The Northwest and Central Highlands still have a lot of room to develop large timber plantations.

One of the 10 countries with the largest forest area

According to Mr. Tran Quang Bao, Director of the Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in recent years, the forestry sector has made extremely important contributions to the common goal of promoting the protective function of forests, responding to climate change, mitigating natural disasters, conserving biodiversity, contributing to socio-economic development and strengthening national defense and security; along with that, it has proactively and actively participated in and implemented international commitments on responding to climate change.

Mr. Tran Quang Bao, Director of the Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)

Not only that, the forestry sector also contributes to creating stable livelihoods and incomes for people. To date, it is estimated that there are about 25 million people, with over 12 million being ethnic minorities living near forests, daily carrying out activities that directly or indirectly benefit from forests.

In addition, forestry activities are also carried out in forest product processing industrial zones and craft villages that use raw materials from forests to process forest products. This is a technical economic sector that provides very important input materials for wood processing and export, creating added value in recent times.

In 2022, the export value of wood and wood products will reach 17.09 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 14.07 billion USD. In the first 11 months of 2023, the export value of wood and forest products will reach about 12.97 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 10.98 billion USD. "These figures show the important contributions of the forestry sector to the country's socio-economic development, ensuring people's livelihoods, as well as protecting the environment," said Mr. Bao.

The Director of the Forestry Department added: According to statistics, the current forest area of ​​the country is 14.79 million hectares, the current forest coverage rate is 42.02%. According to the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the assessment of global forest resources, while the forest area in the world is decreasing sharply, the planted forest area is low, Vietnam is one of the 10 countries in the world with the highest increase in forest area, with the largest planted forest area in the world.

In the coming period, according to the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the forestry sector will continue to advise and propose solutions to socialize and attract resources to participate in afforestation, because there is still a lot of room for development.

Proposing the State to increase investment in forestry infrastructure

Mr. Tran Quang Bao added that out of the total 14.79 million hectares of existing forests, implementing the Forestry Law and the Party and National Assembly's policy on closing natural forests, meaning no timber exploitation from natural forests from now until at least 2030, at least 7 million hectares of protective forests and special-use forests will be strictly protected to ensure preservation of the ecological environment and prevention of natural disasters.

The room for forestry production to contribute to the export turnover of wood and wood products is only about 4 million hectares of planted forests.

Of the remaining 8 million hectares, about 4 million hectares of production forests are natural forests that are also being closed for restoration. The room for forestry production to contribute to the export turnover of wood and wood products is only about 4 million hectares of planted forests.

Emphasizing that Vietnam, from a country that had to import wood for processing, is now almost self-sufficient in 75% of raw wood for processing by domestic enterprises, the Director of the Forestry Department said that this achievement is thanks to the increasingly improved forestry seedling work. Vietnam is currently the leading country in the production of hybrid acacia seeds.

"According to our assessment, many localities in the Northwest and Central Highlands regions still have large land funds and room to develop large timber plantations. However, the reality is that forestry infrastructure in these regions is limited, and transportation from raw material areas to processing plants is difficult, pushing costs and prices too high," said Mr. Bao.

Therefore, the Director of the Forestry Department recommends that the State pay more attention to investing in forestry infrastructure, shortening the distance from factories to raw material areas, and developing large-scale, high-tech forest product processing zones. The national forestry development planning orientation sets the goal of forming high-tech forestry zones and processing zones to motivate people to plant, develop and protect forests.

In addition, it is necessary to promote raw material areas and motivate people with preferential policies to develop large-scale timber plantations; increase investment levels in forest development and protection to ensure people have the opportunity to increase their income and improve their livelihoods from forests.

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