Nghe An's forest owners benefit from carbon credits

This was affirmed by Nguyen Danh Hung, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Environment, at a training session on "Enhancing Media Capacity and Carbon Neutrality" organized by TH Group in coordination with the Vietnam Agriculture and Nature  Newspaper on October 15 in Cua Lo Ward, Nghe An Province.

Nguyen Danh Hung elaborated: "To realize Vietnam's 'Net Zero' goal under the commitment made at COP26 and to implement Resolution No. 39 of the Politburo on building and developing Nghe An Province until 2030, with a vision to 2045, the focus is on 'Developing the agricultural sector towards sustainability, gradually adapting to climate change, and reducing methane emissions in agricultural production.' To this end, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment has proactively deployed solutions to ensure sustainable development amidst complex and unpredictable climate change."

He stressed the focus on boosting the adoption of solutions in agricultural and forestry production to store carbon, reduce emissions, and achieve low emissions across various sectors (cultivation, husbandry, forestry, and aquaculture), thus contributing toward the goal of carbon neutrality in agriculture. He affirmed that the situation has been largely favorable, yielding highly positive results to date.

The forestry sector is poised to reap the most benefits, as Nghe An ranks among the top three localities in Vietnam (along with Lam Dong and Gia Lai) with the largest forest coverage. Currently, the province has over 1.036 million hectares of forest, including more than 790,000 hectares of natural forest and nearly 246,000 hectares of planted forest, with a forest coverage rate reaching 59.01%.

For the 2023–2025 period, Nghe An was selected to participate in the Emissions Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) Program for the North Central region. Approximately 790,000 hectares of natural forest belonging to over 38,400 forest owners (organizations, households, individuals, communities, and communal People's Committees) will receive payments from forest carbon credits.

The effect of the ERPA is described as truly transformative, likened to a "rain shower during a dry season." It simultaneously alleviates the daily livelihood pressure on tens of thousands of highlanders in Nghe An while enhancing the community's responsibility for forest management and protection.

In the livestock sector, the province has implemented several high-tech, sustainable value chain models, with a focus on adopting emission reduction solutions. Demonstrating a forward-thinking vision, TH Group has quickly engaged in this effort, notably by receiving the PAS 2060:2014 international carbon neutrality certification from the Control Union Organization (Netherlands) for two of the Group's key businesses in 2025. This achievement underscores TH's strong commitment to the "green agriculture - circular economy-sustainable development" plan that Nghe An is ambitiously pursuing.

Furthermore, Nghe An's agricultural sector is collaborating closely and effectively with pioneering enterprises like Green Carbon and Faeger to implement pilot projects for low-emission rice production, generating carbon credits through the "Alternate Wetting and Drying" technical solution across a total area of over 19,000 hectares.

Media training on carbon neutrality

On October 15-16, the Vietnam Agriculture and Nature News, in partnership with TH Group, organized the training class "Enhancing Media Capacity and Carbon Neutrality" in Nghe An.

The opening session was attended by Nguyen Nhu Khoi, Deputy Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council; Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director General of the Department of Climate Change; Nguyen Danh Hung, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Environment; Dr. Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Institute of Agricultural Environment; Phan Van Thang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Nghe An Newspaper and Radio and Television Station; representatives from TH Group; and 40 journalists, reporters, and editors from central and local press agencies.

Vietnam’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 has accelerated the need for both national and provincial action plans. Under the National Strategy on Climate Change and the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the agricultural sector is tasked with reducing emissions through methane-cutting measures in rice cultivation, improved livestock waste management, expanded forest carbon sinks, and low-emission aquaculture practices. Provinces with large forest areas such as Nghe An, Gia Lai, and Lam Dong are considered strategic contributors because forest carbon absorption plays a major role in national emissions-balance calculations.