Forest environmental services policy changes the lives of northwestern people
Forty-one of the country’s 63 provinces have established a forest-protection and development fund to look after nearly 6 million hectares of trees, according to report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The policy was first introduced in Việt Nam in 2008, requiring hydro-power plants, water-supply companies and environmental tourism firms using the forests to pay fees for services to provincial forest-protection and development funds.
Every year, more than 43,000 forest owners (accounting for more than 40 percent of the total forest owners in the country) benefit from forest environmental services and other benefits from forests.
