ERPA helps protect and develop forests effectively

QTO - After nearly 3 years of piloting the transfer of emission reduction results and financial management of the North Central Region Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA), revenue from this project has become a strong driving force, helping units, forest owners, local authorities and people of Quang Tri province join hands to effectively protect and develop forests. Thanks to that, the forest cover rate in the province has now reached 61.47%.

Thanks to financial support from ERPA, the community of Ong Tu village, Dan Hoa commune has new motivation to effectively preserve natural forests - Photo: VM

Paying more than 328 billion VND to forest rangers

Quang Tri province currently has a total natural area of 1,270,000 hectares, of which the forest area is 841,224 hectares (natural forest is more than 596,000 hectares, planted forest is nearly 245,000 hectares).

According to data from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, by June 30, 2025, the total amount received from the Central Fund and bank interest reached nearly 365 billion VND. The Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund has disbursed more than 328.7 billion VND to forest owners' accounts, reaching 90.21%.

Specifically, Quang Binh province (old) disbursed more than 271 billion VND, reaching 90.78%; Quang Tri province (old) disbursed more than 57 billion VND, reaching 87.63%. This funding source has supported 11,900 households, 28 forest owners who are organizations and 93 forest owners who are commune-level People's Committees to improve the effectiveness of forest protection and development work, contributing to improving stable livelihoods.

In addition, the whole province has 127 communities assigned to manage forests that have benefited from ERPA with an amount of 8.2 billion VND; 92 communities participating in forest protection contracts have also had their financial plans approved for 2024; 160 residential communities are supported with an additional 50 million VND/community/year to carry out livelihood development activities chosen by the communities themselves, such as: Repairing community houses, installing lighting, clean water works, propaganda loudspeakers, buying livestock..., contributing to the completion of infrastructure and public works.

"The forest is well protected, so the forest ecosystem is becoming more and more diverse. Many animal species that seemed to have "disappeared" in Dong Chau forest many years ago have now reappeared with higher frequency, such as: red-shanked douc langur, mountain goat, black bear, crested pheasant... This has proven that the effectiveness of management and protection work in Dong Chau is making significant progress", Mr. Vuong Cong Thuyet, Head of Forest Protection Station No. 2 Cau Khi (under the Management Board of Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve) shared.

Improve livelihoods, enhance efficiency of forest protection and development

Mr. Ho Mong, Rum Ho village, Kim Ngan commune, excitedly said: "In the past, due to lack of stable jobs, people often went into the forest to cut down and hunt wild animals. Thanks to funding from ERPA, I and many Van Kieu people actively participated in forest patrol teams to protect more than 15 thousand hectares of special-use forests and production forests around Cau Khi area.

My wife, Ho Thi Mim, is now also supported with a cow and a homestay model to develop the household economy combined with community and ecological tourism. Thanks to that, the family economy is much better. Now, many Bru-Van Kieu people in Kim Ngan commune understand that actively joining hands to preserve the forest well is to maintain a sustainable prosperity for the village."

Director of Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve Management Board Bach Thanh Hai said that with a total forest land area of over 34 thousand hectares assigned for management, in 2023 and 2024 alone, the unit was allocated more than 10 billion VND from ERPA by the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund; and the funding for 2025 is still in the process of payment.

Thanks to the benefits from ERPA, many Bru-Van Kieu communities in Rum Ho, Mit Cat, Trung Doan, An Bai, Ha Lec, and Bach Dan villages in Kim Ngan commune have had more opportunities to improve their quality of life through coordination in receiving contracts for forest protection, forest fire prevention and fighting, wildlife protection, biodiversity conservation, and livelihood development from livestock farming, farming, community and ecological tourism, etc.

In addition, from 2023 to present, the management board has also signed seasonal contracts (3 months/time) to protect the forest with 16 people, mostly Bru-Van Kieu people, with a salary of 7-10 million VND/worker/month.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, after nearly 3 years of implementation, ERPA has contributed to significantly improving the livelihoods of thousands of households and enhancing the effectiveness of forest protection and development in the province. This funding source has helped forest owners strengthen their forest protection forces through contracts with communities living along the forest; at the same time, there is additional funding for forest development by implementing silvicultural activities, contributing to improving the quality of natural forests.

ERPA payments also create opportunities to connect communities with the government and state forestry organizations, contributing to raising awareness, management capacity, and forest protection and development for the people. In addition, from ERPA funds, many communities have additional funding to build and repair rural roads, cultural houses, lighting lines, plant and animal varieties, and small-scale projects in the community...

Civilized

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202508/erpa-tiep-suc-bao-ve-va-phat-trien-rung-hieu-qua-6d85696/