Annex III. Syntheses

1. Synthesis of results of the questionnaire in China

On Nov. 14^th, 2007, on the basis of accepting the invitation from FAO the national multi-stakeholder group of planted forest was established. The members of the multi-stakeholder group are Dr. Liu Daoping (Chief in Quality Management Office of Afforestation Department under The State Forestry Administration, P.R.China ), Dr. Qin Yongsheng ( Programme manager, Beijing forestry and parks department of international cooperation), Mr. Xu Zhijiang (Director, International Cooperation Office in Yunnan Provincial Forestry Bureau), Wu Shengfu (General Manager / Director, Green Panel Consulting/Marketing Dept. of China National Forest Products Industry Association), Dr. He Youjun (Deputy Director, Research Department of Forestry Policy from Chinese Academy of Forestry), Mr. Zhou Zhifeng (Department of Resources Inventory and Planning, SFA) and Dr. Wang Lianchun (Beijing Forestry University).

On Dec. 22^th, 2007, the multi-stakeholder meeting was hold in Jinglin Plaza, Beijing. In the meeting, Mr. Liu Daoping (from State Forestry Administration) was elected as the national focal point.

Overview of planted forest in China

In the past decades, the planted forest area has rapidly expanded and has been a priority of the Chinese government. The results of the sixth national forest inventory (1999 - 2003) show that the total forest areas had reached 175 million ha and the stocking volume 12.456 billion m³. The forest coverage had increased from 8.6% during the time of the foundation of People’s Republic of China to 18.21% in 2003.

• Planted forest areas：China has the largest area of planted forest in the world with the area of 70 Million ha, taking up 31.5% of the forested land, and the stocking volume of 1.5 billion m³. China has doubled both the forest area and the stock volume during the last 20 years.

• Tenure: 8.9 million ha of the planted forest lands are owned by the state (taking up 16.7% of total planted forest area), and 44.63 million ha by collectives (83.3% of total planted forest area); in terms of forest and tree tenure, 8.9 million ha of planted forest owned by the state, 22.35 million ha by collectives and 22.01 million ha by non-state. Planted forest is mainly owned by collectives and non-state.

• Forest category: timber forest of 23.18 million ha, protective forest of 8.12 million ha, commercial forest of 19.31 million ha, bamboo forest of 1.65 million ha, fuelwood forest of 0.48 million ha and special-purposed forest of 0.51 million ha. There is a predominance of timber forest and commercial forest in planted forests.

• Distribution: 19.81 million ha, taking up 37.2% of the national total planted forest area is situated in South Collective Forest Region, in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Fujian and Sichuan. This area contain 630 million m³ which corresponds to 41.8 % of the total stocking.

Perceived strengths in planted forest management

• High afforestation rate, large planted forest area, and an important contribution to forest vegetation recovery worldwide.

i) The total forest plantation area in the world is up to 186.73 million ha, while the area in China is up to 53.26 million ha, taking up 28.52% of total area in the world.

ii) Between 2000 and 2005, the average annual increased forest plantation area of the world was 2.8 million ha, while China increased 1.297 million ha annually.

• Push the development of forest plantation through the activity of voluntary planting in the whole country. In the past twenty years, 49.2 billion trees had been planted by 10.4 billion people.

• As the largest plantation countries in the world, China has implemented a series of important policies and nationwide afforestation and reforestation programs since 1970s.

i) The Three North (Northwest, Northeast and North China) Shelterbelt Forests Program (Since 1978) has afforested a total area of 23.74 million ha.

ii) The national plain greenery program started since 1988 has afforested an area of 7.1 million ha.

iii) The Yangtze River basin shelterbelt forest construction program (Since 1989) has afforested an area of 8.32 million ha.

iv) The costal shelterbelt forest system construction program launched in 1991 has afforested an area of 3.864 million ha.

v) The conversion of sloping lands program launched in 1999 has afforested an area of 24.27 million ha.

vi) In August, 2007, a decision on continuing the slopping lands program was taken by Chinese government (ca. 430 billion yean is allocated for the program).

vii) 4.9 million ha of plantation has been established in the framework of a fast growing and high-yield forest plantations program.

