Lam Dong plants over 80 million trees, exceeding Prime Minister’s target by 113%

Surpassing 80 million trees, affirming its leading position

Lam Dong, a Central Highlands province, has achieved remarkable results in implementing the national project “Planting one billion trees in the 2021-2025 period” under Decision No. 524/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister.

With an initial target of planting 71 million trees over 5 years, including more than 54.3 million scattered trees and over 16.6 million trees in concentrated forests, Lam Dong has been proactive and consistent in its direction and planning.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Son, Deputy Director of the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province assigned the department to work closely with district-level authorities and forest management units. Together, they reviewed, updated, and identified land resources suitable for protective forests, production forests, urban green spaces, and scattered tree-planting areas in rural localities. This review allowed the province to prepare feasible planting plans and avoid land-use overlaps or inconsistencies.

Each year, Lam Dong organizes the “Tree planting festival in eternal gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh” and issues detailed plans for tree and flower planting campaigns to celebrate major events. These activities encourage agencies and mass organizations to draw up their own plans and promote the movement widely among officials, Party members, and citizens through various channels, helping raise awareness and create a positive social impact. The program has also been integrated with the “Bright - green - clean - beautiful” initiative under the new rural development program. Thanks to such strong leadership and coordination, Lam Dong has achieved outstanding results.

According to Mr. Son, by the end of the 2021 - 2025 period, the province had planted over 80.6 million trees of various kinds, equivalent to more than 65,589 hectares, exceeding 113.5% of the original plan. Of these, more than 40 million were planted in concentrated forests, and over 40.5 million were scattered trees.

Mobilizing resources played a decisive role in this success. The total funding mobilized (including both cash and seedlings) during the 2021 - 2025 period amounted to over VND 408.8 billion. Socialized sources contributed more than VND 305 billion, demonstrating strong participation and consensus among the community, enterprises and organizations. 

“The implementation of the project has mobilized substantial resources from businesses, communities, organizations, individuals, and households”, Mr. Son emphasized. “This has helped raise awareness, strengthen a sense of responsibility, and create positive social impacts in forest management, protection, and development throughout the province”.

Challenges and strategic recommendations for 2026 - 2030

However, alongside the achievements, the implementation of the Scheme still faces shortcomings and limitations that need to be addressed. One of the biggest difficulties is that land and climatic conditions in Lam Dong are suitable for many agricultural crops with high economic value. Meanwhile, forest plantation has long cycles, low profitability and high risks, leading to limited participation from people in concentrated forest planting.

Additionally, scattered tree-planting activities rely heavily on socialized contributions. While initial planting efforts have been carried out diligently, post-planting care and maintenance remain limited. This is especially evident in roadside planting zones, industrial parks and public spaces, where trees require regular care to thrive.

Lam Dong province also pointed out that due to specific weather conditions and limited experience in care and management in some commune-level units, technical planting measures (such as digging planting holes and applying basal fertilizer) along rural roads or within office and school premises have not been implemented according to technical procedures, leading to slow tree growth. Moreover, mobilizing socialized contributions from residents remains limited, not fully tapping community resources, and localities and units have not updated maps and diagrams of tree-planting locations as instructed.

Given the positive outcomes of the program and the continued need to strengthen forest cover and environmental protection, the Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee has proposed that the Prime Minister extend the “One billion trees” initiative into the 2026-2030 period. Such an extension would help maintain momentum, consolidate achievements, and promote sustainable forest development across the province.

* USD 1 = VND 26,348 (Vietcombank, November 14, 2025)