Bac Ninh: Improving livelihoods, raising awareness of forest protection

Timely payment to the right recipient

Payment for forest environmental services is a financial mechanism in Vietnam, in which service users such as hydropower, tourism, clean water... pay service providers (forest protectors and developers) to support families and organizations in sustainable forest protection. According to regulations, the subjects that must pay include: Hydropower, clean water, tourism, aquaculture, industry and large greenhouse gas emitters. This payment helps mobilize resources outside the state budget for forest management, protection and development, contributing to stabilizing the lives of forest workers and developing the forestry economy .

Forest rangers coordinated with the Forest Protection Team to patrol Khe Phuong natural forest, Tuan Dao commune.

The Bac Giang Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund was established in 2020, now the Bac Ninh Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund. The Fund has the function of mobilizing, receiving, managing and using financial resources for forest protection and development activities. One of the key tasks is to pay for forest environmental services to organizations, families, communities and commune-level People's Committees (also known as forest owners) assigned by the State to manage and protect forests.

To improve the Fund's operational efficiency, the Department of Agriculture and Environment advised the Provincial People's Committee to approve the area and budget for forest environmental service payments to ensure timely and correct payment to the right subjects. Mr. Tran Duc Loi, Head of the Forest Use and Development Department (Forestry Sub-Department), member of the Fund's Executive Board, said: In May 2025, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee approved payment for forest environmental services (in 2024) for more than 21,000 hectares for 5,118 forest owners, with a total amount of nearly 3.2 billion VND.

In Xuan Luong commune, more than 1,400 households participating in forest protection in the upper basin of the Thuong River have just received financial support. Mr. Hoang Van Lai, Chay village, happily shared: "My family is taking care of 10 hectares of forest. The amount of money is not large, but it is a source of encouragement for us to be more committed and responsible for forest management and protection."

Large forest owners also benefit from the policy. Of which, Cam Son Protective Forest Management Board received nearly 670 million VND, Luc Ngan Limited Liability Company with two members received more than 600 million VND, Tay Yen Tu Conservation Management Board received more than 271 million VND... This funding source helps forest owners have more conditions to cover their living expenses, purchase additional supplies and other means to serve forest care and protection. Thanks to the active contribution of forest owners, the situation of deforestation, encroachment on forest land, and illegal exploitation of forest products in the province in recent years has decreased significantly; the forest cover rate reached nearly 38%.

Review and increase revenue

According to the assessment of the Agriculture sector, payment for forest environmental services from the Forest Protection and Development Fund is a breakthrough in forestry management, from relying entirely on the budget to a socialized mechanism. Thanks to that, the responsibility of agencies and enterprises when exploiting and using forest services is enhanced.

As of May 2025, the whole province has 32 production and business establishments making payments for forest environmental services, an increase of 8 establishments compared to 2022; including 22 clean water establishments, 9 industrial production establishments and 1 hydropower facility. Total revenue to the Fund reached more than 3.6 billion VND.

In recent years, the Provincial Forest Protection Department has promoted the dissemination of forest environmental service payment policies to organizations, businesses and individuals in the province; reviewed and supplemented service users, mainly clean water production and industrial establishments. Previously, due to low Fund sources, payments were only made every 3 years, but from 2022, payments will be made periodically every year. Compared to before, the current payment level has increased by 5-10%.

According to statistics from the Provincial Forest Protection Department, as of May 2025, the whole province has 32 production and business establishments making payments for forest environmental services, an increase of 8 establishments compared to 2022; including 22 clean water establishments, 9 industrial production establishments and 1 hydropower facility. Total revenue to the Fund reached more than 3.6 billion VND. Some enterprises using water resources, making large contributions to the Fund such as: DNP Bac Giang Water Infrastructure Joint Stock Company (511 million VND), Bac Giang Clean Water Joint Stock Company (450 million VND), Saigon - Bac Giang Industrial Joint Stock Company (nearly 380 million VND), FuGiang Limited Liability Company (more than 120 million VND) ...

It is known that the old Bac Ninh area had not previously implemented forest environmental service collection. Therefore, after the administrative reorganization, Bac Ninh province established the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund; completed the executive board, management board and control board to ensure effective collection, disbursement and management activities.

According to comrade Tu Quoc Huy, Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department, Director of the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund, immediately after the organization was reorganized, the specialized departments reviewed and supplemented the list of clean water and industrial water exploitation facilities in the southern bank of the Cau River to implement the Fund collection according to regulations. This is to enhance the responsibility of organizations and individuals exploiting water, ensuring funding sources to support organizations and communities living near the forest to have more funding sources for forest protection activities. It is expected that from 2026 onwards, the fund source will increase each year due to the increase in the number of payers.

In the long term, the Provincial Forest Protection Department will continue to review and expand the types of forest environmental services that are not currently being collected, such as: Ecotourism, forest carbon absorption and storage services, aquaculture, etc. to negotiate and sign trust contracts, increasing revenue for the fund. At the same time, strengthen inspection and supervision of policy implementation and disbursement; improve forest management capacity for forest owners, contributing to the implementation of the province's sustainable forestry development strategy.

Article and photos: Mai Toan

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/bac-ninh-cai-thien-sinh-ke-nang-cao-y-thuc-bao-ve-rung-postid427977.bbg