• land tenure reform in various types of forests, including collective forest, state forest and state forest farm, and the implementation of Protocol of Property Law are aiming to clarify the ownerships, rights and obligations of these forests

• The sector is following the existing national and international laws, commitments, treaties and agreements.

• Participatory approaches are being encouraged.

• Economic, social and cultural value is being considered in the planted forest management.

Perceived weaknesses in planted forest management

• Lack of scientific and reasonable development planning for planted forest land-use planning to identify the most suitable areas and species in terms of the ecological zones, soils, topography, purpose, mechanism of growing etc. This is currently determined by the market.

• Low planted forest quality and productivity, due to too high or too low density and pure stand still exist. For example, stocking volume of forest is 84.73 m³/ ha at whole country, however, the stocking volume of planted forest is 46.59 m³/ ha.

• Simplified tree species composition and structure, limited distribution,

• Overweight of proportion of planted broad-leaved forest than planted coniferous forest;

• Forest management schemes are difficult to implement;

• Incentive mechanism for sustainable management of planted forest not fully established;

• Competition for land-use rights is resulting in conflicts between forestry and agriculture, smallholder and large investors and national and foreign companies, native and planted forest;

• Participation approaches have been introduced in planted forest management schemes, but is difficult to implement in practice in China;

• Transfer of knowledge and technology in planning, management and monitoring of planted forests are needed particularly, particularly improved genetic stock, nursery practices, silviculture and market intelligence for farmers, village/community plantings and national companies;

• The majority of land ownership are farmers and smallholders with low growth and yield, which is a problem in an area where land is a scarce resource;

• Lack of platforms for communication, in order to achieve understanding and trust among different multi-stakeholder groups;

• Lack of voluntary guidelines of responsible management of planted forests at regional, provincial and county level.

Potential threats in planted forest management

• Soil degradation in forest land;

• Forest stands are seriously haunted by pests, diseases and forest fires;

• Reduced biodiversity caused by homogeneous stands;

• Ability of plantation to adapt to environment pollution and climate change become weak because of the fragility of planted forest ecosystem.

• A tendency to consider more economic benefits than environment and social benefits when developing planted forest.

• Insufficient recognition of landscape elements and landscape effectiveness in planted forests developments.

Recommended actions for follow-up (what, where, how, by whom)

• Increasing contribution to science research, especially in key technology (silviculture, monitoring, assessment and management): Department of Afforestation in SFA suggest the Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, CAF, together with forestry university and research institute, write proposal to MOST and implement in whole country.

• Develop a certification system for the planted forest sector: Scientific certification centre suggest the Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, CAF, together with related forestry enterprise, to make a primary study in southern tropical planted forest region.

• Establishing networks on planning, management and monitoring. Department of Afforestation in SFA suggest the Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, CAF, together with Department of Resources Inventory and Planning, SFA, organize and implement in whole country.

• Developing guidelines and technical code on planted forest management in China:

• As an existing partner, pursue nfp Facility support for short term stakeholder participation to develop a National Guideline for Planted Forests in China, adapted to suit the Chinese context. Department of Afforestation in SFA and FAO suggest the Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, CAF, together with various provincial bureaus, organize and implement in whole country, especially in four selected case sites: Hunan Province, Guang Xi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

• Prepare a TCP Project proposal “Guidelines for Planted Forests Development in China”; to transfer Scientific Knowledge and Technology. Department of Afforestation in SFA and FAO suggest the Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, CAF, together with forestry university and research institute, under the support by SFA, FAO and various provincial bureaus, organize and implement in whole country. (In the Southern Collective Forests region)

Potential sources of funds

• Chinese government（SFA, MOST, The Ministry of Commerce,etc） and potential forest enterprises.

