Vietnam cooperates with Japan in Forestry management

Attending the signing ceremony were representatives of agencies and units under the Department of Forestry and the Wood Pellet Association of both sides. The Vietnamese delegation was led by Mr. Tran Quang Bao, Director of the Department of Forestry, and Mr. AOYAMA Toyohisa, Director of the Department of Forestry of Japan, chaired the signing ceremony.

At the ceremony, Mr. Tran Quang Bao, Director of the Forestry Department, highly appreciated the cooperation and support of the Japanese side in Vietnam in forestry in recent years. Japan has supported Vietnam in developing and implementing strategies, policies, and essential industry projects such as perfecting the legal system, primarily supporting the development of the 2017 Forestry Law and Decrees, Circular guiding the Law on Forestry.

Through non-refundable technical assistance, ODA programs/projects, and preferential loan projects, Japan has supported Vietnam in strengthening sustainable forest management, improving livelihoods for forest-based communities, biodiversity conservation, and climate change in forestry. Most of the programs/projects that have been and are being implemented in Vietnam are considered effective, contributing to the success of the forestry industry in recent years. In the wood and wood product trade field, Japan is one of the five countries with the world's most significant export turnover of Vietnam, with about USD 1.5 - 2.0 billion annually.

Mr. AOYAMA Toyohisa, Director of the Japanese Forestry Department, reviewed the results that the two sides have recently implemented cooperation and highly appreciated the close coordination of the Vietnamese side in the process of collaboration and achievement.

The Director of the Japanese Forestry Department proposed that in the coming time, the two sides need to strengthen coordination in developing plans to effectively and practically implement the 08 cooperative activities that the two sides identified in the Memorandum of Understanding, including sustainable forest management; mitigating and adapting to climate change; effectively managing and using forest resources, promoting the multi-use value of forests; Strengthen forest conservation, biodiversity, and forest landscape restoration; forest management to prevent natural disasters; research and develop new technology in the field of Forestry; human resource development; and timber legality, responsible trade of timber and timber products.