FSC certification is a certification used for forest managers or forest product manufacturers to ensure sustainable development criteria, balancing environmental protection values (forests) with social benefits of stakeholders (producers, society and local people). In fact, granting FSC certification to forests brings many benefits to people, increasing the value of wood, increasing income per unit area. Currently, Thanh Chuong district is the locality with the most FSC certifications in Nghe An province.
Mr. Nguyen The Ha in Hamlet 6, Thanh Huong Commune (Thanh Chuong) said that in the past, planting forests using the old method did not pay attention to the quality of seedlings and care techniques, so the productivity was low, the price was also unstable, and traders often forced down the price. After he planted forests according to FSC standards, the selling price of wood was 7-10% higher than that of normal forests. In early 2023, Mr. Ha exploited all 10 hectares of forest planted according to FSC standards, with a revenue of 1.1 billion VND, much higher than planting forests in the traditional way before. Currently, Mr. Ha's family is continuing to plant new forests according to FSC standards.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Phuong's family, in Hamlet 3, Thanh Huong Commune, has more than 30 hectares of forest planted according to FSC standards. Mr. Phuong said: "Previously, raw material trees were harvested after 3-4 years of planting and sold to traders to take to wood chip factories. The trees were small so they only fetched 50-60 million VND/ha. Now the raw material forest is cared for according to FSC standards so its value is much higher. Recently, nearly 2 hectares of 6-year-old forest were harvested, with a yield of 120 tons/ha, sold for 1.1 million VND/ton, reaching 132 million VND/ha. The biggest benefit of planting forests according to FSC standards is protecting the environment and health of the forest planters themselves, because we are trained to ensure the principles of labor protection; not to use drugs not on the FSC list; when planting forests, do not burn or treat the rampant vegetation."
Thanh Huong commune currently has 1,900 hectares of planted forests, of which, from 2021 to now, the whole commune has been granted FSC certification for over 1,600 hectares. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tien - Chairman of Thanh Huong Commune People's Committee, the certified forests are purchased by Thanh Chuong Wood Production and Trading Joint Stock Company with stable prices, which has been helping people escape poverty sustainably with an income of hundreds of millions of VND/ha.
Mr. Tran Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee said: Since 2021, the district has coordinated with units to implement FSC certification. Up to now, the whole district has granted FSC certification to over 6,200 hectares of forest in Thanh Huong, Thanh Thuy communes and Thanh Chuong Protective Forest Management Board. All FSC-certified forest areas in the district are covered by Thanh Chuong Wood Production and Trading Joint Stock Company, so forest growers do not have to worry about being forced to lower prices by traders. Thanh Chuong Wood Production and Trading Joint Stock Company also buys the whole tree, including the trunk and top without peeling the bark, which is beneficial for acacia growers, and the economic value will increase compared to selling freely outside.
In Nghe An, there are currently a number of forestry companies that have developed large timber forests quite well. A typical example is Song Hieu Agricultural Forestry Company Limited, which has implemented large timber forest planting quite effectively. This unit has over 8,000 hectares of raw material forest, of which 2,000 hectares are large timber forests that bring outstanding economic value. Since 2005, the unit has planned and created land funds to plant large timber forests concentrated in Bai Ke area, Dong Hop commune (Quy Hop) and a number of communes in Nghia Dan and Quy Chau districts... To improve the productivity and quality of acacia, Song Hieu Agricultural Forestry Company Limited has focused on investing in the right technical process right from the beginning of planting, such as investing over 15 million VND/ha of large timber forest. When it becomes a large timber plantation, that is, after more than 8-10 years of planting, it is exploited, the output reaches 200 - 240 m3/ha. Forests are sold at sawn timber and laminated processed timber prices ranging from 1.8 to 2 million VND/m3, which is about 250 - 300 million VND/ha. Large timber forests have initially brought profits 3 times higher than normal forest planting. Currently, Song Hieu Agricultural Forestry Company Limited is coordinating with related sectors to carry out procedures to grant FSC certification to thousands of hectares of large timber forests.
The Lung tree is known as the "queen" of bamboo species in Vietnam, has great economic value, and is mainly distributed in the western region of Nghe An and some provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Son La, and Hoa Binh. Que Phong district is the capital of Lung trees in Nghe An. Lung trees have long internodes; white, smooth fibers, suitable for the production of high-end handicraft products for export, especially rattan and bamboo products. In Que Phong district, in July 2022, the Non-Governmental Organization granted FSC certification to 830 hectares of Lung; of which, Dong Van commune has nearly 530 hectares, Thong Thu commune has 300 hectares. According to regulations, after being granted FSC certification, Que Phong's FSC Lung products can be exported to European countries.
After the sycamore forest was granted FSC certification, hundreds of households in Dong Van and Thong Thu communes, Que Phong district were very excited because they had the opportunity to increase their income from sycamore export. Mr. Vi Van Tam's family in Pu Duoc village, Dong Van commune has 7.3 hectares of sycamore forest that has been granted FSC certification. Due to good management, the sycamore forest has grown more and more, the trees are bigger, straighter and more beautiful... Every year, Mr. Tam's family chooses sycamore trees that are 2-3 years old or older to harvest. During the exploitation process, they minimize the impact on young trees and regularly clear weeds and clean up the environment...
