Preparing Vietnam for new rules on international market
Preparing Vietnam for new rules on international market

Author: Pham, T.T.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2020-03-11

Total Pages: 15

ISBN-13:

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Deforestation-free production will be a requirement of the global market from now through 2030. More than 1,000 financial institutions (e.g. banks, trusts, donors) and 600 multinational companies have pledged to produce and supply zero-deforestation agricultural products, and these establishments (financial institutions and multinational companies) are developing a process of testing, screening and certification for service providers and countries that produce or export agroforestry products. The governments of European countries, the Americas and Australia are also aggressively building a legal framework to monitor and verify that imported goods have not resulted in deforestation or forest degradation.In Vietnam, 92 domestic and foreign companies from 21 fields and industries have signed commitments to achieve zero deforestation by 2020. These industries include: fashion (apparel and footwear); agriculture; cosmetics and personal care; food and agriculture; retail chains; home construction (furniture and flooring, and renovation supplies); consumer goods; paper and packaging; printing and publishing; and automotive industry (rubber, automobile manufacturing). These companies contribute greatly to the national GDP and local economic development, and are major buyers of agricultural products including coffee, wood, soybeans and poultry.However, businesses in Vietnam are not prepared to adapt the supply chain of agroforestry products to this trend; they require knowledge and skills to face the new market requirements. Without further research and long-term planning, Vietnam's agroforestry products industry is at risk of losing market share to fierce international competition, leading to enormous economic losses for the country.The government needs to develop a legal framework to support and monitor companies that meet deforestation-free commitments, while building the capacity of stakeholders to respond to the requirements of new markets, in order to ensure a solid position for agroforestry products and their sustainable contribution to the national economy over the next 30 years.

Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy
Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy

Author: Trieu, V.H.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2020-12-18

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13: 6023871461

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The Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy (VFDS) is one of the country’s most important plans for the forestry sector. The strategic directions, objectives and solutions within it differ from time to time, depending on the political goals and perspectives of the moment, as well as the role that the forestry sector plays in Vietnam’s overall socio-economic development. Regardless of such changes, inheriting lessons learned, developing the next strategy off the back of the experience gained from solving previous challenges, and taking advantage of opportunities, are always the top priorities of the Government of Vietnam. This report is the result of a collaboration between the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST); it is intended to provide VNFOREST with input as they develop the new strategy. Based on secondary document research and stakeholder interviews, the report reviews achievements and challenges in the implementation of VFDS 2006–2020, as well as provides recommendations for policy makers to consider in the process of developing the new strategy. Research results show that, by 2020, Vietnam had exceeded a number of the goals set out in VFDS 2006–2020, including: (i) accelerating the growth of production value in the sector; (ii) increasing the export value of wood and forest products; (iii) increasing domestic wood production; and (iv) planting protection forest (PTF) and special-use forests (SUF). However, the forestry sector still faces many challenges when it comes to other key performance indicators, such as: (i) increasing the area of production forests (PDF) with certification of sustainable forest management (SFM); (ii) increasing large-diameter timber production; (iii) increasing revenue for forest environmental services (FES); (iv) securing forest and forest land for the purposes of allocation and leases; (v) reducing the number of poor households in forestry areas; and (vi) increasing the rate at which forestry workers are trained. Although some anticipated targets were not achieved, others were exceeded, for example: forest cover; reforestation after logging; reduction of forest protection violations; and scattered tree planting. That these goals were achieved or exceeded is the result of strong political commitment, policies trend-matching the market, improvements in central and local management capacity, the active support of international donors, and the involvement of civil society and the private sector. That some targets were not achieved is due to the challenges of implementing policy effectively, efficiently and equitably at grassroots level, lack of resources and funding, and some ambitious goals and targets not being realistic in the current economic, political and market contexts. Addressing these challenges requires a new approach and more effective economic, social and technical solutions. Development of VFDS 2021–2030 and the 2050 vision needs to consider the implementation achievements and challenges of the previous policy, as well as how to align with global trends, and balance these with the current political, economic and social development context in Vietnam. The direction of the new strategy must also be considered in the context of international requirements, to facilitate the mobilization of domestic and foreign financial resources to help modernize the industry, as well as enhance the forestry sector’s role and value in terms of poverty reduction, sustainable economic development and ensuring sustainable forest ecosystems.

