Vietnam to collect over 100 mln USD from forest environment services in 2018
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is forecast to collect approximately 2.5
trillion VND (106.4 million USD) from payments of forest environmental services
in 2018, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan has
said.
Tuan made the statement at a conference to review the
10-year operation of the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund (VNFF),
which was jointly held by the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, the VNFF, and
the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ) in Hanoi on October 19.
Tuan said that during the reviewed period, the fund
mobilizes an average of over 1.3 trillion VND (55.3 million USD) a year from
forest environment service fees.
The money has helped to manage and protect more than 5 million
ha of forest each year, accounting for 42 percent of the total, he stated,
adding that it also makes up 16-18 percent of investment in the entire forestry
sector.
In addition, the fund also supports forestry companies to
stop exploiting natural wood and provides assistance for over 410,000
households, mainly belonging to ethnic minority groups, to help them improve
their living conditions, Tuan said.
On January 14, 2008, the Government issued a decree on the
establishment of the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund with the
aim to mobilise and receive non-budget resources to manage, protect, and
develop forested land. –VNA