Reporter: The 20th Congress of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, term 2025 - 2030, has set out the orientation for sustainable forestry development. Could you please tell us about the practicality and legal basis for realizing this goal?
Comrade Nguyen Danh Hung : It can be affirmed that Nghe An has sufficient legal basis and practical conditions to effectively implement the orientation for sustainable forestry development in the period 2025 - 2030.
Regarding the legal basis, first of all, in the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy and the National Forestry Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050; After the merger of provinces, Nghe An is identified as the locality with the second largest forest area in the country (after Lam Dong ), the largest in the North Central region, playing the role of a key area for forestry development in the North Central region. The province's forestry planning and development has also been updated in the general planning of Nghe An province for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.
In particular, most recently, on April 10, 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 746/QD-TTg approving the Master Plan for the construction of a high-tech forestry zone in the North Central region until 2045, in Nghe An. This is an important legal basis for the province to plan, attract investment, and form a modern forestry ecosystem, associated with science - technology , innovation and the international market.
This plan aims to form a modern forestry ecosystem, connecting research, production, deep processing and international markets - shifting from a resource exploitation model to developing large timber forests, high value-added processing and sustainable value chains.
The planning of the high-tech forestry zone also opens up opportunities to attract large enterprises, linking production - processing - export in a chain, in line with the orientation of the 20th Provincial Party Congress: Development in depth, based on science - technology and green growth. When the forestry industry develops sustainably, with high added value, it will become one of the "key" driving forces to help Nghe An develop in a balanced East - West, rising to the position of a national growth pole.
In terms of practicality, Nghe An currently has more than 1 million hectares of forestry land with a coverage rate of about 59.01% and a forest product processing industry system of more than 1,000 enterprises. The area of raw material forests is approximately 200,000 hectares, with an annual exploitation output of about 2 - 2.1 million m 3. Some enterprises have invested in modern processing technology, exporting wood and wood products - in 2024, the province recorded an export turnover of wood and wood products of over 300 million USD.
Nghe An is also shifting strongly to developing large timber forests, granting FSC certification; at the same time, building a digital database for the forestry industry, applying remote sensing, GIS and modern forest management software, to increase transparency and traceability of wood origin - a mandatory requirement in the context of integration.
With a solid legal foundation, great practical potential and high political determination, Nghe An is fully qualified to realize the goal of sustainable forestry development, contributing to making the province a green growth pole of the North Central region and a fairly developed province of the country by 2030.
Reporter : The opportunities are considered to be huge, but also pose many challenges . So , what are the major " bottlenecks " that Nghe An forestry industry needs to remove , comrade?
Comrade Nguyen Danh Hung: In fact, Nghe An has made significant progress in afforestation, exploitation and processing of forest products. However, structural “bottlenecks” still exist.
Firstly, the productivity, quality and economic value of planted forests are still low compared to the regional and national average (average productivity is about 20m3 /ha/year); The quality of natural forests recovers slowly, the area of poor and exhausted natural forests accounts for a proportion, with 43.05% of the natural forest area, equivalent to 340,233.96 ha; the multi-purpose value of the forest ecosystem has not been effectively used. The structure of forestry products is unbalanced, mainly focusing on primary processing, with low added value. Wood chips account for 85-90% of export turnover in the period 2020-2024. The area of forests implementing sustainable forest management methods and being granted sustainable forest certification is still limited; the whole province has only 36,711.03 ha of planted forests, accounting for 16.6% of the planted forest area.
Second , the forestry infrastructure is not synchronous, the forest products processing industry is slow to develop, forest products have not met domestic and export demand, the added value is still low; equipment for forest management and protection, forest fire prevention and fighting has not received investment attention.
Finally, we still lack a true “forestry industrial ecosystem” – a place where science, technology, logistics, training and markets converge.
Reporter : In that context, can you share the orientation and key tasks to develop Nghe An forestry in a more sustainable and effective direction in the coming period?
