Funded by the European Union (EU), the 2017-2021 project aims to strengthen voices of non-State sectors, including civil social organizations, local residents and communities, to improve sustainable forest governance in the region.

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Speaking at the event, Deputy Director of the Center for People and Nature (PanNature) Hoang Xuan Thuy said the project covers Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam with the goal of empowering and connecting non-State sectors, monitoring and responding appropriately to strengthening forest governance, particularly in the EU Action Plan for forest law enforcement, governance and trade – Voluntary Partnership Agreements (FLEGT-VPA) and REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).

By 2019, forest governance supervisory systems will be piloted and spread while an information sharing platform among regional countries will be launched for the effort.

Deputy Director General of the Administration of Forestry Nguyen Van Ha lauded the efforts of civil social organizations, local residents and communities to the success of the country’s forestry development strategy until 2020.

Over the past years, the forestry sector has helped with environment protection, climate change response and raising forest coverage from 32 percent in 1998 to 41.19 percent in 2016. The figure is expected to hit 42 percent by 2020.

Mekong region is now home to nearly 85 million people living on forests, one third of them are natives. An estimated 30 percent of population in rural areas are living in need.

Source: VNA