Vietnam aims for annual growth of 5-5.5% in forestry production value under the sustainable forestry development programme for 2021-2025. Source: GIZ

The project "Upscaling Sustainable Forest Management and Certification in Vietnam (SFM)" was officially launched on July 26 by the Management Board for Forestry Projects (MBFP) and the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen.

The project is financed by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Climate and Technology Initiative (DKTI) with counter-part funds from the Vietnamese Government. It is jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ in short) GmbH and the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The event welcomed 70 delegates from the MBFP, the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST), representatives of the three partnering provinces and international development partners.

Combined with a project planning meeting on the previous day, the event provided involved partners with a clear project overview and introduces potential forestry interventions at site levels that the project can support.

From 2021 to 2024, the SFM project will be working at national level as well as provincial level focusing on the three provinces of Quang Tri, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen to assist Vietnam in its transition to sustainable, climate-friendly forest management.

By shifting to longer rotation times and more diverse forests, it will generate further benefits for climate resilience of nature and the forestry economy, as well as improve biodiversity and the livelihood of people.

The project also focuses on strengthening gender mainstreaming. Potentials for fostering gender equality are used throughout all activities.

A gender guideline and action plan have been developed to formulate concrete measures that will ensure gender equality in the project implementation.

With a total budget of EUR 4 million in form of ODA fund from Germany and counterpart funding from Vietnam, the project is expected that forest owners will increase their capacities to manage their plantations following a sustainable forest management approach and bankable business models.

Capacity building offers will be institutionalized in the sector so that training opportunities are widely available while access to finance for the aforementioned transition is enhanced including cooperation models between forest smallholders and companies or Protection Forest Management Boards (PFMBs).

Nguyen Ly Nguyen, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phu Yen province, giving statement of the province. Photo: GIZ/ Pham Phuong Thao

Anja Barth, chief technical advisor of the project, shared, “Recognizing the important role of sustainably managed forests for carbon sequestration and storage Vietnam and Germany are among the signatories of the “Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use”, which was initiated at the Climate-CoP 26 last year. The SFM Project aims to make a contribution to the large-scale transition towards sustainable forest management in Vietnam. For benefits for climate, economy, biodiversity and people.”

Nguyen Van Son, deputy Head of the MBFP, emphasised that the project is in line with the Vietnam’s priorities and strategic objectives. Implementing partners should make best use of the available support and ensure the quality of implemented activities, contributing to sustainable forest management.

Presenting commitments in supporting the project, Can Van Toan, representative of MARD's International Coorperation Department, said this project is regarded as the foundation to build up loan and development projects in this sector, voiced his hope that Germany will continue to coordinate with Vietnam to design similar measures after the SFM project ends.

The representatives of MBFP, GIZ, ICD/MARD, 3 project provinces jointly pressed the kickoff buzzer. Photo: GIZ/ Pham Phuong Thao

The Vietnam Forest Development Strategy has formulated the ambitious target of managing 100% of forest areas sustainably by 2030.

Vietnam’s forest area of 14.6 million hectares is vast, covering 42% of the country’s land area in 2020. In recent years, Vietnam has achieved significant results in forest protection and the economic development from forest resources. The country is the fifth biggest exporter of timber and non-timber forest products in the world, reaching over USD 13 billion in 2020. Yet, the forest sector is facing several challenges, including degraded forest quality and limited access to legal, sustainable timber sources.

The project “Upscaling of Sustainable Forest Management and Certification” is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and jointly implemented by the Management Board of Forestry Projects and the GIZ.

The project is also in cooperation with UNIQUE forestry and land use GmbH with a focus on activities at the provincial level.

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