At the Forestry Industry Review Meeting in 2023 and the Implementation of Tasks for 2024 held by the Forestry Department and the Forest Protection Department on December 27, the Forestry Department said that forest product exports in 2023 are estimated to reach 14.39 billion USD, down 15.8% compared to 2022. The decrease is due to many unstable market fluctuations, affected by the Russia-Ukraine political conflict, and consumers in the US and EU markets tightening spending on non-essential products, including wood products. Deputy Director of the Forestry Department Trieu Van Luc said that the industry is developing a sustainable forestry economy, focusing on promoting the multi-use value of forest ecosystems through effective management and use of forest resources. Specific goals include protecting and sustainably developing 100% of existing forest areas, diversifying types of forestry production and business organizations towards green, sustainable and circular production. The sector also focuses on developing forms of linkage, cooperation and benefit sharing in the forestry production and business chain. A bright spot for the sector this year is that the forestry sector has successfully completed the transfer procedures of carbon emission reductions of up to 10.3 million tons, equivalent to 51.5 million USD to the Forestry Carbon Partnership Fund through the World Bank. The Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund has received the first payment from the World Bank of 41.2 million USD and has disbursed the entire amount to pay forest owners in 6 provinces in the North Central region. To promote forest product trade, the forestry sector has proactively and regularly coordinated with associations and enterprises processing and exporting forest products to grasp the situation and advise the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to propose solutions to solve difficulties for businesses. The sector has also monitored and guided businesses in implementing and handling international trade disputes. In addition, the forestry sector has also focused on managing the quality of forestry varieties, enhancing the selection and creation of forestry varieties, native trees and intensive forest cultivation suitable for the ecosystem to increase productivity and output of planted forests, and at the same time developing large-scale timber plantations. This is to contribute to achieving the target of 23 million m3 of timber exploitation output in 2024. The Rector of the Forestry University, Pham Van Dien, also emphasized the importance of paying attention to forestry varieties in developing the plantation economy. He suggested that researchers and scientists focus on studying and selecting tree varieties not only to develop the forestry economy but also to develop scattered trees and ornamental plants. In 2023, due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon and unusual weather, the risk of forest fires is always high. The forestry sector also faces problems such as deforestation, illegal trading and transportation of forest products, especially in areas such as the Northwest, Central Highlands and South Central. However, the forest rangers have proactively managed the situation, focusing on hotspots and important areas of deforestation as well as large storage and transfer points of forest products. These efforts have helped maintain the forest cover rate at 42.02%./.Yellow River
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