Informed forestry decisions, sustainable forest management and forest certification in smallholder forests in Vietnam

Vietnam

Main sectors: Forestry and climate resilience

Target groups: Farmer organisations (2 cooperative unions and 8 cooperatives). The project directly benefits 3,000 individuals.

Partner organisations:

• Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance (TTHCA):
  A key actor in the project, responsible for mobilising the cooperatives and providing peer support to NACA. TTHCA also serves as the project’s main implementing partner.

• Nghe An Cooperative Alliance (NACA):
  Responsible for implementing project activities within TTHCA’s area in accordance with the approved annual work plans.

• Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA):
  Has a specific mandate to promote cooperation between farmer organisations and other stakeholders at the national level.

• Center for Climate Change Study in Central Vietnam (CCCSC):
  Vietnam’s coordination, monitoring, and forestry expert partner. CCCSC oversees project coordination and communication with all project partners. It provides both administrative and technical support to TTHCA and NACA.

Other partners:
Pirkanmaan Metsänhoitoyhdistys acts as the project’s mentor organisation and provides peer support to NACA and TTHCA.

Donor: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Budget: 460,625 euros

Duration: 2023–2026

Project activities and expected results (summary):

Smallholder farmers have long-term land lease contracts (up to 70 years), but limited knowledge of sustainable forest management due to the short history of private forestry. They are affected by underdeveloped forest services, insufficient planning, weak technical skills, and limited access to forestry data, investments, markets, and government environmental and climate programmes. Persons with disabilities are in a particularly vulnerable position and have few employment opportunities in rural Vietnam.

The project’s activities focus on seven desired results:

1. Farmer organisations’ technical capacity and resources to provide environmental services in forestry to their members have increased.

2. Smallholders are engaged in making climate‑smart forestry decisions.

3. Small‑scale forest owners’ interest in, and awareness of, forest certification and its requirements have increased.

4. Cooperatives have operational plans for sustainable forest management.

5. Farmer organisations have identified markets for certified forest products.

6. Shared platforms for farmer organisations have supported the development of the organisations and their inclusive services.

7. Persons with disabilities have gained a stronger position within smallholders’ forestry value chains and organisations.