The Mekong Delta's forestry economy: Highlighting effective models

Hon Dat district, located 300 kilometers south of Ho Chi Minh City, is one of the largest in Kieng Giang province. The region is characterized by a maze of canals and hundreds of hectares of melaleuca woodland.

People that got contract forest land under the melaleuca forest either protected the forest effectively or used the natural conditions to construct business models dependent on the forest. These models provide a high-efficiency economy, which contributes to the stabilization of people's lives under the forest canopy.

The Kien Giang forest management board said that the growth of the economy associated with forest conservation has been continuing for a long period. Since 2008, the State has lobbied for the recovery of previous contract forest areas and their re-assignment to contracts that comply with the new standard, which enables individuals to retain 40% of the income from forest products.

Additionally, the board interacts with local agricultural sectors to develop economic models that aid farmers in producing more successfully in the same forest area, increasing revenue and quality of life.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, a resident of Cay Chom village in the Linh Huynh commune of the Hon Dat district, was deemed to have incorporated over 2.7 ha. He then proceeded to fortify the shoreline by planting woods and releasing 45,000 shrimp and 9,000 crabs. He generates more than VND 100 million per year from logging mixed with a model of farming under the forest canopy.

Similarly, the local government has awarded MDF VRG Kien Giang Joint Stock Company about 4,000ha of forestry land, including 2,500ha of production forest area in Hon Dat district and 1,400ha of primary Melaleuca forest in An Minh - Kien district. Giang to exploit and cultivate trees for raw wood.

Since 2014, the production forest area in Hon Dat has been planted with Australian Melaleuca and Acacia hybrid trees, while the forest area in An Minh has been designated and protected since 2015.

Mr. Duong Tan Thanh, Deputy General Director of VRG Kien Giang MDF Wood Joint Stock Company, said that proper forest management, exploitation, and new planting, together with proper forest conservation, do not affect biodiversity. The Company places a premium on forest education.

The use of different harvesting methods, regardless of the location of exploitation, and new planting not only preserves the forest's present biosphere resources but also contributes to the maintenance of the forest's flora and wildlife. As a result, the biodiversity in the forest area managed by the Company is highly valued, as it contributes to forest conservation and aligns with the local community, the Company, and the Group's sustainable development trend.

According to Mr. Bui Thanh Liem, head of the Hon Dat District Forest Protection Department, the county has adopted several synchronous solutions; it has integrated authorized plans and initiatives to carry out a new planting. Conduct a review and establish strategies for allocating land and forest to households for management in accordance with the terms of the Forest Protection and Development Law.

Additionally, the district forest county continues to spread propaganda and mobilize citizens to maintain and manage forests. Simultaneously, improve patrol and control to discover, prevent, and harshly enforce infractions of the law.

According to the Kien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the area features a 200-kilometer-long sea levee line, which was discovered during a preliminary examination of Kien Giang province's coastal situation by GIZ. Each year, the Kien Giang project loses between 10 and 20 meters of protection forest in An Minh district owing to coastal landslides, whereas Hon Dat district loses between 20 and 50 meters of protection forest to seawater.

According to Mr. Doan Chi Tam, Deputy Director of the Kien Giang Water Resources Subdepartment, there are around 150 kilometers of coastal protection trees and mangroves along the sea levee line, totaling approximately 8,364 hectares. The province specifically allotted securities to 2,056 households. By and large, fundamental forest conservation work is successfully executed, helping to mitigate the harm caused by climate change.

"In the long run, the primary purpose of the locality is to reinforce and construct site recovery protection forests in order to safeguard the sea levee line from the effects of climate change. The establishment of coastline protection forest belts is critical for the community's socio-economic growth ", Mr. Doan Chi Tam stated.