Ministry strives for sustainable forestry sector development
The forestry sector will work to increase its average production value to between 5.5 and 6 percent a year, forest coverage rate to 42 percent, and export value to at least 8 billion USD annually from now to 2020.
NgheAn (VNA) – The forestry sector will work to increase its averageproduction value to between 5.5 and 6 percent a year, forest coverage rate to42 percent, and export value to at least 8 billion USD annually from now to2020.
The goals were proposed at a conference to review the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development’s forest protection and development between 2011 and 2016and set out tasks for 2016-2020 held on March 17.
Asheard at the function, during the 2011-2016 period, which was set for forestryrestructuring, forestry production value grew 6.57 percent per year on average,while the rate of forest coverage inched up from 39.7 percent to 41.19 percent.
Theaverage forestry export value between 2011 and 2015 stood at 6.52 billion USDper year, more than doubling that of the previous five-year period. It hit 7.3billion USD in 2016.
Participantspointed to obstacles facing the sector during the period, such as illegallogging, timber trafficking, and ineffective implementation of forest plantingplans.
Thecontribution of the forestry sector to the national economy is still low, farfrom its potential, they added.
Theseissues had various causes, including mild penalties imposed on violations insome localities, as well as troublesome forest land planning and impracticalscientific research and technology transfer in others.
Basedon those facts, goals were set for 2016-2020, targeting the development of asustainable forestry sector, with a total budget of nearly 59.6 trillion VND(2.6 billion USD).
Addressingthe conference, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung acknowledged the sector’sachievement between 2011 and 2016 and urged the ministry to press ahead withcompleting the 2016-2020 target programme on sustainable forestry development.
Heordered the ministry and involved State agencies to tighten the management offorest land planning, mobilise capital from society in implementing the programme,and complete policies and mechanisms on forest protection and development,among other tasks.
Hestressed that efforts must be made to realise the common goals of increasedproductivity and quality, climate change adaptation, and poverty alleviation.
Theagricultural ministry took the occasion to propose that the Government arrangecapital for forest protection and expansion projects, prioritise ODA-funded forestryprojects, particularly in the Central Highlands, as well as soon approve areport on the feasibility of the sustainable forestry programme and a forestrestoration project for the Central Highlands. -VNA
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