Unlocking the "carbon treasure" from forests and rice:Part 3: The "bottlenecks" that need to be overcome

In Vietnam, the development of a carbon market has been outlined in the 2020 Environmental Protection Law. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's roadmap, the domestic carbon market will be piloted starting in 2025 and gradually put into official operation in subsequent years. At that time, businesses in the high-emission group will be allocated emission quotas. If emissions are below the allocated level, businesses can sell the surplus in the form of carbon credits; conversely, if emissions exceed the quota, they must purchase additional credits from units with surplus credits or invest in emission reduction solutions to achieve Net Zero.

However, the formation of a carbon market also presents numerous challenges. One crucial requirement is the establishment of a transparent and accurate system for inventorying, measuring, and verifying emissions. This forms the basis for determining emission quotas and ensuring the reliability of carbon credits traded on the market. Furthermore, the legal framework, market operating mechanisms, and the capacity of businesses to participate still need further improvement.

If these issues are addressed, the carbon market will not only be a tool for fulfilling climate commitments but will also open up opportunities to harness the economic value of carbon-absorbing activities such as forestry and agriculture.

Despite its many positive aspects, the mechanism for paying for reduced forest emissions still has several limitations. According to forestry experts, forests with high canopy cover, high biomass, and mature trees absorb more carbon than planted or young forests. However, currently, support is mainly calculated based on average area, which does not accurately reflect the differences in forest quality.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lien, Director of Quy Hop Forestry Station, stated that the unit manages approximately 4,000 hectares of natural forest. If the emission reduction payment mechanism were fully implemented, the forestry station could receive nearly 2 billion VND annually to support forest management and protection. However, in reality, the current support level is still low compared to the needs. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Sinh, Director of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, the actual cost of protecting and caring for one hectare of natural forest is about 2 million VND per year, while the current support is only about 500,000 VND/hectare. This support is insufficient to cover the costs of patrolling, protecting, and restoring the forest, especially in areas with complex terrain.

Another shortcoming lies in the regulations regarding eligible beneficiaries. Many forest management units are tasked with organizing the implementation of emission reduction payments, but these units themselves are not entitled to receive this support because their staff already receive salaries from the state budget. Therefore, the funds are primarily disbursed to households or communities contracted to protect the forest.

In practice, this regulation has led to a situation where a portion of the funds could not be fully disbursed. By the end of 2025, nearly 25 billion VND from the emission reduction fund had to be returned because the eligible beneficiaries could not be identified according to the regulations.

Furthermore, the "no duplicate payment" regulation is becoming a barrier for many localities. According to current regulations, forest areas that have already received payments for forest environmental services from hydropower plants are not eligible for additional support from the emission reduction program. This prevents some areas with large forest areas from accessing additional financial resources to improve the livelihoods of forest-protecting communities.

Each experiment consisted of two plots: one plot using an alternating wet-dry irrigation technique and one plot cultivated using traditional methods as a control. After analyzing methane emissions from both plots, the scientists compared the emission levels. The difference represented the amount of gas reduced by the new technique. This methane was then converted to its CO₂ equivalent; the number of tons of CO₂ per hectare is also the amount of carbon credits that can be generated.

Dr. Vu Duy Hoang, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Agronomy and Deputy Director of the Ecology Center at the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, stated that there are currently many methods to measure and calculate greenhouse gas emissions and emission reductions in rice production, such as using enclosed sampling chambers, field sensors, remote sensing/satellite imagery, or modeling based on operational data and emission factors. Each method has its own advantages and limitations in terms of cost, accuracy, and scope of application. In practice, the most common method is still using enclosed chambers to collect gas samples directly in the rice fields. Samples are usually taken periodically, about once a week, and then sent to the laboratory for analysis of the concentrations of emitted gases. From the measured data along with related parameters, scientists will calculate the total emissions and convert them to CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e). According to international convention, each ton of CO₂e emission reduction is confirmed to correspond to one carbon credit.

Nevertheless, for emission sources such as industry or forestry, accurate and transparent measurement and verification of indicators are still necessary to be convincing.

Not only in the forestry sector, but also in agriculture, the process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is facing many difficulties. In particular, rice farmers – the group directly involved in emission reduction models – still have many concerns about changing their traditional farming methods. Emission-reducing rice production models such as alternating wet and dry irrigation, reduced use of chemical fertilizers, or increased mechanization have been implemented in many localities. These measures are considered to have the potential to significantly reduce methane emissions from rice fields.

However, because it is still in the pilot phase, many farmers remain hesitant to change their long-standing farming practices. A lack of information has also slowed the transition process compared to expectations.

Another barrier to implementing low-emission rice farming models is the lack of on-farm irrigation infrastructure. Alternating wet and dry irrigation methods are encouraged to reduce methane emissions; however, implementation requires flexible water management and flat fields to effectively control water flow. Meanwhile, in many localities, the canal system has not been invested in comprehensively, and in some areas, it is in disrepair. Farmers therefore find it difficult to proactively manage water supply and drainage according to technical requirements. Furthermore, the fragmentation of farmland also hinders the coordinated management of water between plots.