“Forestry and Trade for Development in ASEAN (FORTRADE project)” project funded by UNREDD and implemented by PEFC in Southeast Asian countries from February 2021 to October 2022. Vietnam Forest Certification Office (VFCO) is project partner and has responsible for coordinating the project’s activities in Vietnam. On 10th October 2022, within the framework of the project, VFCO organized a workshop on Promoting Sustainable Forest Management to share the outcomes and the project’s impact on promoting the development of the Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS) and sustainable forest management in Hanoi, Vietnam.

There were nearly 30 delegates attending the workshop. They are from the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNForest), Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences (VAFS), Vietnam Farmer’s Union, Vietnam Cooperative Alliance, Vietnam Forest Owner Association, Bureau of Accreditation (BoA), Certification bodies (GFA, BV, Vinacontrol), Vietnam Forestry Corporation – JSC and other stakeholders. Prof. Dr. Vo Dai Hai, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Forestry Science chaired the workshop.

At the workshop, the delegates listened to presentations: Introduction of Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme, the outcomes and impacts of the FORTRADE project, and experience in implementing forest certification in groups. The participants shared many issues to promote sustainable forest management and the Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS) such as: Increasing information and raising awareness about the VFCS, linking the development of the VFCS into the socio-economic development programs of the localities; reducing the cost of investment and certification assessment, improve the quality of forest certificates issued, associate forest certification with improving forest productivity and quality through improved varieties and silvicultural technical solutions; promoting group forest certification for large-scale groups through focal points of organizations with many members such as Vietnam Farmer’s Union, Vietnam Cooperative Alliance, Vietnam Forest Owner Association,… Besides, the participants also pointed out that it is necessary to link forest certification with market needs and the interests of farmers, especially with the participation of businesses and the support of local authorities. In addition, it is very important to improve the capacity of forest owners by compiling documents for farmers in a simple and understandable way.

VFCO