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Developing mangroves forests costs 3 times more than inland

Developing mangroves forests costs 3 times more than inland

Tran Quang Bao, Deputy Director of the General Department of Forestry spoke at the Workshop "Sustainable Protection and development of coastal forests - Solutions for emissions reducton and economic development". Photo: Ba Thang.

Among forests, mangroves have the best capacity to store carbon dioxide. They can absorb four times more carbon than traditional terrestrial rainforests. However, the development of coastal forests and mangroves currently faces many difficulties even though they only account for 3% and 1% of the total national forest area, respectively.

One of the difficulties, according to Deputy Director General of the General Department of Forestry Tran Quang Bao, is the cost of afforestation. Based on estimates of localities, the cost of planting 1 hectare of protective forest on the mainland is about VND 60 million, but mangroves need up to 200 million VND or even more.

In October 2021, the Government approved the Scheme on "Protection and Development of Coastal Forests in order to respond to climate change and promote green growth in the 2021 - 2030 period". Among the goals of the scheme are: Preventing desertification and land degradation; conserving biodiversity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions; creating jobs and incomes for people in coastal areas, contributing to socio-economic development.

A corner in the mangroves in Can Gio, Ho Chi Minh city. Photo: TL.

The main solution of the scheme is to build seedling forests and nurseries to produce seedlings for afforestation in coastal areas. Some species of trees such as Avicennia marina, Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Sonneratia caseolaris, etc. have been planted by the forestry sector in many localities. However, there are still difficult problems in sustainable development of coastal forests in particular and mangroves in general.

Besides the reasons about cost, as Deputy Director General Tran Quang Bao mentioned above, there are other issues such as: Developing coastal forests is many times more risky than terrestrial forests; the land fund of coastal forests is often affected due to planning of local governments; the encroachment, deforestation, aquaculture for a living; models such as shrimp farming in mangroves in the Mekong Delta have not been able to popularize and replicate.

Despite many difficulties in the protection and development of coastal forests, Vietnam has implemented 140 projects to protect and develop coastal forests in the period from 2015 to 2020, based on the contents of Decision No. 120/QD-TTg dated 22/01/2015 of the Prime Minister. Of which, coastal forest protection is 295,164 hectares; the total afforestation area is 22,390 hectares, and plant 4 million trees.

Continuing the above success, the Scheme on "Protection and Development of Coastal Forests in order to respond to climate change and promote green growth in the 2021 - 2030 period" has set out criteria consistent with the Forest Development Strategy, National Forestry Planning, National Land Use Planning and related plannings.

This is the basis for the scheme to achieve sustainable effectiveness, harmonizing national interests with the interests of organizations and individuals involved in the management, protection and development of coastal forests, based on the commitment of the government to prioritize allocation of resources from the budget, encourage the mobilization of investment capital from international aid and support sources.

Binh Dinh people plant new mangroves. Photo: Vu Dinh Thung.

The General Department of Forestry proposed three main tasks to implement the scheme. Firstly is to continue to raise awareness for stakeholders related to coastal forests. Secondly is to build, develop and improve the value of economic models from coastal forests while ensuring livelihoods for people. Thirdly is to attract more socialization and international resources to protect and develop coastal forests.

"Through the workshop "Sustainable Protection and development of coastal forests - Solutions for emissions reducton and economic development", the forestry sector is committed to listen to and acknowledge the opinions of experts, localities and international organizations. In the immediate future, we will review and accurately determine the land fund for coastal forests, research more plant varieties suitable to the soil of each coastal area," concluded Deputy Director General Tran Quang Bao.

The Scheme on "Forest Protection and Development in Coastal Areas in order to respond to climate change and promote green growth in the 2021 - 2030 period" sets a target to plant 20,000 hectares of new forests, including 9,800 hectares of protection forests against waves and encroachment. sea (mangroves); 10,200 hectares of protective forest against wind and flying sand (on soil and sand sites). In which, in the period of 2021 - 2025, 11,000 hectares will be planted.

The Scheme on "Forest Protection and Development in Coastal Areas in order to respond to climate change and promote green growth in the 2021 - 2030 period" also aims to plant an addition of reforestation and forest enrichment of 15,000 hectares, including 6,800 hectares of protection forests to break waves and encroach on the sea (mangroves); 8,200 hectares of wind and sand-blocking protection forest (on soil and sand sites). In which, in the period of 2021 - 2025, 9,000 hectares will be additionally planted to restore forests and enrich forests.


Author: Bao Thang

Translated by Duc Thuan

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