FSC forest dream in Hoa Binh city

In 1993, the FSC sustainable forest certification was born. Recently, FSC has become a mandatory condition for bringing wood products into the EU, US, and Japanese markets... Therefore, this certification is considered a "green passport" for properly planted trees, properly cared for, and properly exploited. With more than 1,449 hectares of forest certified by FSC, Hoa Binh city has entered the world forest management map, starting from small planted forests in wards and communes: Ky Son, Mong Hoa, Trung Minh, Quang Tien...

Son Thuy Company Limited (Mong Hoa commune) - a unit with a large area of ​​FSC certified planted forests in Hoa Binh city, contributing to the formation of a value chain from sustainable forests to wood processing for export.

To reach the world's most prestigious FSC certificate, Hoa Binh city has had a journey that is not short, not easy, and durable enough to create a breakthrough for planted forests - a resource that was once seen as a "backward capital" in development.

According to Mr. Do Viet Trieu, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh City, the origin of this journey is Resolution No. 27-NQ/TU, dated July 30, 2020 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee - a strategic document on sustainable development of production forests to 2025, with a vision to 2030. The Resolution not only sets out specific goals, but more importantly, it has shaped a long-term forest management mindset: linking protection with development, linking livelihoods with international standards, linking forest trees with the market.

Ky Son, Mong Hoa, Trung Minh, Quang Tien... were chosen as pioneer "FSC areas". There, people no longer grow acacia in the "semi-young" style but have switched to a large timber model, associated with intensive technical processes and strict control. The City People's Committee supports everything from tree varieties - mainly tissue-cultured hybrid acacia, to fertilizers, silvicultural guidance and even connecting processing enterprises. The participation of the entire political system has made seemingly anonymous forests begin to have names, standards, and opportunities to enter the global value chain.

On land that was once used to "fast-growing" farming, large timber forests are now gradually appearing in straight rows, with even canopies, tree stumps bearing silvicultural symbols, and the harvesting cycle is calculated annually, not seasonally. Nearly 1,450 hectares of FSC forests not only help Hoa Binh create a clean raw material area, but also open up a forest management model closely linked to the market.

According to the report of the City People's Committee, the area of ​​large timber forests over 10 years old is currently 238.08 hectares, with key species such as acacia, canarium, re, and tung... Notably, the productivity of planted forests has increased sharply from 65 m³/ha (in 2020) to 76.3 m³/ha currently, while the total area converted from young forests to large timber forests has exceeded 1,300 hectares. These are not just numbers, behind them are hundreds of households that have changed the way they work on forests. Instead of selling young acacia after 4-5 years as before, they accept to wait a few more seasons, in return for large timber, stable output and a selling price one and a half times higher. People who used to only hold saws, now start holding pens to calculate growth cycles, learn about international standards, and proactively link with businesses.

According to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh City, achieving FSC certification means a big commitment: not using poor quality seeds, not destroying natural forests, not using banned chemicals, not exploiting in a "gutting" way. Forests are now a livelihood, a valuable asset, with standards, and a future. The encouraging sign is that in 2024, the total income from forests and forestry land of organizations and households in the whole city will reach 65.4 billion VND, an increase of nearly 5 billion VND compared to the previous year. The output of exploited planted forest wood reached more than 59,000 m³, firewood was nearly 10,000 ster, not to mention bamboo, bamboo shoots, medicinal herbs, forest fruits... all of which show that a forest can live healthy, green and profitable if cared for with long-term trust.

From being a "green belt" protecting mountainous urban areas, FSC forests in Hoa Binh now have another mission: becoming a strategic raw material area, opening the door for the wood processing industry to develop in a systematic and integrated direction. Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Do Viet Trieu affirmed: Achieving FSC certification not only helps Hoa Binh city's planted wood in particular enter the international market, but also creates a premise for restructuring the forestry industry, shifting from raw wood production to products with high added value. When acacia, canarium, and re wood are managed in a chain, linking the growing area with the processing factory, profits are no longer "cut into pieces" between farmers and businesses.

In the long-term strategy, Hoa Binh city aims to form a large wood material area associated with the planning of forest product processing facilities, gradually reducing the export of raw wood chips, replacing them with FSC-standard products to serve the markets of Japan, EU, and the US - where standards for controlling wood origin are increasingly strict. This is also the time when localities do not just stop at "preserving forests", but must make forests profitable. Resolution No. 27-NQ/TU is therefore not only a directive, but also a promise to the future: a sustainable forestry economy - living with forests, thanks to forests and for forests.

Minh Vu

Source: https://baohoabinh.com.vn/12/200573/Giac-mo-rung-FSC--o-thanh-pho-Hoa-Binh.htm