One Step Closer To Net Zero: Understanding Forest Carbon Potentials

To achieve Viet Nam’s ambitious goal of reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050, restoring natural forests and promoting longer-rotation plantations will play a critical role. Due to the diversity of natural forests, their carbon stock is higher than in timber plantations. Restoring and protecting natural forests could also help reverse deforestation and biodiversity loss in line with the country’s commitments under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. For a country like Viet Nam, which has a large area of timber plantations, shifting from intensive forestry to sustainable sawlog production promises additional carbon sequestration by forests.

However, knowledge among forest owners and authorities about forest carbon is limited. To address this, coaching sessions on forest carbon measurements were held for forest owners and forest authority staff in two provinces. Building on the coaching, two forestry companies in Binh Dinh conducted systematic measurements in their plantations. The data collected underlines the feasibility of the “improved forest management” methodology under VERA for potential forest carbon projects. In two Protection Forests Management Boards the assessment of potential additional carbon sequestration when restoring degraded forests is another potential avenue contributing to achieving Viet Nam’s NDC.

The coaching sessions and measurement were conducted under the Project “Upscaling of Sustainable Forest Management and Certification” which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and jointly implemented by the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.