Key Achievements in Lao Cai:
In 2023, through the Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project), USAID supported Lao Cai to reach key achievements on community forest management (CFM), and medicinal plant and cinnamon value chain development. The Project worked with four communities of Van Ban, Bac Ha districts and Sa Pa town, where the total forest area managed by communities is about 4,645 hectares. The Project helped allocate 1,987 ha of forest and forest land for two communes of Red Dao and Mong ethnic minorities in Lien Minh commune, Sa Pa town. Forest land use right certificates were retrieved from individual households and then allocated to communities for better sustainable forest management. The Project also helped Bac Ha Protection Forest Management Board develop a community-based forest ecotourism plan covering 2023-2030 to strengthen CFM and to better protect, conserve, and promote traditional cultural values. Lastly, the Project developed a Forest Protection Plan and provided patrolling equipment to improve forest management of 4,600 ha.
After identifying medicinal plants and cinnamon as two key value chains contributing to sustainable forest management in Lao Cai province, the Project implemented activities to develop these value chains by improving institutional capacity, production, and processing, and through community-business matchmaking and market linkages. The Project provided technical support and equipment for select conservation-friendly enterprises and helped to design a Red Dao Medicinal Plant Performance Space in Sa Pa town, which is now in the process of calling for investments. Cinnamon is considered the most important key crop in Lao Cai province, which is why the province is prioritizing the Project’s support of the cinnamon value chain. In 2023, the Project established a total of 14 organic cinnamon farmers’ groups and provided training on forestry (planting, tending) techniques and training on pre-processing support, which helped improve 1,300 ha of cinnamon forest and benefited 2,800 people. The Project also provided nursery management support for 20 nurseries, signed partnership agreements with two nurseries, and delivered two tons of high-quality seeds for the plantation of 1,300 ha of forest.