• Foreign government and related enterprises.

• International organization, such as FAO, WB, IFAD, ADB other multi-lateral and bilateral.

• NGO: WWF, GEF, GEI,etc.

2. Synthesis of results of the questionnaire in Lao PDR

Snapshot on planted forest sector in Lao PDR

• Some 146.600 ha of commercial plantations have been established.

• Plantation establishment 05/06 and 06/07 was some 35.000 ha and 25.800 ha respectively.

• Lao PDR is now experiencing its 3^rd tree plantation boom.

• 3^rd boom is much larger in scale and more diverse in species than the past two booms in the early 90s and 2000 respectively.

• Not only large foreign and domestic investors but also farmers converting their fallow land to rubber, Agarwood and teak plantations.

• Trans-national companies are establishing and / or looking for land for fast-growing mostly Eucalyptus plantations to feed their mills in Asia.

• Commercial plantations are a priority area for promotion of foreign investments however there is concern that the Government of Lao is not well prepared or equipped to manage and control investment in plantations.

• Rules and regulations concerning investment appraisal, selection of land for concessions including consultation with local villages, monitoring of actual investment are not fully developed or enforced.

• Consequently there are many cases of conversion of rich forest or village forest land, no replanting activities after logging/clearing and very low concession fees.

• Government of Lao is conducting a concession review of which the outcome will be a more detailed and comprehensive legal framework concerning crop/tree plantations.

• Government of Lao is also promoting and studying investment forms which benefit local people including the 2+3 system (ability to provide farmer side labour and land – investment side expertise, funds and market) and has commenced integration with new regulatory framework.

• Department of Forestry created a land and forest zoning method with focus on degraded forest land for conversion with use of high-resolution satellite images.

• Actual yield from plantations is low, however increasing year by year as plantations reach maturity.

• In view of strong demand for certified teak products in the US and Europe and maturing resources in provinces, FSC group certification of small holder teak plantation has commenced.

• Trees are planted by various private entities i.e. farmers, individuals, domestic companies and multi-national companies.

• Lao Tree Plantation and Cash Crop Owners Association has been formed and will play a key role in provision of technical/market information exchange and promotion of good management practice through internal rules and dissemination of Government of Lao laws and regulations.

• Multi-national companies are expected to demonstrate technical, social and environmental performances of international standard to be models for other investors.

• Requested land area of investment proposals in plantations at the central level is now close to 2 million ha. Conflicts related to land use and concessions have been reported.

• Government of Lao has temporarily suspended new concessions, reviewing approval process and field activities of all existing concessions.

Laos Working Group Representation

• Department of Forestry;

• National Agriculture and Forestry Research Centre;

• Water Resources and Environment Administration;

• Faculty of Forestry, National University of Laos;

• National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Service;

• Land Management and Development Administration;

• Ministry of Industry and Commerce Department of Production and Trade;

• Lao Tree Plantation Association;

• WWF Greater Mekong.

Summary of the Lao Opinion Performance Analysis

Perceived Strengths in Planted Forest Management

• Well managed plantation projects have demonstrated that they can contribute to improved local community livelihoods in Lao;

• Plantations have assisted regeneration of degraded land;

• Teak plantations in Northern Lao are providing a sustainable alternative to naturally occurring teak;

• Provides an alternative source of income to villagers and the Government of Lao;

• Private sector IP investment has boosted enhanced technical know-how;

• Improved forest cover directly contributing to FS 2020;

• Plantation development has resulted in improved infrastructure i.e. better roads, all weather access;

• International investors have also contributed to local community facilities i.e. schools and community centres.

Plantation Investment Incentives in Lao

• Climate and site condition suitable for growing of trees;

• Low population density;

• Availability of degraded forest areas that can be used for tree plantations;

• Flat or undulating terrain;

• An existing road infrastructure that is gradually being upgraded;

• Closeness to large markets in neighbouring countries;

• Low costs for land lease;

• Competitive costs for labour and inputs.

