On a summer morning when the heat scorches the lowlands like poured fire, the air beneath the deep green forest canopy along the border communes of Son Hong and Son Kim II in Ha Tinh province is remarkably cool and fresh. Among that stillness, trees of cong, dẻ, lim xanh, and other native species are growing taller with each passing day. Few people realize that behind the quiet beauty of these ancient forests lies a long journey of recovering land that was once heavily degraded. And fewer still imagine that each tree growing here is not only painting the mountains green but also performing a singular mission: absorbing and storing carbon, a resource that has come to be called the "green gold" of the 21st-century climate economy.
In an era when climate change poses an existential challenge to the planet, the natural forests of the former Huong Son district are no longer merely timber resources. They are becoming large-scale carbon sinks, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting biodiversity, sustaining the livelihoods of local communities, and contributing directly to Viet Nam's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Viet Nam's national climate change strategy, approved under Decision 896/QD-TTg in July 2022, sets a target of maintaining forest cover at 42 percent of national territory by 2030 and 43 percent in the longer term, with forests expected to contribute a total sink capacity of up to 95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually by mid-century.
That journey is being realized day by day by the forestry workers of Huong Son Forestry and Services Company Limited, the enterprise currently managing nearly 20,000 hectares of forest and forestry land along the western border of Ha Tinh province.
For many decades, large swaths of natural forest in Huong Son were subjected to uncontrolled, large-scale logging. The removal of mature trees left vast ecological voids. After the logging, many areas were left with only shrubs, vines, and slowly regenerating saplings. This was the common condition of natural forests impoverished by years of human pressure. Left to recover on their own, ecosystem regeneration could take decades, even centuries.
Rather than waiting for slow natural recovery, Huong Son Forestry and Services Company Limited, referred to here as Huong Son Forestry Company, chose a more proactive path: investing in forest enrichment and restoration through science-based silvicultural techniques.
In sub-zones 2, 3, and 12 of Son Hong commune, more than 100 hectares of cong and dẻ forest are being managed with a focus on quality improvement. Tasks that may appear straightforward – clearing vines, removing non-target species, reducing competition for light, and creating nutritional space for dominant trees – have produced visible results. Areas that were once classified as poor-quality forests are gradually transitioning to medium-quality forests and progressing toward rich-quality forests. Trees with trunk diameters of 50 to 60 centimeters are appearing with increasing frequency. Tree heights have reached 17 to 20 meters, and timber volume has risen to around 200 cubic meters per hectare, reflecting a robust ecosystem recovery. But the greatest value of this process lies not in timber volume alone; what matters most is the forest's growing capacity to absorb carbon.
As the world intensifies its push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, forest carbon is increasingly recognized as one of the most effective and cost-efficient tools for combating climate change. Through photosynthesis, trees absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere, convert it into biomass, and store carbon in trunks, branches, leaves, roots, and forest soils. The greater the accumulated biomass, the larger the volume of carbon stored.
According to current assessments, the forests under Huong Son Forestry Company's management hold approximately 1.11 million tonnes of above-ground biomass carbon, equivalent, by international standards, to around 4.09 million tonnes of CO₂ absorbed and locked within the forest ecosystem. This represents an enormous carbon asset. The figure takes on added significance in the context of the company's FSC certification: the Forest Stewardship Council has independently recognized that Huong Son's 20,000-hectare certified forest area successfully sequestered 727,425 tonnes of CO₂ between 2015 and 2020 alone, a track record that has drawn attention from international conservation and climate finance partners.
To put the overall carbon storage figure in perspective, the volume of CO₂ is equivalent to the emissions produced by millions of vehicles over many years of operation. Should these forests deteriorate or disappear, vast amounts of carbon would be released back into the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect and accelerating climate change. For this reason, climate scientists often refer to forests as "natural carbon banks."
