Story | 05 Jul, 2018
How to increase the value of Vietnam’s forestry sector?
On a visit to Quang Tri in 2016 we asked a forest ranger where the best forest was. He said it was in remote areas too inaccessible for illegal logging or land conversion. If an area has fertile soil and is easy to access, people will turn it into farmland. When we asked a young farmer in Yen…
Story | 24 Apr, 2018
18th April 2018, Minister H.E. General Surasak Karnjanarat, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment , and Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Director General Thanya Netithammakun visited Thap Lan National Park as part of a follow-up program to check on progress…
Story | 13 Oct, 2017
After three years in Vietnam, the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), a partnership between FAO, IIED and IUCN and implemented by the Vietnam Farmer Union (VNFU), has supported the establishment of 14 smallholder collectives in Yen Bai, Bac Kan, Phu Tho, and Thai Nguyen Provinces. These collectives…
Story | 06 Jun, 2017
Saving the world’s rarest primates by involving indigenous communities
A community-based conservation programme in northeastern Viet Nam is actively involving indigenous communities in Ha Giang and Cao Bang Province to protect the habitats of two Critically Endangered primates, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) and…
Story | 21 May, 2017
Banning vs. legalise and regulate in forest management
Two years ago, on a field survey in Bac Kan Province in Viet Nam, we heard about a farmer who needed 30 stamps to get a permit to harvest a single Styrax tonkinensis tree that was growing on his land. Even though the tree was on land that was designated as plantation forest and the farmer had a…
Story | 07 Apr, 2017
COMPACT workshop: engaging local communities in world heritage stewardship
A three-day training workshop on “Engaging indigenous peoples and local communities in participatory management of protected areas and benefit sharing” took place from 28 February to 2 March 2017 at the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand. The…
Story | 27 Feb, 2017
Local communities empowered to protect nature in Viet Nam
Da Nang City, the third largest city in Viet Nam, is taking important initiatives to protect nature. Known as the most livable city in Viet Nam, Da Nang is remarkable not only for its policy to become an environmental city by 2020 but also for the fact that its local communities also take a …
Story | 19 Jan, 2017
Viet Nam’s forestry policies and business models
A new report explores the results of Viet Nam’s policies on protecting and restoring forests, with a special focus on the country’s efforts to implement sustainable forestry models.
Story | 11 Jan, 2017
It started with ten farmers sitting around a fire: a tale of a community forestry enterprise
Nearly a decade has passed since a small group of farmers gathered around a fire to lament the increasing costs of their trade, and the toll that modern practices and inputs was taking on their land. As the embers of the fire settled, they resolved to take action to improve their farms,…
Story | 12 Dec, 2016
Value we see in trees: innovation and the exchange of ideas
Innovation is a key to improving the rights and livelihoods of farmers and small land holders while encouraging them to plant trees and effectively restore landscapes. During a regional knowledge exchange in Thailand, the Tree Bank offered one such innovation.