Achievements in Nghe An
Nghe An has approximately one million hectares of forested area—the largest forest area of any province in Vietnam. However, the province faces difficulties implementing sustainable forest management practices due to a shortage of technical and financial resources. In 2023, the USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project) helped Nghe An’s forest-dependent communities with the following achievements:
- Strengthening community forest management: Supported five communities to elaborate five Sustainable Forest Management Plans to protect 4,529 hectares (ha) across two districts; and provided support to 22 communities under forest protection contracts to prepare forest protection and management plans, including forest patrolling schedules, to better manage 15,308 ha. The Project supported the better management of 19,837 ha altogether in two districts of Tuong Duong and Con Cuong.
- Environmentally friendly value chains and livelihood development: Supported Nghe An to develop rattan, bamboo and leaves as well as medicinal plants value chains benefiting 1,431 people and mobilizing USD 274,000 in value chain investments from the private sector.
- Improve sustainable forest management and forest certification: Identified 43,3246 ha for improved forest management, including 10,000 ha of plantation forest for forest certification, of which 2,823.3 ha of plantation forest was awarded Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC) and ‘Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification’ (PEFC) representing 29 farmers’ groups (1,072 people); and improved management of 24,843 ha by supporting District Protection Management Boards to develop and implement Sustainable Forest Management Plans.
- Develop forest policies to strengthen forest law enforcement: Developed seven provincial forest policies to strengthen forest law enforcement and building capacity of Forest Protection Department forces.
- Forest environmental services payment mechanisms: Updated and finalized Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) mapping and raised awareness on future launch of carbon trading via carbon-PFES, or C-PFES mechanism in Vietnam.
These initial achievements are helping Nghe An province implement Provincial Directive No. 10 (issued by Nghe An’s Party Standing Committee) to promote high-quality intensive plantations toward forest certification of 50,000 ha by 2025, and to implement the Provincial Strategy on Forestry Development 2020-2030, to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, enhance carbon stock and CO2 sequestration, and to combat climate change.