Perceived weakness in Planted Forest Management

• Lack of national guideline for sustainable plantation development;

• Misguided land concessions have had numerous negative impacts;

• Plantation establishment is not adequately managed from the perspective of environmental impacts;

• A lack of plantation monitoring and evaluation post plant has resulted in poor long term performance;

• Species site selection has not been adequately addressed;

• Lack of understanding of improved genetics and seed sources;

• Lack of community consultation;

• Plantation development has not adequately addressed the integration of NTFPs.

• A lack of understanding of international markets as resulted in a low sale price for raw material.

Potential Threats in Planted Forest Management

• Inadequate plantation R&D and lack of sound silvicultural practices has resulted in poorly formed stands with limited marketability;

• The threat of fire to plantations is significant with the expansion of Eucalyptus plantations increasing the risk of serious fire events;

• Limited scientific expertise means that attack from Pathogens and disease poses a real threat;

• Hydro dam proposals have negatively impacted on existing plantations. Both directly via inundation and indirectly via increased pressure from relocated villagers seeking timber products.

Recommended actions - what, how, where?

• Need to develop a National Plantation Code of Practice;

• Collaboration with all stakeholders including the Government of Lao;

• Develop a comprehensive Code of Practice that addresses the key requirements of all stakeholders;

• Decide on an appropriate site to commence trials;

• Conduct a detailed consultation and information dissemination/gathering exercise with targeted workshops for key stakeholders;

• National, District & Provincial levels with linkage to a working trial.

Who?

• Private plantation companies;

• Lao Tree Plantation Associations;

• Provincial and district authorities;

• Village forestry organisations;

• Farmers;

• NGOs.

Potential source of funds

• Private Plantation Companies;

• Government of Lao;

• International Organisations/NGOs;

• World Bank / ADB;

• Forestry Resource Development Fund;

• Environmental Protection Fund;

• Agriculture Promotion Bank;

• Hydro Power Investment Companies;

• Mining Investment Companies.

3. Synthesis of results of the questionnaire in Thailand

Overview of Planted Forests in Thailand

The Diagnostic Mission of ITTO reported in 2006 on a total estimated area of planted forests 2.81 mill. ha in 2000 and 2 mill. ha of rubber plantations. The main planted timber species are teak, eucalyptus, acacia and pine. No reliable statistics on wood production exist.

Plantations were originally established by the Government. In the 1990s various plantation programs with government financing were implemented. More recently, farmers and private investors have started to plant forests. All forests in Thailand are owned by the State whereas all trees established on private lands are private property. Since logging in natural forests is banned, timber production in Thailand has shifted from natural forests to planted forests, particularly teak and rubber wood and non-forest sources supplemented by imports. But planting of timber species has progressed slowly due to a series of constraints. Most farmers are poor and indebted and therefore, they have to obtain quick returns. Even a five-year rotation with eucalyptus is often too long. Many farmers apply only 3-4-year rotations with loss of timber yield as a result. Thus, they prefer to raise agricultural crops for seasonal regular revenue and tree crops are usually complementary to these sources of income. Only wealthy and large-scale farmers can wait for the returns until the timber has reach maturity. Farmers hesitate to invest in tree plantations because of the following additional reasons: (a) no proper credit facility is available, (b) forestry species are competing with other cash crops such as cassava and sugar cane etc. which are being actively promoted, (c) the registration problem of reserved species at the time of harvesting represents a source of uncertainty as it might be hard to prove that the wood is from a planted tree and not from a natural forest from where it is banned to log, and (d) some species such as neem have only a limited market.

The main results of questionnaire

Five persons from Thailand filled in the questionnaire about the stakeholders’ perception of the planted forest sector performance. According to the Figure 1., the economic and social/cultural principles were perceived as weakest and the environmental principles the strongest.

Figure 1. The average perception of the planted forest sectors.

