Minister Le Minh Hoan: Need to change thinking and approach in forest development
(Baonghean.vn) - Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that developing forest ecosystems and forest economy requires changing the approach from management thinking to governance thinking.
On the morning of July 29, in Con Cuong district, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a seminar on "Nature conservation and buffer zone development of special-use forests in Vietnam".
Attending the discussion were comrade Le Minh Hoan - Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
On the side of Nghe An province, there was comrade Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. Members of the Provincial Party Executive Committee: Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee; Phung Thanh Vinh - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Sustainable Livelihood Development in Buffer Zones
At the seminar, representatives of national parks and nature reserves shared results and experiences of some initiatives to develop ecotourism and livelihoods in buffer zones of national parks and nature reserves.
Lessons learned in supporting and promoting the role of local communities in coordinating forest protection through the application of information technology in Pu Mat National Park; forestry tourism.
At the same time, propose solutions to develop sustainable livelihoods in the buffer zone, contributing to the protection and development of existing special-use forests, biodiversity conservation, contributing to job creation, hunger eradication, poverty reduction, increasing income for households living in the buffer zone, contributing to forest protection, strengthening security and defense in remote areas, and border areas of the country.
Speaking at the seminar, Comrade Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee said: Nghe An is the province with the largest forest and forestry land area in the country, with nearly 1.2 million hectares, accounting for 71.6% of the total natural area of the province (planned area of protective forests 365,400 hectares, special-use forests 172,300 hectares, production forests over 622,300 hectares). Currently, the whole province has about 1.0 million hectares of forest (of which, natural forests 789,000 hectares and planted forests 211,000 hectares), forest cover in 2022 is 58.36%. Biodiversity resources have been discovered and recorded about 4,569 species (3,627 species of higher plants, 942 species of large and small vertebrates).
In particular, Nghe An has the Western Biosphere Reserve, recognized by UNESCO in 2007. This is the largest terrestrial world biosphere reserve in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, with a total area of nearly 1.3 million hectares, within the administrative boundaries of 9 western districts of Nghe An province. Most ethnic minorities live in this area.
According to comrade Nguyen Van Thong, national parks with their diverse and unique natural ecology are a very valuable asset, but with the development of social life, they are increasingly threatened to the point that the natural ecosystem can lose its function of nurturing and regulating the balance of life of all species, including humans, and sometimes it and humans become enemies. That is an issue that we cannot ignore for survival not only in the present but also for future generations.
The buffer zones of national parks play an important role in protecting precious ecosystems. The buffer zones are also the ecological zones of the communities, who are closely connected to nature and forests, and this is also their source of livelihood.
“We are facing a deep conflict between major goals. That is social development and nature protection; taking care of the lives of local people while ensuring long-term stability in the region; the responsibility to protect our common home, nature, and social justice for residents in different regions. Maintaining a balance between nature conservation and livelihood development is a huge and difficult challenge to overcome,” emphasized Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Thong.
Comrade Nguyen Van Thong also proposed the need to build sustainable economic development models, focusing on the protection and responsible exploitation of natural resources. Investing in education and vocational training for the community will create favorable conditions for active participation and contribution to environmental conservation.
In addition, raising public awareness of the importance of nature conservation is also an important goal. We create environmental education campaigns, calling on people to participate in protecting nature and contributing to sustainable development.
“To achieve practical results, we need to cooperate closely with non-governmental organizations, businesses and the international community. Creating strategic partnerships helps us learn together, share experiences and develop breakthrough solutions in nature conservation and sustainable development for the buffer zones of national parks,” Mr. Nguyen Van Thong emphasized.
Change your approach
Acknowledging and appreciating the contributions of Nghe An province leaders and experts, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan noted that in order to effectively conserve nature and develop buffer zones of Vietnam's special-use forests, it is necessary to first focus on developing the value chain of non-timber forest products associated with enterprises.
In addition, focus on investing in developing ecotourism based on community livelihoods. More importantly, it is necessary to combine forest protection, finding livelihoods with vocational skills training for youth and local people living in the buffer zones of special-use forests.
According to the Minister, the socialization of protection and development of special-use forests, mobilizing non-state resources for forest development and biodiversity conservation also needs to receive more attention from localities.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that for a long time, we have approached forests from the perspective of silviculture and forestry, but not from the perspective of the multi-use value of the ecosystem. It is time for us to look at forests in terms of their multi-use, multi-functionality, and multi-culture.
Forests and the environment are open ecosystems. Developing forest ecosystems and forest economics requires a change in approach from management thinking to governance thinking. Together, we respect, cherish, and cultivate each value of the forest.
