Within the framework of Project AIN 8748, a training course on “Advocacy for Forest Certification and Sustainable Forest Management” was held from November 28–29, 2025, at the Quynh Tam Agricultural Cooperative, Nghe An Province. The course was directly instructed by Mr. Truong Van Binh, an expert in forest certification, with the participation of forest-growing households both within and outside the cooperative.
The training aimed to help local households fully grasp information regarding Project AIN 8748 and its support activities; clearly understand Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and FSC certification under a smallholder group scheme; and recognize the benefits, responsibilities, and obligations of joining a certification group. Participants received specific guidance on the conditions, procedures, and documentation required to register for the Quynh Tam Cooperative’s SFM and FSC group.
The curriculum focused on summarizing the FSC-STD-VN-01-2018 and FSC-STD-30-005 (V2.0) standards; the benefits of joining an SFM & FC group; legal requirements for land and forest plots; forest status review processes; mapping of raw material areas; silvicultural techniques to enhance SFM; the certification assessment process; and procedures for legal timber harvesting and trade within the value chain.
The workshop followed a sharing-dialogue-practice approach, creating an open atmosphere for households to discuss practical challenges related to land legality, forest plot records, and group registration. The instructor demonstrated sample dossiers and forest maps, then divided participants into groups to collect input data and finalize applications for participating households.
Following the training, on November 30, 2025, Mr. Truong Van Binh continued to support Project AIN 8748 in receiving and reviewing dossiers from households registering for FSC certification, contributing to the acceleration of documentation and the expansion of the cooperative’s sustainable raw material areas.
As a result, the training and post-training support finalized input dossiers for 33 households covering a total area of 45 hectares of plantation forest; these records are now archived at the Quynh Tam Cooperative office. Other households are continuing to supplement their documentation. Training materials were printed and distributed to participants, with digital copies sent to the Project AIN 8748 team.
Through this series of activities, forest owners’ awareness of raw material area linkages, sustainable forest management, and FSC certification has been significantly enhanced, laying an important foundation for developing responsible forestry in alignment with the goals of Project AIN 8748.
