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From December 19 to 20, 2024, the Central Vietnam Climate Change Research Center (CCCSC), under the AIN8748 Project Management Board, organized a training workshop on “Low-Impact Harvesting” as part of the 2024 implementation plan for Project AIN8748. The workshop aimed to enhance the capacity of cooperative members from the Nghe An Cooperative Alliance and the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance in applying low-impact harvesting techniques.

Key Details:

• Trainer: Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, an independent forestry expert and consultant.
• Participants: Over 17 attendees from the Nghe An Cooperative Alliance, the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance, and various member cooperatives:
  • Nghe An Province: Thanh Thuy Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative, Minh Thanh Agricultural Service and Construction Cooperative, Tien Ky Agricultural Service Cooperative, and Quynh Tam Agricultural Cooperative.
  • Thua Thien Hue Province: Thuy Phuong Cooperative, Thuy Duong Cooperative, Hoa My Cooperative, A Roang Agricultural and Medicinal Cooperative, Phu Bai Cooperative, and Thuy Phu Cooperative.

Workshop Content

The training workshop focused on:

• Identifying common mistakes in using harvesting monitoring templates (pre-harvest, during harvest, and post-harvest).
• Techniques for low-impact harvesting.
• Occupational safety when using field equipment such as grass cutters, chainsaws, and machetes.

The workshop was divided into two sessions:

1. Morning Session: Theory-based training at the Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University.
2. Field Practice: Practical training on labor safety at a plantation forest managed by Thuy Phuong Cooperative.

Workshop Objectives

The training sought to:

1. Enhance the capacity of cooperative members in applying low-impact harvesting techniques.
2. Promote labor safety during harvesting activities.
3. Minimize environmental and ecological impacts caused by harvesting.
4. Optimize wood volume harvested by applying proper techniques and maximizing product utilization.

Workshop Results

Participants gained valuable knowledge and skills in:

• Ensuring occupational safety.
• Reducing environmental and ecological impacts.
• Preparing for harvesting (e.g., submitting harvesting applications for FSC-certified forests, preparing tools, forest sanitation, contract procedures, and post-harvest forest cleanup).
• Using and applying harvesting monitoring templates (pre-harvest, during harvest, and post-harvest).

This training helps cooperatives improve their capacity to monitor and manage plantation forest harvesting activities, particularly for members involved in FSC forest certification, fostering sustainable forestry practices.

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CCCSC and FFD are seeking an experienced and qualified independent consultant to conduct a project evaluation study. For detailed information, please refer to the attached Terms of Reference (ToR).

Term of Reference_FFD institutional sustainability_Final

 

The project “Informed Forestry Decision-Making, Sustainable Forest Management, and Forest Certification for Small-Scale Forest Owners in Vietnam (AIN 8748 Project)” collaborated with Quynh Tam Cooperative to organize a training session on an overview of sustainable forest management and forest certification, introducing the FSC standards to the village secretaries, village heads, and some prominent forest owners in Quynh Tam commune.

Leadership of Quynh Tam Cooperative introduced the overall plan and the general situation of forest management and use in Quynh Tam commune.

According to statistics, the forest and forestry land resources in Quynh Tam commune in 2023 amounted to 726 hectares, accounting for 31.3% of the commune’s natural land area. Of this, concentrated plantation forest area is 544 hectares, with an average annual harvesting area of 135 hectares, yielding an average of 14,000 m³ of timber per year (with an average yield of 20 m³/ha/year). However, the harvested plantation timber is only sold to local traders at a limited price, with no opportunity for export to the global market, meaning that the timber products do not reach their full value. To increase the value of plantation forests, the timber products must expand to the global market, and a key condition for the export of plantation timber is that the forests must be certified for sustainable forest management (FSC, PEFC, or VFCS). Recognizing the value of certified forests and the necessity of obtaining sustainable forest management certification, Quynh Tam Cooperative proposed to the Party Committee and the People’s Committee of Quynh Tam commune to allow the cooperative to lead a partnership with local member households to develop a plan for obtaining sustainable forest certification, with support from the AIN 8748 Project.

As the first step in this initiative, on September 18, 2024, Quynh Tam Cooperative, in coordination with the AIN 8748 Project, organized a training conference on promoting sustainable forest management and forest certification, as well as the principles and criteria for joining the forest certification group.

At the conference, the AIN 8748 project officers presented information on sustainable forest management and FSC certification, as well as the principles and criteria for participating in the forest certification group. Village secretaries and heads also shared and discussed issues related to sustainable forest management and common situations encountered in the forest production and business process.

