The Mekong Delta coastal province of Tra Vinh has planted significantly more hectares of mangrove forest in a bid to recover its protective forest to adapt to climate change.

The province’s mangrove forest is home to several fauna and flora species. It creates a “green” wall to protect local people living in coastal areas.

According to the provincial Department of Forest Management, Tra Vinh used to have 43,000 ha of mangrove forest in the 1940s. In the 1980-1992 period alone, the province saw a loss of almost 7,000 ha of this because local people cleared the forest to plant coconut palm and farm shrimp.

The mangrove forest’s biodiversity is considered a valuable resource in the locality. It helps stabilise economic development and reduce environmental pollution. Therefore, protection and development of the forest in coastal areas is an urgent step in the mission to adapt to climate change.

Tra Vinh has been making every effort to recover and protect the existing protective forest area in the locality. Many local households have also poured money into conserving and recovering the areas of forest that they own.

The province has recently planted an additional 130 ha of protective forest along its riverside and seashore, increasing the locality’s total area of mangrove forest to almost 7,850 ha.

The provincial People’ Committee assigned the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to work with consultancies to set up projects to preserve and develop protective forests in the 2014-2018 period.

The projects will be implemented with a total investment of 122.8 billion VND (5.77 million USD), of which 89 percent will be provide by the State, with the remainder sourced from the local budget.

The money will be used to develop 37,211 ha of protective forest in the three districts of Chau Thanh, Cau Ngang and Duyen Hai, while preserving the 650 ha of mangrove forest in Long Khanh commune, which is now shelter for a great number of animals and plants.-VNA