Sustainable management of forest triggers forestry development

VNGOVNet – On February 5, PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng signed Decision 18/2007/QĐ-TTg approving the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy 2006-2020, whose targets to 2020 are to establish and manage 16.24 million ha of planned forestry land; raise the forest land coverage to 42-43% by 2010 and 47% by 2020; and engage various economic sectors and social organizations in forestry development to serve socio-economic development, ecosystem protection, bio-diversity preservation, environmental services, poverty reduction, improvement of living standards for people in rural and mountain areas, and maintenance of national security and defense.

February 08, 2007 9:23 AM GMT+7

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The strategy states that forestry development should be delivered synchronously from proper management of forest resources, afforestation, forest rehabilitation and enrichment to exploitation and processing of forest products, environmental services, and ecotourism on the basis of engaging the whole society in forestry and attracting various investment resources to forest protection and development.

The strategy's objectives are to establish, protect, develop and use three categories of forest, namely production forest (8.4 million ha), protective forest (5.68 million ha), and specialized use forest (2.16 million ha); complete the allocation and lease of forest and forestry lands to organizations, enterprises, households, individuals and residential communities before 2010; at the same time, increase awareness of forest protection and development for different echelons, sectors and people and establish forestry extension systems at the central level and in localities with more than 50,000 ha of forest and forestry land.

According to the Strategy, the processing and trade of forestry products will be made key engines of the forestry economy which is to develop in line with the law of market economy, employ advanced technologies, aim for higher competitiveness, and be driven by export and domestic consumption demands. Measures to be taken to boost industry development are to strategically raise and use ODA funding; effectively manage the Trust Fund for Forestry (TFF) and the Vietnam Conservation Fund (VCF); offer favorable legislation and investment environment to attract FDI, especially to material forest growing, processing and technological transfer.

By Phương Uyên

(Source: Decision 18/2007/QĐ-TTg)