The People Committee of southern Binh Thuan province and the managementboard of the UN-REDD programme in Vietnam jointly launched its secondphase in the locality on March 7.

Sponsored by theNorwegian Government, the UN-REDD (UN Collaborative Initiative onReducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) programmeaims to help developing countries better manage forest resources in asustainable manner and prevent deforestation. Additionally, theprogramme is increasing the carbon reserves held by forests indeveloping countries, in line with the UN Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC).

Binh Thuan is one of six localities that are implementing the second phase of the UN-REDD programme in Vietnam.

Mai Kieu, Director of the Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture andRural Development, attributed the overexploitation of adaptable andcarbon-absorbing indigenous plants to the deteriorating quality of localforests.

Meanwhile, Le Van Trung from theCentral Highlands province of Lam Dong, the first locality in Vietnam tocarry out the pilot phase of the programme, shared his locality’sexperience in incorporating forest protection and livelihood creationprogrammes, which give local residents an incentive to preserve theforest.

Binh Thuan has 371,000 hectares of forest,or half of its natural land area. It has, however, lost nearly 31,000hectares since 2001.

Between now and 2015, theUN-REDD programme’s second phase will support locals in 16 mountainouscommunes with plans to use land sustainably to fit the needs of each.-VNA