Japan will extend support to Vietnam’s efforts to cope with climate change through a technical cooperation project “Study on potential forests and land related to climate change and forests”.

Representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Forestry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development signed documents for the 18-month project in Hanoi on June 11.

The study will support Vietnam in preparing basic data and information of eligible land under the Kyoto Protocol for further acceleration of afforestation and reforestation according to Clean Development Mechanism (AR-CDM). It will also work to attract financial investment from private sector for forestation projects which are now facing financial problems.

Another target is to compile information and data on potential forests for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

The study is a follow-up of a JICA-sponsored project on capacity building for AR-CDM promotion, which concluded in March 2009. The project was carried out on 320 ha of forests in the northern province of Hoa Binh./.