The context of REDD+ in Vietnam
The context of REDD+ in Vietnam

Author: Pham, T.T.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2019-09-23

Total Pages: 59

ISBN-13: 6023871216

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Vietnam is acknowledged to be REDD+ pioneer country, having adopted REDD+ in 2009. This paper is an updated version of Vietnam’s REDD+ Country Profile which was first published by CIFOR in 2012. Our findings show that forest cover has increased since 2012, but enhancing, or even maintaining, forest quality remains a challenge. Drivers of deforestation and degradation in Vietnam, including legal and illegal logging, conversion of forest for national development goals and commercial agriculture, weak law enforcement and weak governance, have persisted since 2012 up to 2017. However, with strong political commitment, the government has made significant progress in addressing major drivers, such as the expansion of hydropower plants and rubber plantations.Since 2012, Vietnam has also signed important international treaties and agreements on trade, such as Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) through the European Union’s (EU) Forest Law Enforcement. These new policies have enhanced the role of the forestry sector within the overall national economy and provided a strong legal framework and incentives for forestuser groups and government agencies to take part in forest protection and development. Nevertheless, new market rules and international trade patterns also pose significant challenges for Vietnam, where the domestic forestry sector is characterized by state-owned companies and a large number of domestic firms that struggle to comply with these new rules.The climate change policies, national REDD+ strategy and REDD+ institutional setting has been refined and revised over time. However, uncertain and complex international requirements on REDD+ and limited funding have weakened the government’s interest in and political commitment to REDD+. REDD+ policies in Vietnam have shown significant progress in terms of its monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, forest reference emission levels (FREL), and performance-based and benefit-sharing mechanisms by taking into account lessons learnt from its national Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) Scheme. Evidence also shows increasing efforts of government and international communities to ground forestry policies in a participatory decision-making processes and the progress on developing safeguarding policies in Vietnam between 2012 and 2017 affirms the government’s interest in pursuing an equitable REDD+ implementation. Policy documents have fully recognized the need to give civil society organizations (CSOs) and ethnic groups political space and include them in decision making. Yet, participation remains token. Government provision for tenure security and carbon rights for local households are still being developed, with little progress since 2012.The effectiveness of REDD+ policies in addressing drivers of deforestation and degradation has not be proven, even though the revised NRAP has recently been approved. However, the fact that drivers of deforestation and degradation are outside of the forestry sector and have a strong link to national economic development goals points to an uneasy pathway for REDD+. The business case for REDD+ in Vietnam has not been proven, due to an uncertain carbon market, increasing requirements from donors and developed countries, and high transaction and implementation costs. Current efforts toward 3Es outcomes of REDD+ could be enhanced by stronger political commitment to addressing the drivers of deforestation from all sectors, broader changes in policy framework that create both incentives and disincentives for avoiding deforestation and degradation, cross-sectoral collaboration, and committed funding from both the government and developed countries.

Skilling Up Vietnam
Skilling Up Vietnam

Author: Christian Bodewig

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2014-07-02

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1464802319

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The demand for workforce skills is changing in Vietnam’s dynamic economy. In addition to job-specific skills, Vietnamese employers value cognitive skills, like problem solving, and behavioral skills, like team work. This book presents an agenda of change for Vietnam’s education system to prepare workers to succeed in Vietnam’s modernizing economy.

Vietnam's Transforming Economy & WTO Accession
Vietnam's Transforming Economy & WTO Accession

Author: Kym Anderson

Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 981230049X

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The unilateral and regional ASEAN and now APEC) trade and investment liberalizations pursued by Vietnam during recent years have begun transforming the economy. The next logical step is to join the World Trade Organization, an application for which was submitted in 1995. The WTO legal bindings will give traders and investors increased confidence in the reform programme. This book outlines what the WTO accession process involves, what policies Vietnam will have to change, and what the economic effects will be, particularly on rural development.