Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Binh Thuan (VNA) – The south central coastal province ofBinh Thuan is implementing the United Nations’ “Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and Forest Degradation” (UN-REDD) project funded by the NorwegianGovernment in 41 communes of seven districts.
The projectis expected to bring other benefits to the province such as reducing povertyreduction, restructuring the forestry sector, and conserving biodiversity, hearda conference held on December 27 by theprovincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In 2014, Binh Thuan was one of the six provinces nationwide selected tocarry out the second phrase of the programme. The province now has morethan 350,000 hectares of forest land, accounting for half of its naturalarea.
Implementing the national programme on reducing greenhouse gas emissionsby limiting forest loss and degradation and the UN programme on conservation,sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks indeveloping countries (REDD ), Binh Thuan has focused on main components,including forest protection and restoration activities.
So far, the province has protected 153,000 hectares of forests and grown9,400 hectares of new forests.
The REDD programme has helped reduce the encroachment of forest landfor agricultural production and increase forest coverage, especially on sandysoil that has high risk of desertification.
To increase the forest coverage to 43 percent in 2020 from 41.6 percentin 2015, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development willcontinue raising public awareness of forest protection and drawing investmentin building sustainable livelihood models.
In addition to developing material forest areasand wood processing plants, the province will pay attention to new forestprotection and development, and biodiversity conservation.-VNA
VNA
