Bac Kan - The 'green lung' of Viet Bac

Natural air purifier for the whole of North

Bac Kan is a mountainous province with a large forest cover. In addition, there are significant natural lakes and the headwaters of many rivers and streams. Therefore, Bac Kan is often likened to a "green lung," a "natural air purifier" of the North and the country.

The numbers show that Bac Kan has a total natural area of nearly 486,000 hectares, but forestry land is up to 417,539 hectares, equivalent to 86%. The forest cover rate of Bac Kan in 2022 is 73.35%, which is the province with the highest forest cover in the country.

The forests of Bac Kan province have high biodiversity and are rich in natural resources, making an essential contribution to air conditioning. In particular, three special-use forests, namely Ba Be National Park, Kim Hy Nature Reserve, and Nam Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area, have rich flora and fauna systems with many rare species. Not only has ecological and landscape value for tourism development but it is also considered a center for the conservation of plant and animal genetic resources of the Northeast.

Bac Kan has Ba Be Lake, one of the world's 20 most significant natural freshwater lakes, a National Landscape located in the mountainous area of Ba Be National Park. In addition, Bac Kan is also the headwaters of 3 rivers (the Cau River, Nang River, and Pho Day River), providing a vast source of fresh water to help maintain the living environment, industrial production activities for the neighboring provinces and lowland provinces such as Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong.

The vast watershed forests and plantations of Bac Kan province are maintained with high coverage, retain water, contribute to the prevention and control of natural disasters, and limit landslides and floods in the area with the lowlands.

Forest development is the focus of Bac Kan's economy.

As mentioned above, Bac Kan is a mountainous province with 86% of the total natural area being forestry land and a forest cover of 73.35%, so forestry plays a vital role in the economic development of society. The Party Committee of Bac Kan province, from 2010 to the present, always sets the goals of forest development and forest economy, which are included in the resolution. The task in 2020 - 2025 is to ensure "the average afforestation area per year reaches 3,500 hectares (reforestation after harvesting and scattered trees), maintaining the forest coverage rate of 72.9%".

Bac Kan province also implements forest management and protection policies and regimes for forest managers. People participating in forest protection activities for natural forests get income from the central budget to support contracted natural forest protection. However, it must be admitted that the level of support is still low, with only VND 300,000 per hectare for areas I and VND 400,000 per hectare for areas II and III).

As for planted forests, this is also a strength of the province, becoming the economic development movement of the Bac Kan people, so the production of production forests in the whole region has achieved and exceeded the set plan. Income from plantation timber is increasing, with common crops such as acacia reaching VND 80-120 million/hectare and fatwood VND 120-150 million/hectare for one harvesting cycle.

With an area of more than 100,000 hectares of planted forest, the province's average timber production in recent years has always reached over 300,000 cubic meters per year, creating wood materials for about 200 forest product processing establishments, with a processing capacity of 148,000m3/year; The average export volume of wood is over 83,000 cubic meters per year, contributing to increase added value in forestry production.

Besides, the giant forest area is also an opportunity for Bac Kan province to develop and provide forest environmental services to plant precious medicinal plants under the forest canopy, formed and created eco-tourism and resort areas in the future, in line with the current development orientation of the green economy and circular economy.

Currently, over 70% of Bac Kan people live and earn income from afforestation and other economic activities from forests; The exporting plantation wood processing industry has also played a significant role in the industrial production sector of Bac Kan province in recent years and certainly in the future. Therefore, it can be said that Bac Kan province is a highland land and a "golden forest."

Protect and develop the "golden forests"

Bac Kan forests play a critical role in the life and economy of the province and the country. Therefore, Bac Kan province continues to implement drastic measures to protect natural forests, effectively enforce policies to support forest protection, and attach importance to forestry development with sustainable poverty reduction in areas with particular difficulties and ethnic minorities.

Actively attract resources to support livelihoods for people in forested areas, such as eco-tourism and growing medicinal herbs under the forest canopy, to increase people's incomes and reduce negative environmental impacts. The forest is the central and long-term solution of the province.

With more than 100,000 hectares of existing plantation forest, Bac Kan province is implementing many solutions to plan and develop concentrated wood material areas; converting small timber trading forests into extensive timber trading forests; planting indigenous trees, multi-purpose trees of high value, and step by step promoting economic development under the forest canopy (growing medicinal herbs under the forest canopy).

Simultaneously, it is encouraged to attract investment to support the association of production, processing, and consumption of planted forest wood; strengthen the development of the wood processing industry in industrial zones and clusters; attract investors to build processing plants with synchronous technology and equipment to produce products for domestic consumption and export. 

Bac Kan will also develop forms of eco-tourism based on investment in projects on the protection and development of protection forests and special-use forests. The focus is on Ba Be National Park, Nam Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area, and Kim Hy Nature Reserve, associated with the trend of finding nature, increasing the experience and responsibility for visitors, focusing on attracting investors wishing to rent forests or hire forest environmental services to implement sustainable tourism development projects.

The province is actively studying the roadmap, investment attraction plan, assessment, and implementation of forest carbon certification in Bac Kan province, which is also an essential forest environmental service in the coming time to use and exploit the value of forests sustainably, in line with the development and general orientation of our country and international standards.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Kan Province Nguyen Dang Binh proposed to the central agencies, relevant ministries, and sectors to have specific mechanisms and policies and raise the level of support for mountainous provinces with high forest cover to create a driving force for forest economic development and sustainable forest protection, improving people's living standards and socio-economic development in the area and contributing to the country's overall development.