Workers process timber at a factory of the Truong Son Industrial Wood JSC in Thanh Hoa province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s signing ofthe Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary PartnershipAgreement (FLEGT-VPA) with the European Union (EU) will help the country boostwood product exports to not only the EU but also many other markets, accordingto an official.
The remark was made by Nguyen Tuong Van, DeputyDirector of the department for science-technology and international cooperationunder the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, at a seminar in Hanoi on October31.
Vietnam and the EU signed the FLEGT-VPA inBrussels, Belgium, on October 19.
Van noted the main markets of Vietnamese woodproducts are the EU, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and Australia.All of them bar China have compulsory regulations on timber legality.
When Vietnam negotiated the deal, the US andmany other countries had high hopes it would commit to building a legally-controlledwood market, she added.
To help the FLEGT-VPA prove effectiveimmediately after it takes effect, Vietnam has created mechanisms and policiesin conformity with the pact, according to Deputy Director General of theVietnam Administration of Forestry Pham Van Dien.
Notably, the Forestry Law, which will come intoeffect on January 1, 2019, includes commitments under the FLEGT-VPA, he said,adding the country is completing more policies and documents institutionalisingthe deal.
Trieu Dang Khoa, deputy head of the forestmanagement division in Tuyen Quang province, said locals and businesses have encountereddifficulties in exporting wood without certificates. Therefore, the provincehas developed wood material zones meeting Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)standards.
Tuyen Quang has 19,700ha of forests with FSCcertificates so far. It is striving to have another 4,500 – 5,000ha certifiedin 2019.
He said by planting forests with FSCcertificates, local residents’ awareness has improved and they have bettercomplied with regulations on forest production. While workers’ rights have beenensured, forest management has also been promoted.
Notably, wood products hailing from certifiedforests up to 30 percent more value than those from forests without FSCcertificates. This encourages residents in forest planting and protection, Khoanoted.
Meanwhile, central Quang Tri province ranksfirst in the country with more than 25,000ha of certified forests.
Ha Sy Dong, member of the National Assembly’sCommittee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs and deputy head of the NAdeputies’ delegation of Quang Tri, said, “the most effective way to protect forestsis to help locals realise they can benefit from forests.”
Another measure to promote proper productionpractices is encouraging consumers to use wood products with legal origins,said Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood IndustryAssociation Huynh Van Hanh.
The country earned more than 7.61 billion USD from exports offorestry products between January and October, 84 percent of the yearly target.Timber and wood products contributed 7.23 billion USD to the revenue.
Vietnam is one of the world’s leading wood processing andexporting countries with an export turnover of 8 billion USD in 2017. Thefigure is expected to hit 9 billion USD this year.
The nation sets a target of 20 billion USD in wood exports by 2025.-VNA
VNA