Comrade Nguyen Danh Hung: The province's consistent orientation is to develop sustainable forestry, associated with restructuring the modern, green and high value-added agricultural economy. It can be summarized by the following four main pillars:
Firstly, developing sustainable raw material areas, associated with sustainable forest management certification. The province is implementing a plan to have 80,000 hectares of large timber plantations and 70,000 hectares of forests certified for sustainable forest management by 2030. To achieve this goal, we encourage households, cooperatives, and businesses to join together to plant large timber forests, apply science and technology, and extend the exploitation cycle, both increasing economic value and reducing pressure on premature exploitation.
Second, develop deep processing industry. The Provincial People's Committee has a policy in Official Dispatch No. 7157/UBND-NN, dated July 22, 2025: Not to encourage the expansion of wood chip processing projects for export, but to focus on attracting projects for processing refined wood, furniture, new materials, pine resin, essential oils, clean energy pellets... Along with that, focus on effectively implementing the planning of the North Central Highlands High-Tech Forestry Zone approved by the Prime Minister to form a center for research - incubation - technology transfer of modern and sustainable forest product processing.
When Nghe An becomes the center of high-tech wood and forestry processing in the North Central region, with a closed value chain from planting - exploitation - processing - export; the target of having over 60% of deeply processed products and an export turnover of 500-700 million USD/year is certain, at the same time, tens of thousands of new jobs will be created, and the lives of people in the mountainous areas will be improved.
Comrade Nguyen Danh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment
Third, develop multi-value forest economy. Not only planting and exploiting timber, but also expanding forest environmental services, medicinal herbs, non-timber forest products, ecotourism, carbon credits. Each hectare of forest must create many sources of income, many livelihoods. This is the model of "green forest - green livelihood - green economy" that the province is aiming for.
Fourth, improve management capacity and digital transformation in the forestry sector. We are deploying a digital forest management map for the whole province, integrating data on forest owners, reserves, and exploitation status - thereby making information transparent and serving traceability. At the same time, we encourage businesses and people to digitize the production - processing - consumption chain, forming a shared database to serve planning, monitoring, and the market.
All of the above orientations are part of the overall strategy to implement the Resolution of the 20th Provincial Party Congress: Innovating the growth model, restructuring the economy towards modernity, depth, sustainability and high adaptability.
Reporter : Could you share more about the roles and responsibilities of the subjects: State, enterprises and people to develop Nghe An forestry sustainably?
Comrade Nguyen Danh Hung: Sustainable forestry development is an inter-sectoral and inter-regional task, so it requires synchronous participation. State management agencies must play a good role in "creating and leading", that is, having clear planning, transparent mechanisms, open procedures but strictly controlling the environment and resources; at the same time, issuing policies to support green credit, forest insurance, payment for forest environmental services, and incentives for large timber forests. Currently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is advising the province to review and update the planning of 3 types of forests, build a mechanism to encourage the planting of large timber forests, support credit and forest insurance, and at the same time, strictly control wood chip processing activities to develop in the right direction.
Enterprises need to shift from “short-term profits” to in-depth, long-term investment, commit to linking with forest owners, sharing benefits, and proactively innovating technology, building Nghe An wood brand.
People and forest owners must be considered the central subjects of the forest economy - not only planting, but also participating in the value chain, linking with businesses to benefit from large timber forests, certified forests, and ecological tourism forests. If each side plays its role well, Nghe An forestry can completely become a new pillar economic sector of the province in the next decade.
With the attention and support of the Central Government and the high political determination of the Party Committee and the people, we believe that Nghe An will soon become the center of high-tech wood and forest product processing in the North Central region, with a closed value chain from planting - exploitation - processing - export. At that time, the proportion of deeply processed products will account for over 60%, export turnover will reach 500-700 million USD/year, tens of thousands of new jobs will be created, and the lives of people in mountainous areas will be significantly improved. More importantly, forests are not only "green gold" but also the foundation of sustainable development, ecological economy, and circular economy.
Reporter : Thank you very much , comrade !
Source: https://baonghean.vn/nen-tang-phap-ly-va-thuc-tien-giup-nghe-an-phat-trien-lam-nghiep-ben-vung-10308662.html
Comment (0)