Forestry economy - The green pillar

In its journey towards sustainable socio-economic development, Thai Nguyen province identifies the role of forestry as one of its important pillars. With its natural advantages in topography and climate, coupled with a well-planned development strategy, Thai Nguyen is aiming to enhance the economic value of its forests, create sustainable livelihoods for its people, and contribute to the green transformation.

After the merger, Thai Nguyen province has one of the highest forest cover rates in the country (approximately 60%).

Shifting focus from "harvesting timber" to "harvesting value"

Thai Nguyen province currently has a total natural area of ​​over 838,000 hectares. According to the forestry land planning of the former Thai Nguyen province, it covers more than 172,000 hectares, with a forest cover rate of 45.72%; Bac Kan province (formerly) has approximately 405,000 hectares, with a forest cover rate of 72.18%. The average annual timber harvest in the province is over 600,000 m³. After the merger, the forest cover rate of the entire province reached approximately 60%, making it one of the localities with the highest forest cover rate nationwide.

Previously, the model of forest economic development in Thai Nguyen mainly relied on planting forests for timber and small-scale, individual harvesting.

However, in recent years, the province has proactively shifted towards sustainable forest economic development, using forests as a livelihood and creating a stable source of income for the people; transforming the forest development model towards multi-value forestry, including: planting large timber forests, developing medicinal plants under the forest canopy, exploiting ecotourism, and paying for forest protection contracts.

Many models of cultivating medicinal herbs under the forest canopy, such as purple rehmannia, polygonum multiflorum, purple cardamom, chuanxiong, stemona, Artemisia capillaris, goldenrod, red velvet leaf, and yellow flower tea, are being replicated in some localities.

Ms. Trieu Thi Khen, a resident of Na Ri commune, said: "Previously, forests were only used for firewood and timber. Now, along with planting production forests, my family has planted more than 1 hectare of cardamom under the acacia forest canopy, earning over 60 million VND every year. Compared to planting acacia for timber alone, the efficiency is much higher, and it also prevents soil erosion and retains soil moisture very well. This is a clear double benefit."

Mr. Duong Van Chan, from Na Khau village, Dong Phuc commune, who participated in the model of growing medicinal plants under the forest canopy, shared: "The purple velvet leaf plant can be harvested for the first time after about 4-5 months of planting, with 3-4 harvests per year, selling at prices ranging from 150,000 to 180,000 VND/kg of dried leaves. As for the golden flower tea plant, it can be harvested for leaves after 3 years, and flowers after 4-5 years. With the current selling price of 400,000-600,000 VND/kg of fresh flowers, and leaves selling for about 25,000 VND/kg, each golden flower tea plant can yield about 1 million VND."

In addition to focusing on the efficient exploitation of forest resources, Thai Nguyen also promotes the process of forest regeneration and forest protection under contract.

In 2024, the total amount paid for forest protection contracts to people in the former Thai Nguyen province was approximately 62 billion VND, directly disbursed to nearly 16,000 households; the former Bac Kan province disbursed over 65 billion VND to more than 14,000 households and communities managing forests. This is a stable source of income and a strong incentive for people to be attached to the forest and consider it a valuable asset.

Carbon credits – a "green gold mine" being awakened.

A portion of the area planted with purple velvet leaf trees under the forest canopy belongs to the family of Mr. Duong Van Chan, Na Khau village, Dong Phuc commune.

The concept of carbon credits is now familiar to the forestry sector in Thai Nguyen. This unit measures the amount of greenhouse gases reduced or absorbed and can be traded domestically and internationally, creating a new source of funding for forest planters and protectors.

According to estimates from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, if approximately 50,000 hectares of production and protection forests could be mobilized into the carbon credit payment program, the province could absorb about 300,000 - 500,000 tons of CO2 annually (at a price of approximately 5-8 USD/ton of CO2).

Currently, Thai Nguyen has completed the initial survey and prepared the dossier to participate in the Emission Reduction Program for the North Central Region (ER-P) under the cooperation between Vietnam and the World Bank's Carbon Fund. The communes of Dinh Hoa, Vo Nhai, and Dai Tu have been selected as key areas, with the goal of developing forest areas that meet MRV (measure-report-verify) standards to implement carbon credit payments during the 2025-2030 period.

Specifically, the communes in the northern part of the province have a high and stable forest cover rate, with hundreds of thousands of hectares of natural and production forests, and many areas of special-use forests with high ecological value, which are considered to have the largest forest carbon reserves in the country, reaching approximately 21 million tons per year.

To effectively utilize carbon resources from forests, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 3019/QD-UBND dated September 24, 2021, approving the Sustainable Forestry Development Program of Thai Nguyen province for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030. Currently, the Provincial Forest Protection Department is also implementing a project to investigate forest reserves and forest carbon reserves, which has been approved by the People's Committee of Bac Kan province (formerly) in terms of outline and budget; and to investigate forest reserves in the province...

According to Mr. Nguyen My Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Thai Nguyen province: Developing forest economy associated with carbon credits is not only a new financial solution, but also contributes to helping Thai Nguyen achieve the goal of green growth, circular economy development and carbon neutrality by 2050.

Forestry is not only a source of livelihood for tens of thousands of households in the mountainous areas of Thai Nguyen province, but also an important solution for responding to climate change, protecting biodiversity, and building a green circular economy.

To date, Thai Nguyen province has developed approximately 16,000 hectares of large timber forests and over 9,000 hectares of cinnamon. It is projected that by the end of 2025, the total area of ​​FSC-certified forests will reach 26,580 hectares. This creates favorable conditions for the sustainable development of the forest economy and represents significant potential for Thai Nguyen to participate in the domestic and international carbon credit market.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/tin-noi-bat/202508/kinh-te-rung-tru-cot-xanh-5491e35/