A significant step forward in expanding carbon finance
At the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh committed that Viet Nam would strive to achieve Net Zero by 2050. Following this commitment, the Government and relevant ministries and sectors issued a series of policy directives, instructing provinces and cities to focus on developing detailed action plans to effectively implement emission reduction solutions in priority sectors such as agriculture, energy, industry, transport, waste management, forestry, and land use.
ERPA has delivered, and continues to deliver, positive impacts on forest protection and development. Photo: Thanh Nga.
Pioneering efforts have been seen in the forestry sector, with the North Central Region Emission Reductions Agreement for the 2018 - 2024 period, signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) and the World Bank (WB) in February 2022. Based on this agreement, Ha Tinh province has received disbursements of more than VND 158 billion from the Viet Nam Forest Protection and Development Fund.
Based on advisory inputs from the provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund, the Ha Tinh Provincial People’s Committee issued decisions approving financial plans for 2023, 2024, and 2025. By the end of November 2025, the area of natural forest receiving payments under the 2023 financial plan exceeded 201,700 hectares; in 2024, more than 199,100 hectares; and in 2025, over 198,100 hectares.
Payments to beneficiaries amounted to more than VND 34.5 billion in 2023; nearly VND 43 billion in 2024; and more than VND 46.2 billion in 2025.
According to leaders of the Ha Tinh Forest Protection and Development Fund, to ensure timely, effective, and accurate payments to beneficiaries, the provincial Fund has coordinated with the Department of Finance, the Department of Agriculture and Environment, and the Forest Protection Sub-department to regularly enhance capacity through training courses, as well as organize inspection missions to guide, urge, and supervise forest owners and beneficiary communities in implementing the approved ERPA activities.
ERPA programme represents a significant step forward in expanding carbon finance models. Photo: Thanh Nga.
ERPA has delivered and continues to deliver positive impacts on forest protection and development in Ha Tinh. As of 27 November 2025, violations of forestry regulations in the province have shown a downward trend compared with the same period of the previous year, with all incidents detected, prevented, and handled in a timely and effective manner. Notably, by protecting more than 217,000 hectares of natural forest, the ERPA programme has made a direct and effective contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Government’s orientation.
In the initial phase, Ha Tinh province reviewed and approved 32 residential communities across 11 communes to participate in forest management activities, with six organizational forest owners receiving livelihood development support from ERPA funds. These activities were concentrated in the communes of Son Hong, Son Kim 1, Son Kim 2, Son Tay, Son Giang, Huong Xuan, Phuc Trach, Huong Khe, Huong Do, Ky Thuong, and Thach Xuan.
Communities participate in forest protection agreements
In the closing days of 2025, Chuc A Forestry and Services One-Member Limited Liability Company is mobilizing its workforce to urge villages to prepare the necessary conditions so that, once the provincial People’s Committee approves the budget estimates, construction of public works serving the livelihoods of people living near forests can promptly begin.
Ha Tinh approved 32 residential communities to participate in forest management, with six organizational forest owners. Photo: Thanh Nga.
Currently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the Ha Tinh Forest Protection and Development Fund are directing organizational forest owners to continue reviewing residential communities participating in forest protection agreements, ensuring they meet the conditions for ERPA payments in accordance with current regulations.
According to Mr. Vo Van Tien, Chairman of the Members’ Council of the Company, communities participating in forest protection in the former Huong Khe district face significant hardships, with shortages in electricity, transport infrastructure, and clean water systems. Therefore, when benefiting from ERPA funds, local people are very pleased.
“After holding community meetings and gathering opinions, with a payment of VND 50 million per community, Ban Giang and Ban Giang II villages developed plans to install street lighting and clean water supply systems; Dap Tran village repaired its communal house; and Hop Thanh village chose to repair bridges and culverts. Some projects had budgets exceeding the support funds, but local residents agreed to contribute additional labor and resources to ensure construction quality, meeting practical needs while jointly building new rural areas,” Mr. Tien shared.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, a resident of Ban Giang II village, owns two hectares of production forest land adjacent to natural forest managed and protected by Chuc A Forestry and Services Company. For many years, her family has closely cooperated with the company in forest protection and forest fire prevention. Recently, upon learning that Ban Giang II village received ERPA funding support to install a water pipeline from a nearby stream for daily use, she expressed great joy.
The Management Board of Ke Go Nature Reserve is in a “final push” to accelerate the implementation of silvicultural measures. Photo: Thanh Nga.
“There has never been a clean water project here. Until now, we have been using dug well water for daily use, but the supply is limited and located near livestock facilities, so it is not hygienic. Bringing spring water from the mountains for use will be much better for our health,” said Ms. Huong.
Accelerating silvicultural measures
For the Management Board of Ke Go Nature Reserve, the unit is in a “final push” phase, simultaneously completing design documents and cost estimates for natural forest enrichment using 2023 and 2024 funds for submission to the Department of Agriculture and Environment for appraisal, while guiding local communities in Phuc Lap village (Ky Thuong commune) and Tan Son village (Thach Xuan commune) to prepare steps for disbursing payments for the construction of street lighting.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of the Ke Go Nature Reserve Management Board, shared that the technical team is conducting on-site assessments and preparing design documents for natural forest tending and enrichment using 2025 funds to submit for departmental appraisal.
Ha Tinh has proposed continuing to use ERPA funds to carry out activities until the completion of the full silvicultural cycle. Photo: Thanh Nga.
“In the short term, we will focus on using the 2023 - 2024 payments to enrich over 114 hectares of natural forest in Cam Lac commune, aiming to restore and upgrade degraded forests, strengthen their protective functions, improve the structure and diversity of economically valuable timber species, enhance the efficiency of forestry land use, and create jobs and increase incomes for organizations and households participating in forest management, protection, and development,” Mr. Dung emphasized.
Overall, after nearly three years of implementing the ERPA Agreement, the financial resources generated by the programme for the forestry sector have been substantial. However, as the programme is still in its pilot phase, the implementation of Decree No. 107/2022/ND-CP has encountered certain challenges that will need to be addressed going forward.
In addition, the implementation cycle for forest enrichment and tending measures typically requires five to six years, whereas the pilot period only runs from 2023 to 2025, creating challenges in financial planning and disbursement.
* 1$ = 26.093 VND (source: Vietcombank, 23 Dec 2025).
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