Vietnam earned 58 million USD from the collection of payments foreco system service (PES) schemes in 2012, the equivalent to the Statebudget allocation for the forestry sector.
Vice Minister ofAgriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan praised the news of theincome. "This is an encouraging figure given that this scheme was put inplace on a wide scale just a year ago. It has been proved that PES is agood scheme to raise funds for forest protection," he said in abriefing to foreign partners reviewing the sector's performance at theannual meeting of the Forest Sector Support Partnership held in Hanoion January 31.
In 2012, PES was collected from hydro-electricplants and water supply plants. The agriculture ministry is working onother potential sources including eco-tourism.
Some other keyfigures for the forestry sector have also been revealed. The exportrevenue of the timber processing industry last year was 4.6 billion USD,a 17 percent increase from 2011's figure.
Forest coverageincreased from 33.2 percent in 2009 to 39.7 percent last year, which wasclose to the 40 percent target.
Last year also saw aremarkable increase in official development assistance (ODA) fundingchanneled into the sector. There were eight projects whose totalfinancing was worth 117 million USD compared to about 29 million USD in2011.
Deputy Director General of the ministry's ForestryDepartment Vo Dai Hai said the sector will have to adjust itself tochanges in the international market that may affect Vietnam 'sexport-based timber processing industry.
In the meantime, thefocus is to ensure Vietnamese timber products meet the requirements ofimport markets, such as the European Union's Forest Law Enforcement andGovernance regulations and the United States ' Lacey Act, which banthe import of any wood products made from illegally harvested timber.
Hai said Vietnam would need international assistance to ensure this is achieved.
The meeting was held by the ministry in co-operation with JapanInternational Cooperation Agency and German Agency for InternationalCooperation.-VNA
Vice Minister ofAgriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan praised the news of theincome. "This is an encouraging figure given that this scheme was put inplace on a wide scale just a year ago. It has been proved that PES is agood scheme to raise funds for forest protection," he said in abriefing to foreign partners reviewing the sector's performance at theannual meeting of the Forest Sector Support Partnership held in Hanoion January 31.
In 2012, PES was collected from hydro-electricplants and water supply plants. The agriculture ministry is working onother potential sources including eco-tourism.
Some other keyfigures for the forestry sector have also been revealed. The exportrevenue of the timber processing industry last year was 4.6 billion USD,a 17 percent increase from 2011's figure.
Forest coverageincreased from 33.2 percent in 2009 to 39.7 percent last year, which wasclose to the 40 percent target.
Last year also saw aremarkable increase in official development assistance (ODA) fundingchanneled into the sector. There were eight projects whose totalfinancing was worth 117 million USD compared to about 29 million USD in2011.
Deputy Director General of the ministry's ForestryDepartment Vo Dai Hai said the sector will have to adjust itself tochanges in the international market that may affect Vietnam 'sexport-based timber processing industry.
In the meantime, thefocus is to ensure Vietnamese timber products meet the requirements ofimport markets, such as the European Union's Forest Law Enforcement andGovernance regulations and the United States ' Lacey Act, which banthe import of any wood products made from illegally harvested timber.
Hai said Vietnam would need international assistance to ensure this is achieved.
The meeting was held by the ministry in co-operation with JapanInternational Cooperation Agency and German Agency for InternationalCooperation.-VNA