The conference was attended by leaders of the commune People’s Committee, commune forestry officers, forest rangers from Quynh Luu – Hoang Mai, and officers from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district. Through the conference, the district agriculture officers and the commune People’s Committee leadership encouraged cooperative member households to collaborate in obtaining sustainable forest certification. They also provided guidance on investment, product purchasing, and market development, aiming to create stable links and harmonize the interests of all parties involved.

Image: Quynh Luu district agriculture officer speaking at the conference

The conference equipped participants with basic knowledge of sustainable forest management and an understanding of the principles and criteria for joining the forest certification group. This, in turn, motivated forest owners to actively participate in the cooperative’s forest certification group development efforts.

SOME IMAGES FROM THE TRAINING CONFERENCE

• The ANI 8748 project supported the establishment of a medicinal plant cultivation model under the forest canopy for the A Roàng Agricultural Cooperative in A Min village, A Roàng commune.
  • In December 2023, the project provided technical support through a training session at the nursery of the A Roàng Medicinal Agricultural Cooperative for 100 cooperative members. The support included 2 grass-cutting machines, 8,000 seedlings (including Rhizomifera and Zingiber Zerumbet), and several hoes and shovels for the implementation of the model.
  • In April 2024, the cooperative continued to implement the model by planting medicinal plants (Rhizomifera and Zingiber Zerumbet) under the community forest canopy of A Min village. The ANI 8748 project provided technical support through a training session on planting and caring for Rhizomifera and Zingiber Zerumbet under the community forest canopy for cooperative members in A Roàng commune, A Lưới district (53 males and 47 females). The training helped cooperative members learn basic planting and care techniques for these medicinal plants under the forest canopy, thereby providing an additional source of income and teaching them sustainable harvesting methods, particularly protecting the community forest.

Results:

• Cooperative members acquired basic nursery and planting techniques for growing plants under the forest canopy.
• They understood more sustainable management and harvesting of medicinal plants.
• The plants have begun to grow.

Challenges:

• Cultivating medicinal plants under the community forest canopy requires a significant amount of labor for care (weeding, etc.).
• Harsh weather conditions lead to slow plant growth.

In implementing the plan to support cooperatives in improving technical capacity and providing resources for sustainable forest management and climate-smart forestry in response to climate change, as part of the project “Evidence-Based Forestry Decisions, Sustainable Forest Management, and Certification for Small-Scale Planted Forests in Vietnam,” the NACA project management board supported Quỳnh Tam Agricultural Cooperative (Quỳnh Lưu) in establishing a large-scale nursery in September and October 2023. The nursery houses 7,000 AH1 hybrid acacia mother trees propagated through tissue culture, with a total investment of 42,000,000 VND, of which the project contributed 29,000,000 VND, while the cooperative provided 13,000,000 VND, including labor costs, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Quỳnh Tam Cooperative Nursery

After five months of implementation, the cooperative has initially provided stable and regular employment for 5 female workers and 6 seasonal workers at the nursery.

With the attention and guidance from the project management board, by January 25, 2024, the cooperative had produced 40,000 rooted seedlings and prepared an additional 65,000 substrate pots for rooting cuttings, aimed at spring planting for cooperative members.

Cooperative Director Trương Văn Phúc Inspecting Seedling Quality

Mr. Trương Văn Phúc, the cooperative’s director, stated that previously, local forest growers were uncertain about the origin of the tree species they purchased, leading to suboptimal results. Now, with the cooperative being proactive in sourcing high-quality seedlings, the effectiveness of reforestation efforts will improve. In addition to benefiting local forest growers, the cooperative also creates new jobs and generates higher revenues. The cooperative expects to sell around 100,000 seedlings in the 2024 spring planting season, generating an estimated revenue of 100,000,000 VND.

Substrate Pots for Rooting Cuttings at the Cooperative’s Nursery

In the future, the cooperative plans to drill wells and install an irrigation system, as well as build a canopy over the nursery to ensure stable production, bringing benefits to cooperative members, workers, and the wider community.

Article Author: Nguyễn Đình Trưng

In accordance with the plan of project AIN 8748, from January 12-13, 2024, the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance (TTHCA) in collaboration with GFA GmbH Certification Company organized the FSC® Forest Certification Group Assessment Meeting of the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance. The TTHCA members participating in the FSC® certification are Phu Bai, Thuy Duong, Thuy Phuong, Thuy Phu, and Hoa My Cooperatives.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance, the Center for Climate Change Research in Central Vietnam (CCCSC), the AIN 8748 Project Management Unit, the forest certification support advisory group, the Forestry Department of Phong Dien District and Huong Thuy City, the People’s Committees of communes/wards, and the leaders and members of the 05 Cooperatives that were supported for forest certification.