Figure 2. Perception of the stakeholders on the Institutional principles.

Figure 3. Perception of the stakeholders on the Economic principles.

Figure 4. Perception of the stakeholders on the Social and Cultural principles

Figure 5. Perception of the stakeholders on the Environmental principles

Figure 6. Perception of the stakeholders on the Landscape approach principle.

Future Vision

The following elements could constitute possible elements for the future strategic vision of planted forest management in Thailand:

• Community forests established with a secured usufruct/tenure rights; most industrial wood obtained from plantations and less dependence on rubber wood;

• Efficient forest product market with adequate transparency;

• Bamboo and rattan resources brought under systematic management and sustainably utilized;

• Planted forest environmental services for mitigation of climate change, biodiversity, soil and water conservation enhanced and, as appropriate, remunerated;

• A firmly grounded forest policy process in place based on NFP principles;

• Decision-making based on adequate information;

• Forest communities and forest owners effectively organized;

• Civil society well organized and educated on forestry;

• Royal Forest Department should take a more active role to promote strengthened coordination between the agencies involved in rubber planting and utilization of latex and rubber wood;

• The obligation of transit permit should be removed from teak logs from thinnings in areas outside forest reserves. At a later date, regulation of harvesting mature planted trees could be reconsidered in the light of then prevailing enforcement situation;

• Wood measurement practices should be further developed and promoted to protect sellers’ interests;

• The Government’s role in mitigating market risks related to private sector plantation investment should be focused to the following measures: (i) arranging adequate credit facilities, (ii) improving market transparency, (iii) promoting diversification of outputs, (iv) developing measurement and grading systems for timber, (v) supporting organization of producers, and (vi) promoting of landowner-industry partnerships.

• A government-backed minimum price scheme should not be put in place;

• Feasibility of establishing a special forest fund for community forestry and smallholder plantations development using the existing banking institutions should be studied.

Main Constraints

• the bottlenecks of the regulatory framework;

• lack of coherence between public policies;

• lack of coherent support to communities and the private sector to manage forest resources;

• institutional uncertainty related to public forest administration;

• deficient information systems;

• lack of systematic strategies for human resource development and extension (including processing industries).

Opportunities

• the potential of community forestry to contribute to poverty alleviation;

• major expansion of commercial tree planting on marginal lands thanks to Thailand’s competitive advantage;

• enhancing forest-based environmental services through payment mechanisms to forest managers and owners;

• expansion of the production of non-timber forest products in high demand both in the domestic and export markets;

• public awareness on the possibilities to use planted forests for carbon sequestration.

4. Synthesis of results of the questionnaire in Vietnam

Trends in forest resources in Vietnam

The forests in Vietnam have dramatically decreased during the last 60 years. The forest area is, however, increasing recently (Table 1). Before 1945, when Vietnam was under French Colonial Rule, forests were heavily harvested for timber, pole, rubber and coffee production (Dang et al. 2001). At this time the forest area was still high and covered around 43% of the country (Table 1). From 1954 to 1975, the forests of Vietnam were severely damaged by the long war with the USA, by overexploitation and by shifting cultivation. By 1976, the total area of forests had been reduced to 11.2 million ha (forest cover 33.8%), of this area only 10% was intact forests (Lung 2001, Nhat 2001). Sine 1976, the deforestation and degradation of forests have continued due to overexploitation, shifting cultivation and expansion of agricultural land. As a result, the forest cover declined to an estimated 30% in 1985, and further to 28% in 1995 (Lung 2001).

In 1998, the “Five Million Hectare Reforestation Program” was launched with a target to plant five million ha forest by 2010, restoring the forest cover to 43% (Forestry Department 2001). The program aims not only to reforest, but also to protect existing natural forests. As a result, the forest cover of Vietnam has gradually increased. In 2006, the forest area of Vietnam was 12,874,000 ha, of which 10,410,000 ha were natural forests and 2,464 ha were planted forests, resulting in a forest cover of 38% (MARD 2007).

