178
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.
4.2 Economic assessment of different possible forest restorationrehabilitation strategies
There has been no comparative study on the economic effectiveness of different forest restoration strategies. Some studies assessing the economic values of forest types only focused on traditional forestry values timber and NWFPs. Their
estimations of forest growth, especially of natural forests, were not reliable, and thus the results have limited applicability Phan 2014. Forest ecosystem services have been given additional attention in Viet Nam recently Hawkins et al. 2010;
Pham et al. 2012; Pham et al. 2013. Forest ecosystem service fees were calculated and many hydropower stations, irrigation companies, clean water suppliers and ecological tourism services have been charged. Total revenue from forest
ecosystem service fees during 2009-2013 was approximately VND2 850 billion US135 million mainly from hydropower. The fees obtained for 2012 and 2013 were over VND1 000 billion annually VNFOREST 2014b. Thus, in addition to
traditional forest product values, it is financially valuable to invest in forest restoration, development, management and protection VNFOREST 2014b.
However, the time gap between payments for forest ecosystem services and restoration efforts does not encourage forest managers and owners to restore natural forests with much higher ecological values other than afforestation with
Current status and forest types
A. Timber forests 1. Degraded forest due to overharvesting
2. Abandoned forest land after crop cultivation 3. Grasslands with timber trees, soil depth 30 cm
B. Bamboo 1. Restoration after logging or crop cultivation
C. Critical and highly critical protection forest 1. Remote area without afforestation and enabling
conditions in the next 10 years.
Available regeneration threshold
Degraded forests should have at least one out of the three following criteria:
- Regenerating targeted saplings with height over 50
cm 300 saplings per hectare -
Base stumps for regenerating shoots with even distribution in the stand and 150 stumps per
hectare -
Seed trees at the stand and even distribution with 25 trees per hectare or neighbouring seed trees.
Bamboo cover 20 of the area with even distribution in the stand.
Vegetation cover and shrubsgrasses 40, height exceeding 1 m.
179 monoculture of exotic species. Unless fees for other ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity and
genetic conservation are available, natural regeneration forests and restoration approaches will not be able to compete with afforestation and commercial plantations. The low forest ecosystem service fee paid to farmers in some localities i.e.
Son La Province makes natural forest maintenance and protection over conversion to other land uses such as cropland and industrial tree plantations much less attractive Pham et al. 2012.
In conclusion, it is important to find a compromise to achieve the best possible results in forest restoration strategies. If the ecological and environmental values of forests are completely quantified and highly recognized in the climate change
context, there may be more chances for natural forest and landscape restoration.
4.3 Case studies
The project ‘Demonstration of Capacity Building of Forest Restoration and Sustainable Forest Management in Vietnam’, sponsored by the Asia Pacific Network for Forest Rehabilitation and Sustainable Forest Management APFNet was
implemented from September 2010 to December 2012. The overall objective was to contribute to improving the livelihoods of local communities through enhancing ecological services, biodiversity conservation and economic value via
the restoration of secondary degraded natural forests Phu Tho Sub-department of Forestry 2010.
The project applied best practices in natural forest restoration and sustainable forest management in Viet Nam including both technical and community development aspects. The best technical practices were species selection, planting and
tending techniques. Project participants were the poorest ethnic communities in Phu Tho Province who had suboptimal cultivation techniques. It was necessary to design simple, easy and effective restoration approaches and techniques. This
was the basis for the success of natural forest restoration in project areas, which can be replicated in other localities.
The highest pressure on natural forest resources in the project area was the lack of cropland and forestry plantation land; poor natural forests were mostly protection forests which were prohibited from conversion into plantations. In this
environment, the forest restoration model needed to create income for people both in the short and long term. Besides enrichment planting using native timber trees, the project also selected high value NWFPs that could grow under the forest
canopy andor in forest gaps in order to create short-term income for farmers Phu Tho Sub-department of Forestry 2010; Phan 2014.
A forest inventory conducted at pilot model sites revealed that poor secondary forests in these areas had low composition of valuable timber species, only about 15 to 35 percent in the stands Figure 3. The survey also found that there were
approximately 17 NWFP species in low population densities.
Figure 3. Commercial and non-commercial tree species in degraded natural forests in the project area
Based on the prevailing characteristics at the project site, enrichment planting was designed in strips along contour lines in the simplest possible arrangement. Saplings of native timber species and NWFP seedlings were grown in clear strips of 8-m
width or in forest gaps, and the interstrip widths were kept at 12 m. Valuable regenerating species in cleared strips were carefully retained while climbers in the strips were cut for promoting targeted sapling growth.
Local community participation was essential for project success. Applying recognized community forest management techniques of successful ODA and governmental projects and a micro-institutional structure for forest protection and
development in communities was carried out; village regulations for forest protection, management and benefit sharing 20
40 60
80 100
Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3 Plot 4 Plot 5 Plot 6 Plot 7 Plot 8 Plot 9 Plot 10
Plot
Percentage
Non-commercial species Commercial species
