Effectiveness of forest environmental service payment policy

Strengthen communication work

In recent times, the Nghe An Forest Protection and Development Fund has truly played an important role in mobilizing social resources to protect and develop forests. In order for relevant levels, sectors, organizations, units and people to effectively implement the policy of payment for forest environmental services, the Nghe An Forest Protection and Development Fund has focused on propaganda work with many forms and diverse communication methods, thus creating positive changes in the implementation of the policy of payment for forest environmental services.

The Forest Protection and Development Fund has designed, printed and distributed communication materials including: protective clothing for forest workers, protective hats, helmets; school backpacks associated with payment policy propaganda; Designing forest environmental services, editing and printing the Handbook. From the beginning of 2024 up to now, 12 training courses have been organized, propagating the policy of payment for forest environmental services and disseminating new contents and documents related to forest protection and development in 12 communes in the basins providing forest environmental services in 6 districts of Que Phong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong and Ky Son.

Along with that, the Forest Protection and Development Fund coordinates with media units to propagate the policy of payment for forest environmental services and regularly updates information and policies on the website of the Forest Protection and Development Fund...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung - Deputy Head of Inspection and Supervision Department - In charge of communication work of the Forest Protection and Development Fund said: "In 2024, the Fund will focus on implementing communication activities according to the approved plan and at the same time, the work of inspecting and supervising the implementation of the forest environmental service payment policy is always focused on. The Fund has organized professional training courses on the forest environmental service monitoring framework for forest owners and Forest Protection Departments of districts that implement the forest environmental service payment policy. The Fund has proactively carried out the work of monitoring, supervising, grasping and regularly updating the situation of payment implementation and forest protection work in localities that implement the forest environmental service payment policy".

The work of planting and caring for replacement forests of projects through a reporting regime combined with field inspection work, specifically: In the first 10 months of 2024, the Fund organized 13 inspections and supervisions of replacement forest planting, forest protection work, and payment for forest environmental services at a number of projects, forest owners are organizations, and district-level payment organizations in the districts.

Good mobilization of revenue sources

Since the beginning of 2024, the weather has been complicated. In the first half of 2024, the water level in rivers, streams, and dams has been low, leading to a shortage of water for hydropower production, affecting revenue from forest environmental services and the income of forest owners and forest protectors. Along with that, the division of administrative boundaries of many communes, villages, and hamlets in the forest environmental service supply area and the work of forest allocation associated with forestry land allocation are being implemented, leading to relatively large fluctuations in data on forest owners and forest managers...

From that revenue source, the Fund has disbursed forest environmental service fees and allocated a reserve fund (from January 1, 2024 to November 5, 2024) with an amount of nearly 122 billion VND, including: Expenditures for forest owners and forest protection activities of nearly 109.84 billion VND; Reserved over 6.4 billion VND... Through that source of money, in 2024, the total forest area paid for forest environmental services will be more than556 thousand hectares.

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To effectively implement the policy of payment for forest environmental services, in the coming time, the Fund will continue to guide and urge forest owners who are organizations and district-level payment organizations to determine the forest area to be paid for forest environmental services in 2024, and at the same time share satellite image sources for reference units to do a good job of determining forest area. Forest owners who are organizations and district-level payment organizations will conduct acceptance/determine the area in 2024 on the basis of: Results of annual forest monitoring, results of payment for forest environmental services in the previous year, results of field inspection and review, and consistency in the subjects and current status of forests with the results of review and acceptance of programs. By the end of 2024, the Forest Protection and Development Fund will advise the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to establish an inspection team and agree on the results of determining the forest area providing forest environmental services in the province based on the results of determining the forest area of ​​​​forest owners who are organizations and district-level payment organizations as a basis for determining the unit price and payment for forest environmental services in 2024 for forest owners and beneficiaries.

Mr. Pham Ba Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Forest Protection and Development Fund