Sustainable forestry according to FSC standards

Quang Tri Pellet Factory has targeted forest growers according to FSC standards to increase income and protect forests sustainably…

In the old Quang Binh area, a pellet factory using plantation wood as raw material with modern technology has supported people in protecting and developing sustainable forests. Mr. Vu Quang Sang, Director of BVN Quang Binh Investment Joint Stock Company said: "When investing in building the factory, we consider the long term and serve forest growers in the area. The goal is to produce in conjunction with protecting and developing sustainable forests and bringing high income to farmers."

The tablet manufacturing plant is invested with modern technology and automated production. Photo: T. Phung.

Long-term goals

According to Mr. Vu Quang Sang, Director of BVN Quang Binh Investment Joint Stock Company, the wood pellet factory has a total investment capital of about 500 billion VND, specializing in producing pellets for export to Japan, Europe and other markets. When put into operation, the factory has an expected capacity of about 200,000 tons/year and input material demand of about 1,000 tons/day.

“Although the initial steps encountered many difficulties, we have had many solutions to speed up the project and put the factory into operation soon. Our goal is long-term and to support forest growers in implementing forest certifications to bring the wood material area to meet domestic and international requirements to serve the export of forestry products,” Mr. Sang added.

With this goal, right in the investment and construction phase, the company has simultaneously carried out the task of surveying raw material areas to gradually build records and implement FSC-certified forests. For convenience, the company established the FSC Board (under the company's Business Department), with a team of experienced forestry engineers to support forest growers.

The FSC Board promotes propaganda through training conferences on FSC forest certification for people and village and commune officials to grasp and understand the long-term benefits of forests when certified. It is not only a "passport" for people to create a source of standard raw materials for businesses to conveniently export to large markets.

Forestry Master Nguyen Trong Dai , Head of Business Department and Head of FSC Board, told us that the Board's staff had conducted surveys, measured...specifically the forest areas of organizations and individuals in areas such as Bo Trach, Le Thuy and Quang Ninh, Quang Binh province (old) to build profiles and register for FSC forest certification. "At first, forest growers were still hesitant about building FSC certification. But gradually they saw the specific benefits, so they participated more enthusiastically, and created a spreading force," said Mr. Dai.

Tablet products are exported to Japan, Korea and Europe. Photo: T. Phung.

With quick, timely and appropriate solutions, in a short time, the company has built 11,000 hectares of FSC plantations. It is expected that by the end of this year, the FSC forest area will increase by 3,000 hectares, bringing the total to 14,000 hectares.

Mr. Vu Quang Sang said: “Forest growers with FSC certification, in addition to incentives such as favorable trading and higher prices than market prices, when selling raw materials to factories, we also support an additional 500,000 VND for each hectare after exploitation. This is also to encourage and motivate forest growers to follow the principles and expand the area. We also expect that in the next 5 years, the area of ​​FSC certified forests will reach 17,000 hectares.”

Towards FSC forests

Mr. Duong Dinh Ba (in Ray hamlet, Hoan Lao commune, Quang Tri ) excitedly said that since the factory came into operation, farmers and foresters have had many advantages. Previously, if the planted forest was broken by storms, tornadoes, etc., they would only sell it for firewood or sell it to traders to buy for chipping at a cheap price. But now that the factory is here, people can sell whatever they can collect.

“If the forest is broken, we can just cut it, saw it and transport it to the factory to sell. Before, we were worried about storms and rain, but now we feel much less worried. This also reassures people in developing planted forests. If we can get FSC forest certification, our income will be much higher,” Mr. Ba said excitedly.

Planted wood is raw material for the factory. Photo: T. Phung.

According to Mr. Ba, his family has 5 hectares of acacia forest. Recently, he harvested and sold 1 hectare of forest (planted for 4.5 years), selling nearly 150 tons of raw materials to the factory. “With a unit price of 1.1 million VND per ton, my family earned about 150 million VND. The cost for each hectare of forest from seeds, fertilizers, planting, care, exploitation, and transportation costs is about 40 million VND, the family makes a profit of about 110 million VND per hectare,” Mr. Ba confided.

As for Mr. Duong Van Nam's family (Hoan Lao commune), they have a forest area of ​​15 hectares, of which about 5 hectares are about to be harvested. Mr. Nam said that he has coordinated with the factory to deploy and implement FSC forest certification. The factory's support and encouragement for people to plant certified forests is a new step forward for forest growers. Only then, when the factory guarantees to consume the products at market prices, it will be a great lever for the development of economic forests in the area.

“That is also the key to increasing the value of forests. The factory will be a solid foundation for people to invest in intensive forest cultivation according to the right process, with high productivity and output, thereby increasing income and getting rich legitimately from forest planting,” Mr. Nam added.

Foresters feel secure in developing sustainable forests according to FSC standards. Photo: T. Phung.

The factory is located in Phu Dinh commune (old), now Bo Trach commune, which is also an advantage for people in the commune and in the area. Previously, Bo Trach district (old) was also a locality with advantages in economic forests on the hills. At that time, the whole district had an economic forest area of ​​nearly 22,000 hectares. With Bo Trach commune, after the two-level government came into operation, the local government also implemented many solutions to support people in developing planted forests, focusing on high-quality seed sources and FSC-certified forests.

According to Mr. Do Manh Tai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Bo Trach Commune, the whole commune currently has nearly 5,000 hectares of planted forests, which will be "satellites" to create a close-range raw material area for the factory and create favorable conditions for people to develop a sustainable forest economy. "With the advantage of hilly areas, Bo Trach Commune focuses on forestry development with standard planted forests. That is also a strength for family economic development so that people can strive to get rich," Mr. Tai added.

BVN Quang Binh factory is invested in construction with modern production technology, basically automated from input materials of planted wood and output of exported pellets. On average, each year, the factory produces and exports about 180,000 tons of high-quality pellets.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/trong-rung-ben-vung-theo-chuan-fsc-d782524.html