Quang Ngai aims at 10 million tons of forest carbon sequestration

The Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee has recently issued a resolution on sustainable forestry development through 2030, with a vision to 2035. The resolution aims to develop forestry into a modern technical-economic sector that contributes more to the province's gross regional domestic product (GRDP). By 2035, the forestry sector is expected to become highly competitive, producing diverse products and services with high added value and participating in national forestry value chains.

Under the resolution, the province has determined that developing the forest economy should not rely solely on timber extraction but also increase the value from forest ecosystem services, including the forest carbon market.

The resolution states that, amid the development of a green and circular economy and the need to adapt to climate change, developing the forest carbon market will increase the added value of the forestry sector while motivating the protection and restoration of forest resources.

By 2030, Quang Ngai aims to maintain forest coverage at 60%, newly plant 135,000 ha of concentrated forests, plant 40 million scattered trees, restore 3,000 ha of forests through zoning and regeneration, and develop 2,500 ha of non-timber forest products. Notably, the forestry sector targets cutting emissions by around 1.129 million tons of carbon while absorbing and storing approximately 10 million tons of carbon, laying an important foundation for future participation in the carbon credit market.

To achieve these targets, Quang Ngai province will study and implement new mechanisms and policies to supply forest carbon credits, promote the socialization of forestry, develop community forestry, and pilot insurance for planted forests. The province will also step up implementation of international commitments, including the Viet Nam-EU VPA/FLEGT Agreement and the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), helping enhance the competitiveness of the forestry sector in international markets.

Alongside completing policy mechanisms, Quang Ngai will prioritize developing a multi-value forest economy by attracting investment in afforestation, wood processing, medicinal plant growing under forest canopies, ecotourism, and climate-resilient agroforestry models. The province will also encourage a shift from the raw timber business to the development of large-timber forest plantations to enhance carbon sequestration capacity and increase long-term economic value.

The Resolution also calls for expanding forestry revenue sources from forest environmental services and carbon sequestration and storage services while accelerating the application of science and technology and digital transformation in forest management. Developing digital maps of planting areas and applying GIS, AI, IoT, and blockchain technology to traceability will help ensure data transparency and meet requirements for measuring and monitoring carbon sequestration in line with international standards.

According to the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee, developing forest carbon credits will not only create new financial resources for the forestry sector but also support biodiversity conservation and improve the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities, moving toward a modern, sustainable, and highly competitive forestry sector in the new development period.

The Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee noted that the locality identified forest carbon development as one of the potential directions. To realize this goal, the province focuses on protecting existing forest areas, restoring degraded forests, improving the quality of planted forests, and minimizing forest loss. Additionally, Quang Ngai province strengthens enforcement against violations in forest management, protection, and development activities.

By sector, Quang Ngai has many favorable conditions to develop the forest carbon market through activities to protect natural forests, restore and enrich poor forests, improve the quality of planted forests, and transform small timber forests into large timber forests.

In addition, forest protection and development also create a foundation for ecotourism development. Localities with large forest cover, such as Mang Den, Dak Ha, Kon Tum, Son Tay, Son Ha, and many other headwater forest areas, are well-suited for developing tourism products linked to nature and biodiversity conservation.

Quang Ngai province has about 881,000 ha of forest, of which more than 659,000 ha are natural forests and about 222,000 ha are planted forests. This is an important resource to implement greenhouse gas emission reduction activities, improve carbon absorption capacity, create new revenue sources, and contribute to the locality's GRDP growth.