Contribute to improving forest quality and developing sustainable livelihoods for people
In the context of limited budget resources for forest management and protection, revenue from forest environmental services has contributed positively to forest protection, while creating many jobs, improving livelihoods, and increasing income for forest workers and forest protectors in a sustainable manner. At the same time, it has contributed to increasing coverage and improving forest quality in the province.
With the timely direction of relevant levels and sectors and the determination and efforts of the Forest Protection and Development Fund, in the first 9 months of 2024, the fund approved 52 trust contracts. Of which, there were 23 trust contracts with hydropower production facilities, 14 contracts with clean water production facilities and 15 industrial production facilities. The Fund collected forest environmental services with an amount of more than 73.5 billion VND (including funds coordinated by the Central Government and from 52 units that signed trust contracts).
In parallel, the fund has paid special attention to disbursement. The cumulative disbursement and reserve fund from the beginning of 2024 to now has reached more than 118.2 billion VND, of which the fund has disbursed forest environmental service fees in 2023, advanced to forest owners and supported forest protection and development, and scattered tree planting in 2024 with nearly 108 billion VND; allocated to the reserve fund with more than 3.6 billion VND...
Along with the good implementation of the policy of payment for forest environmental services, over the past time, the Forest Protection and Development Fund has always effectively implemented the collection and disbursement of money for replacement forest planting.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tan - Head of the Business Planning Department - Forest Protection and Development Fund said: "Collecting and disbursing money for reforestation is one of the key tasks of the fund, so this field is deployed synchronously, effectively, ensuring compliance with the plan. During the implementation process, with the timely attention and support of relevant levels, sectors and units, the revenue from reforestation always meets the plan".
From this revenue source, Nghe An province has had a stable source of capital to invest in reforestation. In the first 9 months of 2024, more than 8.3 billion VND was disbursed, including advances and payments for reforestation projects and forest care. To date, localities have planted more than 4,625 hectares of reforestation area.
To meet the payment requirements, the fund has built and put into operation a digital map of forest environmental service payments. Thanks to this, determining the forest area to be provided for payment to beneficiaries is basically convenient. Every year, the fund coordinates with forest owners, organizations, and district-level payment organizations to review data to supplement and update the payment records and maps. From there, payment is guaranteed, paid correctly, sufficiently, objectively, and transparently.
Implementing the policy of paying for forest environmental services without cash, Nghe An Forest Protection and Development Fund has coordinated with relevant agencies and units to promptly make payments through the banking system and the postal system. Although the work of paying without cash has achieved positive results, there are still some difficulties and problems in the implementation process: The number of forest owners who are households, individuals, and communities is very large with more than 20,000 forest owners, mainly concentrated in remote areas, ethnic minority areas, leading to many difficulties in opening bank accounts for payment, in some places it is not possible...
The timely attention, direction and support of the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, Fund Management Board, Fund Control Board, relevant departments and branches; The active participation of local Party committees and authorities at all levels and the close coordination of agencies, forest owners, and the high consensus of the people in the province have brought the policy of payment for forest environmental services to life. This policy brings new, stable financial resources, reducing pressure on the state budget for forest management and protection. Income from forest environmental services has contributed to improving income, especially for poor households, contributing to stabilizing political security and social order and safety in localities in mountainous and border areas...
To better implement the policy of payment for forest environmental services, in the coming time, the fund hopes that the Provincial People's Committee, the Fund Management Board, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to pay attention to directing relevant agencies, units, and localities to coordinate well in implementing the payment policy, reforestation, and forest management, protection, and development activities...
Ngo Hoang Khanh – Director of Forest Protection and Development Fund
Along with the drastic and synchronous solutions of the Government, the Provincial People's Committee and relevant parties, the policy of payment for forest environmental services has been effective, having a very positive impact on forest management, protection and development. In Nghe An, forests are better protected, violations of legal regulations on forest protection, development, forest fire prevention and fighting have gradually decreased, maintaining forest cover and improving forest quality. The area of forest protection contracts tends to increase every year. The total forest area paid in 2023 is more than 556,000 hectares, an increase of more than 1,000 hectares compared to 2022, and in 2024 it is expected to be 2,000 hectares.