Table 1. Trends in forest resources in Vietnam. Unit: 1000 ha

Source: MARD 2006; 2007

Time	Natural forests	Planted forests	Forest area ha	Forest cover (%)
1943	14,300	-	14,300	43.0
1976	11,077	92	11,169	33.0
1980	10,486	422	10,608	32.1
1985	9,308	584	9,892	30.0
1990	8,430	745	9,175	27.0
1995	8,252	1,050	9,305	28.0
1999	9,444	1,471	10,916	33.2
2002	9,865	1,919	11,785	35.0
2003	10,005	2,090	12,095	36.1
2004	10,088	2,218	12,306	36.7
2005	10,283	2,333	12,616	37.0
2006	10,410	2,464	12,874	38.0

By 2006, Vietnam had 2,463,710 ha planted forests, occupying around 20% of the current forests of the country (Table 2). The planted forests in Vietnam are unequally distributed throughout the country. The Red River Delta Region and Central Highlands plant less forest compared with other regions of the country. The North-eastern Region, the Northern Central Region, and the Coastal plains Region have planted a great deal of forests. In these areas, a wood processing sector has been developed, which is making a great contribution to the local economy.

Table 2. Planted forests in comparison with natural forests in Vietnam in 2006. Unit: 1000 ha.

Source: MARD 2007

Forest protection

By the year of 2003, Vietnam had established 128 protected areas, covering 2,228,149 ha, equalling to 11.7% of total forest land, and 6,7% of total natural land area of the country (VN Government 2003).

Apart from the protected areas, Vietnam has established a lot of programs and projects to conserve valuable and threaten species of fauna and flora that located outside protected areas. This includes the establishment of botanic gardens, and ex situ (Nghia 2005). Recently, Vietnam has developed the watershed protection regime for several important basins, which may help protect forests, biodiversity and environment in those areas (Taylor & Wright 2001).

Table 3: System of protected areas in Vietnam (Forest Department 2004)

Planted forest ownership

By 2005, Vietnam had 2,333,526 ha of planted forests of which 1,223,646 ha (ca. 52%) was under the management of the Government. The rest of the area (1,109,880 ha) was under the management of farmers and the private sector. In the coming years the planted forest area is continuously being increased as the Government has implemented a policy of forest and forest land allocation in the whole country. According to the Ministry of Resources and Environment (2006), by the time of 2005 January, Vietnam had 1,180,465 stakeholders using forest land, of which 1,173,829 were households, 1,245 stakeholders at commune level, 1,365 economical organizations, and 3,105 other organizations.

Exported value of forest products

The exported value of wood products and NTFPs has gratefully developed during the last years. Vietnam received only 60 Million USD for forest products exports in 1996. Eleven years later, in 2007, this number was more than 2 billions USD. Vietnam is exporting forest products into 120 markets in the word, mainly in USA, EU and Japan. The forest sector is a very potential and rapidly developing industry. The industry requires, however, a great amount of wood, especially from planted forests in the coming decades (Wood and Forest Products Association of Vietnam 2007).

Table 4: Exported value of wood and NTFPs of Vietnam (1996 -2007)

Domestic market of forest products

In 2005, Vietnam used a great amount of forest products for the domestic market. The requirement for round wood, particularly for saw logs, is in recent years increasing substantially (Table 5). The increasing demand of wood provides an excellent opportunity for planted forest sector. The emerging role of forest products provides an opportunity for communities to improve their living standards of and contribute to poverty alleviation in the country.

