On June 9, 2022, the Vietnam Forest Certification Office (VFCO) participated in the Conference “Policy implementation, investment promotion for sustainable forest development and a preliminary review of 10 years of implementation of the Payment for Forest Environment Services in Thanh Hoa province”. The conference was organized by the Thanh Hoa Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund in collaboration with the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project (VFBC) in Sam Son city, Thanh Hoa province.
More than 200 delegates have participated in the conference, including leaders of Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee, leaders of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, departments under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; provincial Divisions of Agriculture and Rural Development, Forestry Project Management Boards, domestic and international enterprises, corporations, BV certification body, provincial forest protection and development funds; research institutions; international NGOs, experts and media.
The conference addressed major issues of the industry, including investment promotion policies, implementation of the VPA/FLEGT agreement and development of forest carbon services, and implementation of forest certification through the Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS), application of technological advances in varieties and silviculture to increase productivity, quality and sustainable management of production plantations, development of the wood processing industry, potential financial sources investment in sustainable forestry development.
At the Conference, VFCO introduced the Vietnam Forest Certification Schem (VFCS) and discussed with stakeholders, especially businesses, forest owners, and management agencies to promote the implementation. sustainable forest management. Forest certification according to VFCS/PEFC is an objective and inevitable trend in order to ensure that forests are managed sustainably, in which the most important issues is to improve productivity, quality, and ensure legal timber origin to meet national policy requirements and market requirements in terms of economic, social and environmental aspects. The interest of the delegates at the Conference showed that the perception of sustainable forest development has changed significantly and is receiving the attention of management agencies, domestic and foreign businesses and other stakeholders. The delegates also emphasized the interest in developing forest environmental services, especially services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and absorb forest carbon.
As the implementing agency of the VFCS, VFCO is working to develop standards and guidelines for the assessment and certification of forest carbon sequestration and emission reduction services and other ecosystem services. This is an important basis for creating financial incentives to promote and ensure forests are managed sustainably, making an important contribution to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and sustainable development at local and national level.
