Building sustainable livelihoods from forest development

(Baohatinh.vn) - Nearly 34,500 hectares in Ha Tinh have been granted FSC certification, contributing to increasing production value and opening up opportunities to access green finance and voluntary carbon markets in the future.

In recent years, thanks to the support and guidance of the Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperative Union (Son Kim 1 commune), people in Son Kim 1, Son Kim 2, Son Hong communes,... have switched from short-term acacia planting models to sustainable forest management and care in a 7-8 year cycle.

Currently, Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperative Union is managing more than 6,100 hectares of forest certified according to FSC standards (including 4,700 hectares of production forest and 1,400 hectares of natural forest), contributing to increasing economic value and protecting the ecological environment.

Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperatives has hired experts to measure and announce that 978 hectares of natural forest of 160 households in Son Kim 2, Son Tay, Son Hong communes,... have the capacity to store 7,500 tons of carbon/year.

Mr. Vo Van Bien - Director of Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperative Union said: "Developing a sustainable forest management model helps ensure a source of high-quality wood materials for export processing enterprises, bringing stable and long-term benefits to the people. Currently, most of the cooperative's wood output is consumed by VBE Ha Tinh Company Limited (Son Tien commune) to make pellets for export to the Japanese market. FSC-certified products are well received and highly appreciated by customers, with prices 20-30% higher than normal products."

“To anticipate the trend of carbon credit commercialization, the Cooperative has hired experts to measure and announce that 978 hectares of natural forest of 160 households in Son Kim 2, Son Tay, Son Hong communes, etc. have the capacity to store 7,500 tons of carbon per year and will continue to expand the measurement to other areas. This is a very necessary preparation step for when the voluntary carbon market officially starts its trial operation in Vietnam. The Cooperative will implement it and people can directly benefit from the ecological value of the forest,” Mr. Bien added.

Huong Son Forestry and Services Company Limited focuses on developing forests that achieve FSC certification.

After many years of development, Huong Son Forestry and Services Company Limited (Son Tay commune) has become one of the leading units in the province in sustainable forest management with more than 20,000 hectares of forest certified by FSC international standards.

According to the enterprise's calculations, the large timber plantation model, although having a longer investment period, is economically efficient, bringing an average profit of nearly 18 million VND/ha/year, double that of short-term acacia forests. Not only creating economic value from wood, this forest area also has the ability to isolate and store about 150,000 tons of carbon per year. If priced at 5 USD/ton, the enterprise can earn about 18 billion VND/year from selling carbon credits.

A representative of Huong Son Forestry and Services Company Limited said: Forest management towards ecosystem service conservation and carbon stock maintenance is opening up wider opportunities to access green finance, voluntary carbon markets and international cooperation programs in the future. This is considered an inevitable direction to help improve the livelihoods of local people, while promoting the forestry industry to develop in a modern and sustainable direction.

Raw material glue exploited immaturely has low value.

With 10,763 hectares of forest land, accounting for 3.4% of the province's total forest area and a coverage rate of 76%, Son Tay commune is considered one of the localities with great potential for developing green forestry economy. From the available potential, the commune is gradually concretizing the goal of developing sustainable and green forestry economy.

In the Resolution of the Commune Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term, the locality set a target of planting 830 hectares of newly exploited forest, developing 200 hectares of medicinal plants under the forest canopy and forming an additional 1,200 hectares of forest certified to meet international standards of sustainable management. The commune has assigned Huong Son Forestry and Services Company Limited - a unit with deep experience in the field of certified forests to coordinate with enterprises, units and international organizations with experience in certification to conduct technical training, guide the certification process, and promote connections to green funding sources and voluntary carbon credit mechanisms to encourage people and households to actively participate in sustainable forest production.

To improve the ecological environment and sustainable development, localities focus on planting medicinal plants under forest canopy, the most common of which is the millennium tree.

According to Mr. Hoang Cam Thach - Secretary of the Party Committee of Son Tay commune, in the coming time, the commune will continue to focus on promoting awareness among people about the value of sustainable forest management models, calling on businesses to supply high-quality forestry seedlings, and training in international standard forest planting and care techniques. Along with that, it is necessary to expand product consumption linkages, encourage people to participate in the production - processing - consumption chain, towards a green, modern and sustainable forestry economy.

To date, the entire province has nearly 34,500 hectares of forest that has achieved FSC international certification. In fact, when planted forests are certified according to international standards, wood output and selling price both increase significantly. As for natural forests, this is the basis for measuring, storing and commercializing the amount of absorbed carbon - a green financial source, a new value of the modern forestry industry.

In addition to the efforts of cooperatives, businesses and local authorities, for the FSC forest model to continue to develop effectively, support policies from the State also play a very important role. Since 2021, people participating in planting and managing sustainable forests have benefited from Resolution 51/2021/NQ-HDND of the Provincial People's Council on policies to encourage agricultural and rural development associated with building the province to meet new rural standards in the period 2021 - 2025 (Resolution 51). Accordingly, organizations, communities, household groups and households after being granted FSC certification are supported with a level of 300,000 VND/ha of planted forest.

To date, the whole province has nearly 34,500 hectares of forest with FSC certification, opening up opportunities to access green finance in the future.

Mr. Vo Van Bien - Director of Tay Kim Forest Certification Cooperative Union said: "The support policy under Resolution 51 will expire in 2025, so we hope the province will continue to issue a new mechanism to simultaneously support both planted forests and natural forests to achieve international certification, contributing to creating leverage for people to stick with sustainable forest management for a long time, moving towards forming a source of high-value voluntary carbon credits for Ha Tinh".

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/xay-dung-sinh-ke-ben-vung-tu-phat-trien-rung-post298267.html