Mr. Bui Van Hien - Vice Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee said that before being granted FSC certificate and land allocation, people exploited incorrectly, affecting the quality of the trees, even cutting down bushes, leading to the degradation of the trees. However, after being granted land and the project was established, FSC certificate was granted, the forest was protected by the people and the procedures for forest restoration and sustainable forest exploitation were implemented. Previously, the trees were small and degraded, after the project, people were instructed to take care of them correctly, so the economic value of the trees was much higher than before.
Up to now, the project has coordinated with the government, departments, branches, and farmers in Que Phong district to establish 7 farmer production groups, with 212 member households and over 898 people. The FSC certificate will be a passport for local bamboo products to penetrate demanding markets such as Europe, the US, and Japan, bringing higher and more sustainable income to people and businesses in the bamboo industry. Achieving the FSC certificate is an effort of local authorities, businesses, and especially forest growers.
FSC certification is issued by the Forest Stewardship Council to encourage exploitation activities that go hand in hand with sustainable development of forest resources. Economically, FSC helps reduce waste from forest resources. Forest products labeled with FSC have a higher economic value of 20-30% compared to similar products.
In fact, FSC-certified acacia wood products in Nghe An are very convenient for export to the world. Mr. Tran Vo Luc - Deputy Director of Thanh Chuong Wood Production and Trading Joint Stock Company affirmed: FSC is a mandatory certificate if you want to bring acacia processed products to foreign markets for consumption. Therefore, the unit has invested in FSC wood raw material areas to seize the opportunity, initially bringing about efficiency, the pellet products are exported to demanding markets such as European countries and Japan...
In recent years, the development of production forests in Nghe An has received attention from authorities at all levels and sectors. From mechanisms, policies, and solutions that have been implemented synchronously such as planning, creating land funds for afforestation; transferring science and technology, introducing high-quality forestry varieties into afforestation, encouraging people to contract planting, care for, protect, and convert small timber forests to large timber forests; implementing afforestation according to sustainable standards... Through programs and projects, households participating in afforestation are supported with quality seedlings, technical guidance, and inspection and supervision of the afforestation process by specialized agencies. This is an extremely important advantage for implementing forest management and protection according to FSC forest certification.
The forestry restructuring project and many new policies and guidelines on forestry development have been approved by the People's Committee of Nghe An province, creating favorable conditions and a legal corridor for economic sectors to participate in investing in forestry production. The sectors participating in forestry production investment are increasingly diverse, the investment quality of forest product production and processing enterprises is increasingly high with advanced production technology, and exports require FSC certification.
Nghe An Wood Processing Factory under May Forestry Joint Stock Company has a total investment of 300 million USD. This is the largest and most modern wood panel and MDF processing project in Southeast Asia, divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 with a total investment of more than 100 million USD, includes a wood panel processing line with a capacity of 12,000m3/year and MDF fiberboard processing line with capacity of 130,000m3/year. With the advantage of using the most modern technology in Europe, the wood processing stages are completely automated from the input of raw materials to the finished product stage. By applying high technology, it is possible to utilize all parts of the trunk, branches and roots to process wood, the remaining parts such as sawdust and wood bark will be utilized as fuel to create energy. Thanks to the FSC-certified raw material area of over 1,000 hectares, the factory's products meet international quality standards and are competitive in demanding markets such as the US, Japan and EU.
To ensure a sustainable source of raw materials for the factory when it comes into operation, the People's Committee of Nghe An province has approved the planning of the raw material area of over 60,000 hectares in 6 districts in the West. Accordingly, May Forestry Joint Stock Company has proactively received over 5,000 hectares to organize systematic production, the remaining area has signed joint venture contracts with forestry units and households to invest in seeds, fertilizers, and plant protection products to organize production.
According to the report of Nghe An Forest Protection Department, the whole province currently has over 152,547 hectares of production forest, accordingly, from 2022 to now, the whole province has had 26,184 hectares of forest granted FSC certification. Of which, Quy Chau district was granted a sustainable forest management certificate for 2,886 hectares of acacia forest, Thanh Chuong district 6,200 hectares of acacia forest, Le Duy Nguyen forest planting enterprise (Hoang Mai town) 820 hectares, Yen Thanh district 1,980 hectares, Anh Son district 2,823 hectares... The forest area granted FSC certification is all covered by enterprises.
Since then, the quality and productivity of planted forests has reached an average of 18 - 20m3/ha/year (target of the plan by 2025 to reach 20 - 30m3/ha/year). The output of exploited planted forest timber in 2023 will reach more than 1.7 million m3(The target of the plan by 2025 is 2.0 - 2.2 million m)3/year). The area of large timber plantations has so far reached more than 32,000 hectares, accounting for 20% of the province's planted forests (the target of the plan by 2025 is for intensive plantations to account for 30% of the province's planted forests). The Provincial People's Committee has approved the Sustainable Forest Management Plan for the period 2022-2030 for 22/22 forest owners who are organizations, with a total forest area for which the plan has been developed of 592,000/592,000 hectares of forest managed and protected by forest owners (of which, the target by 2025 is for the area granted with sustainable forest management certificates of the province to be 50,000 hectares).
