The People Committee of southern Binh Thuan province and the management board of the UN-REDD programme in Vietnam jointly launched its second phase in the locality on March 7.

Sponsored by the Norwegian Government, the UN-REDD (UN Collaborative Initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) programme aims to help developing countries better manage forest resources in a sustainable manner and prevent deforestation. Additionally, the programme is increasing the carbon reserves held by forests in developing countries, in line with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Binh Thuan is one of six localities that are implementing the second phase of the UN-REDD programme in Vietnam.

Mai Kieu, Director of the Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, attributed the overexploitation of adaptable and carbon-absorbing indigenous plants to the deteriorating quality of local forests.

Meanwhile, Le Van Trung from the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the first locality in Vietnam to carry out the pilot phase of the programme, shared his locality’s experience in incorporating forest protection and livelihood creation programmes, which give local residents an incentive to preserve the forest.

Binh Thuan has 371,000 hectares of forest, or half of its natural land area. It has, however, lost nearly 31,000 hectares since 2001.

Between now and 2015, the UN-REDD programme’s second phase will support locals in 16 mountainous communes with plans to use land sustainably to fit the needs of each.-VNA