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Table 7. Degraded natural forest criteria for restoration via natural regeneration
Sources: Ministry of Forestry 1993; Tran et al. 2006 .
Despite the highly detailed regulations, some technical norms in these legal documents still lack scientific basis, are conservative andor do not take into account well-known best practices that have emerged from research worldwide,
including Viet Nam. Therefore, some do not fit with the ecological and productive characteristics of natural forests and local socio-economic conditions. A typical example stipulates that the intensity of conventional selective logging should
allow up to 45 percent of forest volume, canopy cover reduction after logging to at least 40 percent; and gap areas below 1 500 m
2
. These norms exceed the ecological thresholds which can allow natural forests after logging to recover to their original status Phan 2014. Logging norms have to be adjusted according to forest structure and density of the stand Sist
et al. 2003. Additionally, dozens of ODA international projects are being piloted over large areas for forest restoration based on
experience from other countries. However, extension of successful models has not been achieved yet, and so their positive impacts on forestry planning or forestry extension are limited Phan 2014.
Reforestationafforestation and reclamation are two of the greatest successes of the Vietnamese forestry sector in recent years. Before 2000, afforestation and reforestation were given first priority by the government but the success rate was
low for many reasons. The causes included low investment, poor quality of seeds and seedlings, unfamiliar silvicultural techniques, low incentives for farmers for growing trees, abundant timber resources from natural forests and especially
the undeveloped timber market de Jong et al. 2006; Phan 2014. Since early 2000, the plantation area has been rapidly increased with smallholders contributing substantially to their establishment. Short rotation plantations of Acacia and
Eucalyptus are the main sources for woodchip exports, for which Viet Nam has been ranked first internationally over the last two years Phan 2014.
Policies, techniques and socio-economic solutions have had decisive effects on natural forest restoration in Viet Nam. The results from forest zoning and maintenance before 1990 are not well documented. Since 1993, two major programmes,
327 and 661, have been carried out. Over 1 million ha of natural forest have been restored under the 327 programme Tran et al. 2006. Meanwhile, the Five Million Hectare Project programme no. 661 has completed restoration of 803 000
ha of protective and special-use forests MARD 2011.