Forest Protection and Development Fund: Sharing benefits in conserving the "green lung"

Hanoi Moi Newspaper reporter had an interview with Mr. Nguyen Tien Lam, Deputy Head of Hanoi Forest Protection Department, Deputy Director of Hanoi City Forest Protection and Development Fund about the orientation and key tasks of the Fund in the coming time.

Deputy Head of Hanoi Forest Protection Department Nguyen Tien Lam. Photo: Hoang Son

Promoting socialization of forest protection work

- Sir, why did Hanoi city establish and reorganize the activities of the Forest Protection and Development Fund at this time?

- Hanoi currently has over 27,000 hectares of natural forests and planted forests, distributed mainly in 25 communes and wards (7 old districts and towns: Soc Son, Ba Vi, Son Tay, Thach That, Quoc Oai, Chuong My, My Duc). Forests in Hanoi play an important role in regulating the climate, protecting water resources, preventing erosion, conserving biodiversity and especially ensuring environmental security for the central area of the capital. However, the budget for forest protection is limited. Therefore, the establishment and operation of the City Forest Protection and Development Fund is necessary. This is a special financial tool to mobilize social resources, sharing responsibility between the State, businesses and people in forest protection.

- What benefits does the establishment of the Fund bring to forest management and development in Hanoi?

- The first benefit is to ensure a stable, transparent and long-term financial source for forest protection and development activities. The Fund receives and manages revenues from payments for forest environmental services, replacement forest planting fees, as well as funding sources and voluntary contributions. At the same time, the Fund helps reduce pressure on the state budget, promote socialization, and encourage economic sectors to participate in forest protection. This is an advanced management model, consistent with the trend of sustainable forest development that our country is aiming for.

Ecotourism businesses are among the entities that must contribute to the Forest Protection and Development Fund. Photo from the internet

- So, who must pay money into the Fund and how is the revenue and expenditure mechanism implemented, sir?

- According to Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP and the Charter of the Hanoi City Forest Protection and Development Fund issued by the City People's Committee, the subjects that must contribute to the Fund include: Hydropower plants, clean water production and business establishments, eco-tourism enterprises, industrial establishments using water from forest basins... This is the group of subjects that pay directly, through the mechanism of "paying forest keepers". In addition, the Fund also receives funding, aid, and voluntary contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, along with support from the Central Forest Protection and Development Fund.

- What specific purposes will this fund be used for, sir?

- The fund is used for four main groups of subjects: paying for forest environmental services to forest owners, residential communities, and households contracted to protect forests; investing in and supporting afforestation programs, forest regeneration, scattered tree planting, forest fire prevention and fighting; training, propaganda, raising public awareness on sustainable forest management and development; supporting research and application of forestry science and technology, especially in digital transformation of the forest sector, monitoring and evaluating forest environmental service sources. The ultimate goal is for the money paid for forest services to actually reach forest rangers, helping them earn more income, stay committed to and protect the forest long-term.

Sharing benefits to preserve the "green lungs" of the Capital

Ecotourism activities in Yen Xuan commune. Photo: Ngoc Anh

- How do you evaluate the relationship between the Fund's activities and the forest management and protection work of the rangers and local authorities?

- It can be said that the Fund is the “extended arm” of the Forest Protection Department in implementing forest protection and development policies. If the forest rangers undertake specialized tasks such as patrolling, inspecting, handling violations, and propagating laws, the Fund plays a role in ensuring financial resources for these activities to be carried out continuously and sustainably. For example, the Fund supports funding for forest protection patrolling, forest fire prevention and fighting, post-fire recovery, scattered tree planting, and coordinates with the People's Committees of communes with forests to implement the policy of paying for forest environmental services to the right subjects.

- During the implementation process, what are the difficulties that the Fund needs to pay attention to in order to operate effectively, sir?

- The biggest difficulty at present is that the awareness of a part of the people and businesses about the policy of payment for forest environmental services is still limited; some businesses have not seriously fulfilled their financial obligations according to regulations. Besides, the application of technology in payment monitoring is still in the completion stage; it is necessary to build a digital database on forest area, forest owners, and payment subjects to ensure accuracy and transparency.

In the coming time, we will coordinate with departments, branches and local authorities to promote propaganda, training and guidance for people and businesses to better understand their roles and responsibilities; at the same time, invest in digital infrastructure so that payment and monitoring work can be quick, accurate and public.

Enterprises that are leased forests by the State will have to pay into the Forest Protection and Development Fund. Photo: Hoang Son

- How will the establishment of the Forest Protection and Development Fund impact the city's sustainable development goals in the coming time, sir?

- The Forest Protection and Development Fund will become the main financial resource to help Hanoi effectively implement forest protection, planting and development programs, contributing to increasing forest cover, conserving biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the Fund is also a modern environmental management tool, linking the interests of businesses - people - the State, so that everyone has the responsibility and rights in forest protection. With a clear and transparent operating mechanism and close direction from the city, the Fund will play an important role in building the capital Hanoi to develop green, clean and sustainable...

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/quy-bao-ve-va-phat-trien-rung-chia-se-loi-ich-trong-bao-ton-la-phoi-xanh-721934.html