80 years of Vietnam forestry protecting the ‘green lung’ and building prosperity

Eighty years of nation-building have also been the 80-year journey in which the forestry sector has tirelessly protected, nurtured, and developed the country’s “green lungs.” Step by step, forestry has become an increasingly important technical-economic sector, making practical contributions to socio-economic development, environmental protection, national defense and security, and enhancing Vietnam’s position in the international arena.

A historic role in the nation’s founding and defense

Immediately after independence, President Ho Chi Minh and the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam recognized the vital importance of forest resources for national development. On December 1, 1945, Decree No. 69 unified the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agencies, laying the foundation for forest management in the new Vietnam. From that point, forestry became a long-term priority, linked to the tasks of resistance, nation-building, and reconstruction.

During the two long resistance wars, forests served as strategic space, sheltering revolutionary forces, supplying materials, protecting transport routes, and providing energy and essential resources for the battlefield. The forestry administration back then developed the earliest forest policies, organized forest protection, timber harvesting, and production of forest goods for the war, while launching widespread tree-planting movements among the people. The spirit of “Forests shield our soldiers, forests encircle the enemy” affirmed the immense value of forests and symbolized the strength of great national unity.

From forest decline to the remarkable greening of bare land and barren hills - a defining achievement within 80 years of development

Vietnam’s forests once experienced a severe decline, decreasing from 14.42 million hectares in 1943 to only 8.97 million hectares in 1990. Forest cover fell to 27.2% - its lowest level in history. This posed a major challenge requiring strong political will, coherent policies, and the broad participation of society in forest restoration.

Thanks to unprecedented efforts from 1991 onward, Vietnam continuously increased forest area and forest cover through major programs such as the Bare Land and Denuded Hill Re-greening (Program 327), the Five Million Hectare Reforestation (Program 661), and the Sustainable Forestry Development (Program 886 and Program 809).

According to the 2024 national forest status report, forest area reached 14.87 million hectares, an increase of 5.41 million hectares compared with 1995. Forest cover reached 42.03%, achieving the target set by the 13th Party Congress, thereby ensuring the stability of the national ecological safety threshold.

Vietnam’s success in forest rehabilitation has received international recognition. The country ranks fifth among nations with the fastest increase in forest area and forest cover, and is among Asia’s leaders in planted forest development (FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020). This is not only an environmental achievement but clear proof of the effectiveness of modern, sustainable forestry laws and policies aligned with international integration.

At the same time, the system of special-use forests and protection forests has been gradually strengthened. To date, Vietnam has 167 special-use forests with a total area of more than 2.23 million hectares, including 35 national parks, conserving nearly 16,500 plant species and approximately 10,500 animal species. Protection forests cover 4.689 million hectares, playing a critical role in safeguarding watersheds, preventing natural disasters, reducing erosion and landslides, and mitigating climate change impacts.

A major driver of national economic growth

Forestry is not only a “green shield” but has become an increasingly important economic sector. Between 2021 and 2024, forestry’s average annual production value grew by more than 4.7%. For the 2021-2025 period, growth is estimated to reach 5.0%, meeting the target of the Sustainable Forestry Development Program.

Vietnam’s wood-processing industry has become a strategic export sector, operating along an integrated value chain from plantation forests to harvesting, processing, and commercial distribution. Between 2021 and 2024, the export value of wood and forest products averaged USD 16.2 billion per year. In 2024, it reached a record USD 17.35 billion. Riding the momentum, exports are expected to exceed USD 18 billion in 2025.

For many years, Vietnam has remained the world’s fifth-largest exporter of forest products, second in Asia, and first in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese wood products are present in more than 170 countries and territories. This achievement stems not only from the craftsmanship and innovative spirit of workers and entrepreneurs but also from the increasingly stable domestic supply of raw materials created by tireless forest growers.

From 2021 to 2024, annual harvest from concentrated plantation forests (excluding rubberwood and scattered trees) averaged 20.5 million m³, meeting nearly 80% of the processing industry’s demand. As a result, the sector consistently maintains a high trade surplus, underscoring its growing importance in agriculture and in the national trade balance.

Beyond timber, forest-based income sources have expanded, especially payments for forest environmental services (PFES) - a pioneering mechanism for mobilizing green finance. From 2011 to 2024, Vietnam’s total PFES revenue reached VND 31,086 billion, supporting the protection of more than 7.45 million hectares of forest (53.5% of the national total), and improving the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of households.

Notably, pilot revenue from forest carbon sequestration under the Emission Reduction Payment Agreement for the North Central Region reached USD 56.5 million (approximately VND 1,400 billion), laying the foundation for institutionalizing and expanding this revenue source in the future. These mechanisms have strongly encouraged the socialization of forestry and helped mobilize private investment, communities, and enterprises into forest protection and management.

By the end of 2024, 11.62 million hectares of forest had been allocated to forest owners (78.1% of the national total), including more than 1.1 million households and communities. Over 500,000 workers are employed in the wood-processing industry, and 25 million people (including around 12 million ethnic minority residents) benefit directly or indirectly from forests. Forestry has become an important driver of poverty reduction, new rural development. It contributes to the expansion of plantation wood production areas, promotes eco-tourism, develops integrated agro-forestry-fishery, and enables medicinal plant models.

A new vision and the aspiration to build a modern, green, and sustainable forestry sector in an era of national rise

Entering a new phase of development, an era in which Vietnam is rising strongly, the forestry sector is oriented around three strategic pillars:

First, continuing to protect and enhance national forest resources; maintaining forest cover at 42 - 43%; increasing forest productivity and quality; expanding large-timber forests and concentrated production forests; increasing areas with plantation codes and sustainable forest-management certification.

Second, elevating the forestry economy. By 2030, the export value of forest products is targeted to reach USD 23 - 25 billion. High-tech forestry zones and regional-scale wood-processing centers will be established. Forest environmental services will be expanded and diversified, especially carbon sequestration and storage services, along with the transfer and exchange of emission-reduction results and forest carbon credits. PFES revenue is targeted to grow by an average of 5% per year.

Third, strengthening forests’ role in climate adaptation and mitigation; enhancing biodiversity conservation and protection of forest functions; and promoting technology such as biotechnology, digital technology, AI, remote sensing, and sensors in forest resource management.

Over the past 80 years, the forestry sector has made significant contributions to national development and protection. From the war years to the periods of renovation and international integration, from forest protection and restoration to building a globally recognized wood-processing industry, Vietnam’s forestry sector has affirmed its irreplaceable role in the country’s development. With strong confidence and ambition, the sector is determined to contribute even more to building a green, prosperous, and sustainable Vietnam worthy of its independent nationhood.

On November 28, 1959, amid nationwide emulation to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh wrote the article “Tree Planting Festival,” published in Nhan Dan newspaper. “Alongside that emulation movement, we propose organizing a Tree Planting Festival. It costs little but brings enormous benefits,” he wrote. His call marked the beginning of Vietnam’s long-standing tree-planting tradition from 1960 onward. “Tree Planting Festival,” initiated by President Ho Chi Minh, received enthusiastic participation from all sectors of society and has become a cherished national tradition.

To encourage the public, officials, workers, students, armed forces, and forestry laborers to uphold this cultural value and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings on “Tree Planting Festival,” in 1995, the Prime Minister designated November 28 each year as “Vietnam Forestry Day.”