Tran Trung Anh, Deputy Director of Huong Son Forestry Company, said the enterprise has set a clear long-term goal: not merely to maintain the existing forest area, but to improve forest quality to increase carbon absorption capacity.
"If the average annual growth rate of natural forest is around 2.6 percent, applying the right silvicultural measures can push that figure above 3 percent," Tran Trung Anh said.
The difference may seem modest at first glance, but across tens of thousands of hectares of forest, it translates into tens of thousands of additional tonnes of carbon absorbed each year, a substantive and enduring contribution to Viet Nam's Net Zero objective.
In recent years, the concept of Net Zero has moved from international forums into national development strategy, with greenhouse gas emission reduction now among the country's foremost priorities. Yet alongside the energy transition and the development of green technologies, forests remain a natural solution of singular importance. At Huong Son Forestry Company, this is being demonstrated clearly through its natural forest enrichment programs.
In 2025, the company launched a forest enrichment project covering 76.6 hectares in Plot 8, Sub-zone 5 of Son Hong commune. The work was carried out under the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) for the North Central region between Viet Nam and the World Bank. The ERPA, signed in October 2020 between the Vietnamese government and the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), covers 2.9 million hectares of natural forest across six North Central provinces, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue, and commits to reducing 10.3 million tonnes of CO₂ over a six-year period in exchange for USD 51.5 million. Viet Nam not only met but significantly exceeded that target: during the first reporting period from 2018 to 2019 alone, independently verified emission reductions reached 16.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, 5.9 million tonnes above the contracted amount. In March 2024, Viet Nam received the full USD 51.5 million payment, becoming the first country in the East Asia Pacific region to receive a results-based payment from the FCPF, and the largest single such payment in the facility's global history. The program serves as a foundation for helping the country fulfill its 2050 Net Zero commitment ahead of schedule.
The ERPA program has generated tangible socio-economic impacts, directly supporting more than 77,700 households and nearly 2,000 communities engaged in forest protection activities, including over 40,000 ethnic minority beneficiaries. Revenue from forest carbon payments has been channeled into rural infrastructure, improving living standards and deepening community ownership of forest resources.
The project area in Huong Son was previously classified as poor-quality forest, with a timber volume of only around 17.41 cubic meters per hectare, low canopy cover, and limited potential for biomass accumulation. To improve forest quality, nearly 32,000 lim xanh seedlings were planted.
Nguyen Huu Phuoc, Deputy Head of the Forestry Division, explained that the choice of lim xanh was deliberate. The species is a large-statured native hardwood with a long lifespan, well-suited to local ecological conditions, and capable of outstanding carbon accumulation. At maturity, lim xanh produces substantial biomass, meaning it stores significant quantities of carbon over very long periods.
"Our forest enrichment process follows an environmentally friendly approach. Undergrowth is cleared manually, without burning; trees are planted in strips along contour lines to minimize soil erosion; and no new roads are cut to avoid disturbing the natural ecosystem," Phuoc said.
"Every lim xanh planted today is an investment in the future," he added.
In the short term, young lim xanh seedlings may not produce dramatic change, but after 10, 20, or more years, they will become continuously operating, cost-free carbon absorption machines. This is the essence of the carbon economy.
Beyond carbon absorption, forest enrichment delivers a range of environmental benefits: restoring riparian ecological corridors; protecting upstream water sources; reducing the risk of erosion and landslides; and, critically, improving water flow regulation.
Along the Song Con and Rao Mac stream corridors in Son Hong commune, approximately 20 hectares of cho nuoc forest, extending over 10 kilometers, are under the strict management, care, and protection of Huong Son Forestry Company. This endemic ecosystem holds high conservation value, contributing to both forest quality and the habitat of local flora and fauna. The broader forest zone managed by the company is home to more than 2,300 plant and animal species, placing it among the most biodiverse forest landscapes in the North Central region and the wider Annamite mountain range, a globally recognized biodiversity corridor stretching across the Viet Nam-Laos border.