Table 5. Demand of forest products in 2003 and 2005 in Vietnam

Source: Wood and Forest Products Association of Vietnam 2007

Perceived strengths in planted forest management

The Government has paid great concern and efforts to develop planted forests in the country, of which the “Five Million Hectare Reforestation Program” is an important and ambitious program aiming to plant five million ha of forests by 2010. Recently, the Government has introduced the “Forest Development Strategy” for the period from 2006-2020, in which planted forest development will play an important (MARD 2007). Apart from these, the Government has launched a number of programs and projects aiming to increase planted forests on a national level, and to improve living standards and infrastructure in rural areas for local communities. Planted forests play an important role in terms of protecting environment and improving livelihoods in the rural areas. There are innovations emerging in silviculture providing improved species and techniques. The media network is developing, which will enable transfer of knowledge to more remote areas. The market for planted forest products is currently developing rapidly and will require a great effort from the development of planted forests in the coming years.

Many foreign and private enterprises are interested in finding suitable forest lands for establishing new plantations. Many international customers are now requiring international recognized certification of planted forests. This makes central and provincial governments and larger forestry companies who own planted forest paying more attention to policies and efforts to improve their forest management in order to meet international standards.

Perceived weaknesses in planted forest management

• The investment in planted forests silviculture practices is low (develop proper seedling selection, thinning/pruning). Especially investment in protected forests is low.

• The minimum rotation lengths needed to receive an appropriate yield is more than eight years in order to be able to use 25-30% of the logs for sawn log for furniture. Due to the financial set up, normally the plantation owners, who mainly are local farmers, are harvesting earlier to get a return on their investment because high loan rate from the bank and for daily subsistence. The farmers cannot afford to keep the stands longer even though they realize that they would receive better returns if prolonging the rotation. Young timber with a small diameter is only suitable for pulp and paper production. The Government have little control on planted forest management activities both in terms of areas, species and the harvest time. There is little information and poor reporting at provincial level on the planted forest area owned by local peoples, species composition, what yield a year, harvest volumes per ha.

• There is a limited understanding, especially among smallholder, on the stand density and thinning practises for different purposes (protective, productive and commercial use or landscape restoration).

• There is a lack of information on the market both for domestic and export purposes, especially for local farmers who live in the rural areas with no access to useful information.

• The rotation length required is normally long, particularly for saw log production. It takes long for smallholders to get returns on their investment. This is especially difficult for the poor as they have to pay loans and other expenditures. In many areas, such as the south-eastern region, planted forests are competing with other high valuable industrial species such as rubber and pepper. In these cases the planted forest sector could not developed without suitable policies from the Government.

Potential threats in planted forest management

• As partly mentioned above, there is a high competition between wood chip and paper production with furniture industry in the country. Only few species from planted forest have market demand such as acacia, eucalyptus and pine. Native species such as Styrax, manglietia plantation area are now gradually being replaced by acacia mostly in the northern provinces of Vietnam due to less demand from the market and price;

• The increasing stands of even aged, exotic species stands will run the risk of diseases and pests. Because of the rapid development of planted forests, the owners do not pay sufficient attention to protect the environment, which can lead to soil erosion and degraded land.

Recommended actions and follow-up (who, what, how and by whom, where)

Vietnam should establish a responsible group from related fields, in which the Forest Department (under MARD) would take the lead. This group would be in charge of establishing the Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Management of Planted Forests in Vietnam. These Guidelines should be widely disseminated through training and technical transfer to local people. It is necessary that Vietnam would monitor and evaluate the progress annually.

Potential sources of funds

Vietnam can get funds from the Government, from companies and associations both in Vietnam and from international organizations. At present, funding are made available from the Government of Vietnam, notably stated in the newly approved Forestry Development Strategy and in the past few years funding for “Five Million Hectare Programme”. Many ODA funded projects focusing on plantation forest from various sources such as the WB, ADB, GTZ, KFW, Japan etc. have been implementing in Vietnam. Foreign companies operating in Vietnam and Vietnamese owned wood processing companies have interest in establishing plantation in order to secure long term supply of raw material to equilibrate investments for the processing machines and equipments.

Vietnam will need help in both in technical backstopping and funding from FAO in order to establish, implement and disseminate the Guideline in Vietnam.