Recently, a number of clean water production and trading enterprises in Hanoi have seriously fulfilled their obligation to pay for forest environmental services, not only contributing to protecting the "green lungs" of the capital but also creating sustainable livelihoods for people working in the forest. The increasing numbers of contributions to the City Forest Protection and Development Fund are showing the clear effectiveness of this humane policy.
Responsibility to the forest
After being reorganized according to Decision No. 1607/QD-UBND dated March 25, 2024, the Hanoi City Forest Protection and Development Fund quickly reviewed and guided units using forest environmental services to fulfill their financial obligations in accordance with regulations. Accordingly, 4 clean water production facilities in the city, including: Hanoi Clean Water One Member Co., Ltd., Ha Dong Clean Water One Member Co., Ltd., Son Tay Water Supply Joint Stock Company and Hanoi Clean Water Joint Stock Company No. 2, are the pioneering units, proactively completing documents, signing trust contracts and fully collecting and paying.
According to the provisions of Decree No. 99/2010/ND-CP of the Government , the Forestry Law 2017 and Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of the Government, clean water production units are required to pay for forest environmental services based on consumption output. Since 2014, these enterprises have maintained regular payments, clearly demonstrating their responsibility to the ecological environment of the Capital.
Specifically, by the end of the third quarter of 2025, the total amount collected was more than 112.5 billion VND, reaching 96.33% of the plan approved by the Hanoi People's Committee. This amount is currently being developed by the City Forest Protection and Development Fund, which is developing norms and plans to implement payments for forest environmental services to forest owners.
This figure not only has financial significance, but also reflects a positive change in business awareness that "to benefit from the forest, one must be responsible for the forest".
Speaking to reporters of the Hanoi Moi Newspaper, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Manh Phuong said that payment for forest environmental services is a progressive economic mechanism, consistent with the trend of sustainable development.
Hanoi is a special urban area, with an ever-increasing demand for water, while water resources depend heavily on the upstream forest ecosystem. Therefore, linking the responsibility of water-using enterprises with the obligation to protect forests is a fundamental and long-term approach. Clean water enterprises seriously fulfill their payment obligations, showing that social responsibility has been placed in the right place.
“In the coming time, the city will continue to expand the subjects that must make payments, ensuring that no one is left out or loses revenue, while at the same time strictly managing the use of funds to directly serve the goal of forest protection and development,” Mr. Nguyen Manh Phuong emphasized.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Chuan, a member of the Executive Board of the Hanoi City Forest Protection and Development Fund, in addition to the four units mentioned above, in 2025, four other clean water production facilities have proactively requested to fulfill their obligation to pay for forest environmental services.
The core meaning of the forest environmental service payment policy does not lie in the collection and payment figures, but in creating a stable source of livelihood for those who directly protect the forest. In Hanoi, forests are mainly concentrated in 25 communes and wards (Soc Son, Noi Bai, Trung Gia, Kim Anh, Phu Cat, Quoc Oai, Xuan Mai, Tran Phu, My Duc, Hong Son, Phuc Son, Huong Son, Quang Oai, Vat Lai, Bat Bat, Suoi Hai, Ba Vi, Yen Bai, Son Tay, Tung Thien, Doai Phuong, Ha Bang, Thach That, Hoa Lac, Yen Xuan) where thousands of households have been attached to the forest for many years.
Some people in Kim Anh commune, Huong Son... said that by implementing the policy of paying for forest environmental services, each household contracted to protect the forest will have an additional stable annual income, from several million to several tens of millions of VND. With this additional income, people will feel secure in caring for, managing and protecting the forest. In addition, the source of money from forest environmental services also helps management agencies reduce the burden on the budget, creating conditions for investment in patrolling, protecting forests, preventing and fighting fires, reforestation and raising public awareness.
The leader of the Hanoi City Forest Protection and Development Fund said that the source of money for forest environmental services must truly become a "lever" for forest rangers. When people can live off the forest, they will protect the forest with their own responsibilities and rights. Therefore, the fact that businesses proactively pay money and people agree to protect the forest is creating a "closed circle" in protecting forest resources: Businesses - State - people share the responsibility.
Expanding the fund's contributors to maintain the "green lung"
Hanoi currently has nearly 27,100 hectares of forest and forestry land. Although the area is small, forests play a particularly important role in regulating the air, protecting water resources, preventing natural disasters and improving the living environment. In the context of increasingly complex climate change, forests are not only resources but also the ecological "defense line" of the capital. Therefore, collecting forest environmental service fees from clean water production facilities is gradually moving forest protection from "subsidized investment" to a market mechanism regulated by the State. This is an inevitable direction, in line with the requirements of sustainable development.
Practice in Hanoi shows that when policies are transparent and the roadmap is clear, businesses are ready to fulfill their obligations. Mr. Hoang Van Thang, Chairman of Ha Dong Clean Water Company Limited, said that paying for forest environmental services is a responsibility and also a part of the Company's sustainable development strategy, enhancing its reputation with society. Therefore, every quarter, the Company fully pays the amount to the City's Forest Protection and Development Fund.
Bui Huy Khoi, Deputy Head of the Forest Protection Department and Deputy Director of the City Forest Protection and Development Fund, said that from 2026, based on Decree 91/2024/ND-CP of the Government, the city will expand the payment subjects to areas using forest resources such as eco-tourism, industrial production, and services. At that time, resources for forest protection will become more sustainable and stable.
Along with expanding revenue sources, there is a need to tighten management and supervision of payments, ensuring publicity, transparency, and the right beneficiaries. This is the key factor for policies to go in the right direction, avoiding formalities, and creating trust among the people.
Payment for forest environmental services is not only a financial matter but also an important shift in resource management thinking: Turning legal obligations into economic motivation, people from passive subjects to forest protection subjects, businesses from beneficiaries to responsibility sharers. When every cubic meter of clean water is associated with the responsibility of forest protection, when every forest is associated with people's livelihoods, the green development goal of the capital is no longer a slogan. That is the foundation for Hanoi to protect its "green lungs" well, develop sustainably, and harmonize the economy, environment and social security.
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/doanh-nghiep-dong-hanh-bao-ve-rung-o-ha-noi-725947.html
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