Officials from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and
northern Dien Bien province have agreed to expand their pilot forest
sustainable management project beyond selected areas given initial
encouraging achievements.
They met in Dien Bien province
on January 29 to review the progress of the five-year JICA-funded
project on Sustainable Forest Management in the Northwest Watershed Area
(Susform – Now), which was commenced in the locality in August, 2010.
The
added sites are Muong Phang commune (Dien Bien district) and Muong Muon
commune (Cha district), along with Sai Luong and Phieng Ban villages
(Dien Bien district), Hang Tro B, Na Phat A, Tia Ghenh C, Huoi Mua A
villages (Dien Bien Dong district), and Ta Leng commune and Nam Thanh
ward (Dien Bien Phu city).
Susform – Now aims to assist local
authorities of the benefited locations in protecting and extending their
watershed areas, reducing carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation
and forest degradation, increasing secure livelihood for locals while
heightening their awareness of forest protection.
The initial
outcomes showed the forest in the benefitted sites was protected and
expanded effectively and the income of engaged local residents soared.
According to the JICA Tokyo Senior Advisor and Head
of the Delegation to the review meeting, Hiro Miyazono, Susform-Now
should be combined with the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
forest Degradation (REDD) to raise its efficiency.
JICA will work with the Vietnam Administration of Forestry to co-coordinate Susform – Now in 2013.
In
the 1970s, Dien Bien province encountered severe forest
overexploitation in its watershed areas, which seriously affected the
locality’s ecosystem.-VNA