The total area to be assessed by the FSC® forest certification group is 405.27 ha with 171 plots and 87 households participating. The purpose of the meeting is to systematically collect evidence of compliance with the FSC FM standard requirements.

Link

From December 7-8, 2023, the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance (TTHCA) in cooperation with consultants organized a consultation conference and internal assessment of the FSC® forest certification group of the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance in two areas:

• Area 1 at Thuy Phuong Cooperative, Huong Thuy Town, including Phu Bai Cooperative, Thuy Duong Cooperative, Thuy Phuong Cooperative, and Thuy Phu Cooperative;
• Area 2 at Luu Hien Hoa village, Phong My commune, Phong Dien district, including Hoa My Cooperative and the Luu Hien Hoa Community Forest Management Board.

Participants in the consultation conference included representatives from the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance, the Center for Climate Change Research in the Central Region (CCCSC), the AIN 8748 Project Management Unit, the Forestry Faculty of the University of Agriculture and Forestry, the Forestry Sub-departments of Phong Dien district and Huong Thuy Town, the People’s Committees of wards/communes, and the leaders and members of the 5 cooperatives supported to obtain forest certification.

The consultation topics included the sustainable forest management plan according to the international FSC® standard for the period 2023-2027; thematic reports (EIA; SIA; HCV; Monitoring results) and internal assessment. The purpose of the conference was to consult with experts, authorities, and assess the implementation results of the cooperatives participating in forest certification to check and correct errors before the official assessment.

Link to the detailed activity

From December 8-9, 2023, in accordance with the activities of the AIN8748 project in 2023, “Farmers’ associations are enhanced technical capacity and have resources to support sustainable forest management and smart forestry adapting to climate change”, the Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance implemented the training course on “Propagation Techniques of Schott. and Wind Ginger” for members of A Roang Herbal Agriculture Cooperative.

The technical instructor of the training course was Mr. Ho Dang Nguyen, Lecturer of the University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University. More than 80 trainees, members of A Roang Herbal Agriculture Cooperative, participated in the training course.

The content of the training course included “Knowledge and skills of harvesting and propagating Schott. and Wind Ginger”. The training course was divided into two days, one day of theoretical study at the community house of Amin C9 village and one day of practical training at the nursery of A Roang Herbal Agriculture Cooperative.

Link to the detailed activity

Dear potential organizations,

Project AIN 8748, Informed forestry decisions, sustainable forest management and forest certification in smallholder forests in Vietnam, funded by Finnish Agri-Agency for Food and Forest Development (FFD) with backdonor funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFAF). The project was implemented by Thua Thien Hue Cooperative Alliance, Nghe An Cooperative Alliance, and Centre for Climate Change Study in Central Vietnam. After nearly one year of implementation (from February to December in 2023), we would like to invite the auditing company to evaluate the activities performed by the implementation organizations. The audit requirements are detailed in the ToR file.

The estimated time for the audit is from December 25th, 2023 to January 25th, 2024.

The final Audit report needs to be written in English and Vietnamese. The audit report should be written in English first for FFD’s comments and approval, then completed in Vietnamese version.

Expressions of interest should be submitted to tranthiphuong@huaf.edu.vn and cc to: olliisotupa@gmail.com; tiina.huvio@ffd.fi by December 21st, 2023.

All expressions of interest should be included: the capacity of the organization, the estimated time, and the total cost for the audit.

The project 8748_ToR for Audit 2023

From November 24-26, 2023, the Climate Change Research Center of Central Vietnam (CCCSC) organized a training course on “Sustainable Forest Management Planning in the Direction of FSC and Forest Production and Business”.

The purpose of the training course is to enhance the capacity of members of cooperatives under the Union of Cooperatives of Nghệ An and the Union of Cooperatives of Thừa Thiên Huế in the preparation of sustainable forest management plans and forest production and business plans for small-scale forest households; to strengthen the participation of small-scale forest households in sustainable forest management issues, helping them to find markets for certified forest products and build the resilience of small-scale forestry livelihoods in Vietnam in order to practice climate-resilient smart agricultural production.

The training course covered the following topics:

• Introduction to sustainable forest management
• The principles and criteria of FSC
• Planning for sustainable forest management
• Forest production and business planning

The training course was attended by 30 members of cooperatives from Nghệ An and Thừa Thiên Huế. The participants expressed their satisfaction with the content and quality of the training course. They said that the training course has provided them with valuable knowledge and skills that will help them to improve the management of their forests and to develop sustainable forest production and business.

The training course is part of the CCCSC’s efforts to support sustainable forest management in Vietnam. The CCCSC is committed to working with partners to promote sustainable forest management practices that contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.