung Dien

 

Forest and forestlands

About 19 million ha of the land area of Viet Nam, corresponding to about 58 percent of the total area, are classified as forestland. However, only about 9.3 million ha are covered by forests (1995), while the remainder is bare land. The total volume of standing stemwood in these forests is around 525 million m3, indicating an average of 56 m3/ha. This means that for each citizen there is a forest area of 1.500 m2 with 10 m3 of wood. In addition, forests also contain large amounts of bamboo and other non-wood products.

Forestland in Viet Nam is presently classified into three categories: special-use forests (protected area); protection forests; and production forests. In each category, forests actually cover only part of the area (Table 1). Plantations cover about 1.4 million ha, and the main species are pines, eucalyptus, acacias, casuarina and a large range of native species.

 

Table 1. Forest area classification in Viet Nam in 2000 (in million ha)

Forest classes

With forest cover

Without forest cover

Planned by 2010

Special-use forest

1.7

1.2

2.0

Protection forest

5.3

1.3

6.0

Production forest

4.1

2.8

8.0

Total

11.1

5.3

16.0

 

Forest sector development to 2010

The government’s policy priorities and development objectives in the forestry sector have been translated into ambitious targets for the proper management of the approximately 18 million ha of forestland in Vietnam. The final goal is to increase the existing 9.3 million ha of forest cover to 18 million ha (48.3 percent of the total land area) by 2010. Forest sector targets include:

With the assistance of UNDP/FAO and a number of bilateral donors, a Forestry Sector Review and the formulation of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP) was carried out in Viet Nam. This exercise has enhanced the development of sustainable forest management (SFM) through the following measures:

Faster allocation of forestland to farmers (local people are seen as the driving force in forestry development).

 

Closing natural forests to exploitation

Timber harvesting in natural forests has been banned in Viet Nam. In combination with accelerated reforestation this is to ensure short- and long-term environmental and social security. It is a testimony to the commitment of the government and people of Viet Nam to respond to Agenda 21 adopted by UNCED at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The immediate objectives of the policies are:

To achieve the objectives, the major activities are:

Ban on the collection of forest products in protected areas, restriction on the harvesting of timber and non-wood forest products in critical watersheds over a 30-year period.

Prohibition of commercial logging in all natural forests remaining in the highlands and midlands of the north of northern Viet Nam, the southeast of the South and the Mekong and Red River deltas.

Restricted logging is allowed in forests outside special-use forests, very critical and critical watersheds in the Central Highlands and the central coastal area.

Since 2000, log production has been reduced to 300 000 m3/year. The logging sites, logging volumes and cutting rates are subject to approval by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

Strengthening the coordination of international assistance to Viet Nam’s forestry sector

Of great significance for forestry development in Viet Nam is the assistance provided by UNDP, FAO, WFP, WB, ADB, WWF, EU and bilateral donors including Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Finland.

Within the scope of the Consultative Group, a number of technical working groups have also been set up, such as:

TWG1: Land Allocation, Land Use Planning, and Social Forestry

TWG2: Development of Extension System and Rural Financial System

TWG3: Flow of Funds in Loan Projects and Disbursement Issues: Organizational and Institutional Capacity Development

TWG4: Data Base on International Co-operation Projects in Agriculture and Integrated Rural Development.

These groups provide fora for sharing knowledge, exchange of information and cooperation among projects and institutions related to the broad sector of agriculture and forestry in particular.

 

Conclusion

In recent years, along with radical economic reforms, forestry in Viet Nam has made significant progress. The government has developed a number of distinct national programs dealing with forestry development, of which the most important is the 5 Million-Hectare Reforestation Program. Others include the Forest Closing Program and the Upland Development (for the Northern, Central and Southern Region) Program. In addition, other policies and national programs influence the forestry sector such as those on hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, the soft loan policy and sedentarization.

The strategic objectives that have been identified collectively aim at mitigating or overcoming constraints and promoting SFM in Viet Nam. Numerous policy measures and the adoption of strategies in the short, medium and long term that are implemented by the forestry institutions are designed to achieve objectives such as land allocation, protection, production and management of natural forests, regeneration and afforestation, forest industry development, marketing and trade, forest research and extension, budget and finance and institutional strengthening.

 

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