For the goal of "greening" the Forestry industry

>> Yen Bai has nearly 13,000 hectares certified as sustainable forests

>> Sustainable forest certification in Yen Bai: Why is it not commensurate with the potential?

Tran Yen district is one of the localities with a large forestry land area with more than 44,000 hectares of forest, of which the natural forest area is nearly 9,400 hectares and planted forest is nearly 35,000 hectares. Tens of thousands of households are making a living from planted forest trees.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Mau - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, Tran Yen is the locality that implemented the FSC forest certification program early in Yen Bai but has not yet achieved the expected results. In 2022, the District Forest Protection Department coordinated with localities and An Viet Phat Forestry Cooperative to inspect, review and evaluate to grant forest certification in 4 communes of Viet Cuong, Luong Thinh, Y Can, Quy Mong with an area of ​​more than 1,730 hectares of 464 households meeting the standards.

However, according to the assessment of Mai Lam Forestry Company Limited (the unit that receives and continues to maintain the FSC forest certificate), by 2024, the area meeting FSC certification standards will be only more than 720 hectares, the remaining area will not meet the standards because people arbitrarily replace and convert other crop structures such as cinnamon, Bat Do bamboo shoots.

"The district's goal is to have 3,000 hectares of certified forest by the end of 2023. However, up to now, the plan has not been completed, the area that has been granted FSC certification has even decreased. The reason is that businesses have not supported the consumption of wood products as committed, and have not ensured economic conditions, leading to households replacing other crops with higher economic value," Mr. Mau shared.

Meanwhile, in Yen Binh district, although it is one of the localities that has implemented FSC certification quickly and achieved the highest results in Yen Bai province, the overall progress has not met the set target. Starting from 2021 to the end of 2024, the whole district has nearly 10,800 hectares of forest certified by FSC. Of which, Hoa Phat Forestry Joint Stock Company is the enterprise with the largest area with more than 9,000 hectares of 1,149 households having FSC forest certification in Dai Dong, Phu Thinh, Tan Huong, Thinh Hung, Bao Ai, Cam An, Tan Nguyen communes and Yen Binh town.

Mr. Duong Anh Tuan - Deputy Head of Yen Binh District Forest Protection Department said: "The district's goal by the end of 2024 is to grant FSC certification to 12,000 hectares of planted forests. To date, about 90% of the plan has been completed. This is a high rate, showing the greatest efforts of local authorities and related units in providing sustainable forest management. However, the implementation process is still behind schedule compared to the plan, and farmers have not seen specific benefits from forest certification."

It can be seen that the granting of FSC forest certification in Yen Bai is facing many difficulties due to high initial investment costs and unclear economic benefits. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Phat Forestry Joint Stock Company said: "To grant FSC certification for 5,000 hectares of forest, the Company invested 1.8 billion VND in the first year to provide technical training for people, hire consultants, measure maps and issue certificates. In the next 4 years, it will continue to invest 800 million VND/year to maintain the certificate. Meanwhile, certified wood products are purchased at only 5-7% higher than normal forest wood, this difference is not attractive enough for people to invest".

In addition, to be granted and maintain FSC certification, people must comply with strict principles and criteria, many of which are difficult to apply to household production conditions.

In addition, the lack of connection between people and businesses also makes the implementation of forest certification difficult. For example, in Tran Yen district, the area that has been granted FSC certification has even decreased because businesses have not supported the consumption of wood products as committed. Mr. Kieu Tu Giang - Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department commented: "The issuance of FSC forest certification in Yen Bai is facing many difficulties due to many reasons. In addition to high costs and complicated procedures, there is also the problem of people's awareness. Many households are still familiar with traditional methods and are not ready to change. In addition, the forest area of ​​each household is small and fragmented, causing difficulties in management and supervision".

"Greening" the forestry sector through FSC certification is an inevitable trend in the context of international integration and increasing demands for environmental protection. To overcome difficulties and promote the expansion of FSC certification in Yen Bai in the coming time, it is necessary to have the synchronous participation of all levels, sectors and the joint efforts of the whole community in strengthening propaganda and raising awareness; there should be practical financial support policies for people and businesses in the process of granting FSC certification, such as: supporting assessment costs, granting certificates, technical support and training; simplifying the certification process; strengthening the connection between businesses and people...

In 2024, the province strives to grant forest certification to 22,550 hectares. Of which, Yen Binh district plans to grant new 2,000 hectares and maintain 13,285 hectares; Luc Yen district will grant new 2,000 hectares and maintain 310 hectares; Van Chan district will grant new 3,000 hectares; Tran Yen district and Yen Bai city will maintain nearly 2,000 hectares. However, in the whole year of 2024, no new forest area will be granted FSC certification and currently only nearly 13,000 hectares have achieved certification, equivalent to 57.3% of the plan.

Hung Cuong

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/348264/Vi-muc-tieu-xanh-hoa-nganh-Lam-nghiep.aspx