Thanh Hoa home to over 17,000 ha of FSC-certified forests

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Thanh Hoa (VNA) - The north central province of Thanh Hoa had 17,422 hectares of forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for sustainable management by the end of April.

Its forestry coverage includes 2,370 hectares of “luong” bamboo in Quan Hoa district and 3,045 hectares of “vau” bamboo in Quang Son district, with the remainder being production forest, mostly acacia, and natural forest in Thach Thanh and Lang Chanh districts.

The international FSC certification allows forest managers and producers to ensure sustainable forestry development.

Aware of the importance of FSC certification in managing and protecting forests while enhancing forestry products in international markets, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has instructed relevant bodies and forest owners to make plans for sustainable management under FSC certification.

Experts have been invited to consult forest owners and training courses have also been conducted on planting, caring for, and exploiting forests to ensure efficiency in forest production while protecting the environment by avoiding the use of pesticides, in accordance with FSC regulations.

Wood processing enterprises have committed to pay a higher price for wood from FSC-certified forests so they will be able to process products for export to the EU.

Thanh Hoa plans to conduct study tours to the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam to learn their experience in sustainable forest management.

It will also hold a workshop to evaluate the potential of FSC certification being granted to local forests while sharing the experience of forest owners in other provinces in sustainable forest management and securing FSC certification.

More incentives will be offered to encourage forest owners to secure FSC certification, thus increasing FSC-certified forestry coverage in the province.

According to Do Van Ky from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Thanh Hoa has the largest “luong” bamboo area in the country, with over 71,053 hectares, accounting for 55.1 percent of its forestry coverage./.