Forest cover in Nghe An province has reached nearly 60%.
On February 28th, in Vinh City, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference to implement several related contents in the field of forestry in 2025.
Attending the conference were Mr. Nguyen Danh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; representatives from the Forest Protection Sub-Department and related units.
Forest cover rate reached 59.16%.
According to the Forest Protection and Development Fund's report, in 2024, the Fund signed 48 entrustment contracts (at hydropower production facilities, clean water production and supply facilities, and industrial production facilities) with a total revenue of over 133 billion VND. It promptly paid 144 billion VND in forest environmental service fees to local people protecting the forests. It also disbursed over 99 billion VND for reforestation, corresponding to an area of 5,350 hectares.
Regarding the implementation of payments for Emission Reduction Assistance (ERPA), in 2024, Nghe An province had over 31,000 forest owners receiving 173 billion VND from carbon credits.
Funding from the ERPA that Nghe An province has obtained from forest protection and greenhouse gas emission reduction activities has contributed additional financial resources to forest owners to carry out forest management and protection work, and support livelihoods associated with forest protection and development for local communities.
However, the disbursement of funds from ERPA is still slow, mainly due to delays in reviewing, compiling payment lists, collecting bank accounts, and related procedural documents (authorization letters) in some districts.
Also at the workshop, the Forest Protection Department reported on the updated results of forest resource changes. Currently, all 20 districts, cities, and towns in Nghe An province have completed the updating and synchronization of results to the central server. To date, Nghe An has 1,648,649 hectares of natural forest area, with 975,436.99 hectares of forested land, and a forest cover rate of 59.16%.
Accordingly, the total area of forest changes includes: planted forest area of 178,358 hectares, an increase of 6,936 hectares compared to the same period in 2023; and natural forest area of 797,078 hectares, an increase of 6,725 hectares compared to the same period in 2023. The reason for the increase in natural forest area is due to forestry activities such as forest regeneration and restoration that meet the criteria for forest establishment.
At the workshop, delegates discussed solutions regarding the use of funds for reforestation in accordance with Resolution No. 137/2024/NQ-QH15 of the National Assembly.
Addressing existing problems and obstacles.
At the conclusion of the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Danh Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, acknowledged the efforts of the forestry units and requested relevant units to implement several measures. Specifically, regarding the plan for using funds for reforestation as stipulated in Resolution No. 137/2024/NQ-QH15 of the National Assembly, the Forest Protection Sub-Department, based on Resolution No. 137/2024/NQ-QH15 and the 2017 Forestry Law, advised the Department to submit the plan for using funds for reforestation to the Provincial People's Committee before March 10, 2025.
The Forest Protection Sub-Department is tasked with inspecting and clarifying the basis for explaining the increase or decrease in area, especially for natural forest areas, in order to report the explanation and promptly announce the current forest status at the provincial level.
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The Department requests the Forest Protection Sub-Department to direct the Forest Protection Stations to prepare budget estimates and complete all necessary documents and procedures for compiling reports to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development through the Forest Protection Sub-Department for advice on allocating the remaining funds.
Regarding payments for forest environmental services, review and consolidate funds collected from users of forest environmental services but for which the recipients have not yet been identified. Advise and submit to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and decision on compensating for low unit prices in hydropower basins.
Regarding ERPA (carbon credit) payments,The Forest Protection and Development Fund is urgently advising on adjustments to the overall financial plan in accordance with Decision No. 3326/QD-BNN dated October 2, 2024, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the directives of the Provincial People's Committee.
Based on the results of the 2024 forest status report, the Forest Ranger units will review and compile a list of forest owners, including households, individuals, and local communities, as a basis for paying ERPA funds in 2025.