Chief of MCNV Office in Quang Tri, Mr.Nguyen Dinh Dai, shares with the delegates on the pilot model of biochar production using FSC bamboo material
On March 31st 2023, the Management Board of the Project on Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Vietnam (VFBC) coordinated with MCNV to organize an exposure visit on the project model implemented by MCNV in Chenh Venh village, Huong Phung commune, Huong Hoa district.
This visit was an integrated activity of the 3rd regular meeting of the Community Forest Management Network and the Forest Policy Support Group of the Sustainable Forest Management Component – VFBC project funded by USAID.
Participating in the exposure visit were representatives of Legal Department – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, General Department of Forestry, Management Board of Forestry projects, representatives of Central VFBC Project Management Board and VFBC project management boards of seven provinces of Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Nghe An, Quang Nam, Quang Tri, Son La and Thanh Hoa, and representatives of DAI and RECOFTC.
In Chenh Venh village, MCNV shared experiences with the delegates about good models and practices on enhancing sustainable forest management in association with livelihood development in mountainous communities that MCNV and its project partner, the Association of Smallholder Forest Certification Groups of Quang Tri, have implemented under the project “Promoting sustainable partnerships between CSOs and enterprises in sustainable forest management in the context of climate change” (referred to as PROSPER Project) co-financed by the European Union and MCNV in the period of 2/2020 – 2/2023.
The specific activities of the exposure visit included: Learning about the model of planting tung trees and native species on forest lands allocated to households; Visiting an FSC® certified bamboo biochar production facility; Visiting a community forest route and learning about the current status of community-based ecotourism services associated with the natural forest that has been FSC-certified for ecosystem services; and Enjoying the cuisine and traditional art performances of the Bru Van Kieu people.
The PROSPER project just ended in February 2023 and left several important marks. Most significantly, the project has helped five community-managed natural forests in the North Huong Hoa area, including Chenh Venh village (Huong Phung commune), Cat and Ho villages (Huong Son commune), Trang – Ta Puong village (Huong Viet commune) and Xa Bai village (Huong Linh commune), achieve FSC certification for ecosystem services for carbon sequestration and storage and FSC certification for non-timber forest products (bamboo species). Along with that are pioneering initiatives to promote the development of the supply chains of FSC certified products such as acacia wood, tung oil, bamboo biochar, black locust shampoo, dried bamboo shoots, eco-tourism, etc. Currently, MCNV is introducing the piloted models to potential donors, organizations and other related development projects to find opportunities to replicate and upscale these models./.