Deputy Director Tran Trung Anh noted that while staff and workers' commitment to protecting the forest is essential, community buy-in from people living near the forest is equally indispensable; without it, forest loss is only a matter of time.
With that clearly in mind, Huong Son Forestry Company has for many years provided regular employment to local residents through forest tending, undergrowth clearing, forest protection, patrol work, and fire prevention activities. Daily wages of between 300,000 and 500,000 VND (approximately USD 12 to USD 19) give many highland households a stable supplementary income.
"We let action speak louder than advocacy. The reward is that local people no longer view the forest as a resource to be extracted; they have become partners in the restoration and sustainable development of the forest," Tran Trung Anh said.
When community members participate directly in forest enrichment and witness degraded land turning green again, they understand more than anyone that their families' long-term livelihood is inseparable from the forest's existence. This spirit is also reflected in the greenhouse gas emission reduction payment mechanism and payment for forest environmental services. When the environmental values of forests are quantified into financial resources, local communities receive a fair share of the benefits. In 2024, revenues from forest environmental services across Viet Nam exceeded 3.76 trillion VND (approximately USD 146 million), underscoring the growing financial significance of keeping forests standing and healthy.
As carbon markets develop further, forests with large carbon absorption and storage capacity will generate significant income through carbon credits, potentially becoming a new source of funding for rural and upland development, while incentivizing forest owners to continue investing in forest protection and quality improvement. Viet Nam's potential in this area is substantial: the country's forest carbon reduction capacity has been estimated at up to 40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year, and with 50 to 70 million surplus carbon credits potentially available from its forests, the country is positioned to become a significant player in both voluntary and compliance carbon markets as regulatory frameworks continue to be put in place.
For the 2021-2030 period, Huong Son Forestry Company is working to maintain forest cover of 97 to 98 percent, protect nearly 20,000 hectares of natural forest, develop ecosystem services, and enhance the carbon value of its forests. Alongside these goals, the company is deploying GIS technology, remote sensing, and digital transformation tools in forest resource management, while strengthening coordination with forest rangers, border defense forces, and local authorities, and broadening community participation in forest monitoring and protection.
Nguyen Tien Hung, Deputy Director of the Ha Tinh provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, said that behind the nearly 20,000 hectares of FSC-certified forest managed and protected by Huong Son Forestry Company lies far more than trees. There is a water supply for tens of thousands of households, habitat for numerous plant and animal species, livelihoods for upland communities, and more than 4 million tonnes of stored CO₂, all of which contribute meaningfully to climate change adaptation and the nation's Net Zero commitment.
"Acting on the directives of the central government, Ha Tinh will, between now and 2030, effectively protect its existing forest area, with particular attention to special-use forests, protection forests, and natural production forests. We will nurture, enrich, and restore natural forests and plant protection and special-use forests using native species with high protective capacity. We will maintain forest cover at 52 percent and plant an additional 7,000 to 8,000 hectares of concentrated forest each year, of which around 400 hectares will be protection and special-use forest," Nguyen Tien Hung said, outlining the province's sustainable forest development strategy. Ha Tinh's forest cover target of 52 percent stands well above the national average of 42 percent, reflecting the province's recognition of its forests not only as an ecological asset but as a strategic contributor to Viet Nam's climate commitments on the international stage.
In the scorching heat of June, deep within the border forests of Huong Son, there are no high-tech production lines or imposing infrastructure, only forest guards quietly patrolling beneath the canopy, workers clearing vines, and holes dug in the earth for native seedlings. Yet from this quiet, unhurried labor, a future is slowly taking shape: one in which people do not merely live beside the forest but live because of it.
Now and into the future, Viet Nam's Net Zero journey may be measured in national emissions statistics, international commitments, and sweeping policies, but in Huong Son, that journey is measured in the growth of individual trees rising from the Truong Son mountain range, where the green of the forest is becoming the foundation for a carbon economy, a sustainable environment, and a future in which humanity and nature grow together.