Media workshop: “Sharing knowledge on REDD+ progress and the way forward on Vietnam”

Background
Vietnam, after years of deforestation caused by illegal logging, land clearing and conflict, concerted forest conservation efforts in the 1990s and has increased its forest cover.

Since 1992, Vietnam has emphasized forest protection and development, both through its laws and national government programs. Vietnam is also the first country globally to advance REDD+ implementation, where policies and measures in a national REDD+ strategy are demonstrated on the ground.

REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) is a framework, which aims to enhance global efforts to address climate change by providing incentives for developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the forest sector.

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) study entitled The context of REDD+ in Vietnam: Drivers, agents and institutions shows that forest cover in Vietnam is increasing, but with declining forest quality. This raises questions as to whether Vietnam will be able to benefit from REDD+ and the carbon market in the long run. Second, in contrast to other countries, REDD+ is a potential source of income in Vietnam that can contribute both to the national payments for environmental services (PES) program and to the national poverty reduction strategy. This presents an interesting case of how REDD+ can potentially contribute to domestic policies, revenue and trade-offs, if required. Third, the country’s strong leadership and the fact that the state manages all land can be used to examine how REDD+ might work in an authoritarian system of governance.

A revision to the new Law on Forestry (the Law) (composed of 108 articles arranged in 12 chapters) focuses on forest formation, with provisions ranging from forest management to forest development. The Law has the possibility to establish a stronger foundation to ensure the implementation of REDD+ is carried out in the country in an effective and equitable way.

This revision not only contains the institutionalization of PES but also includes forest carbon sequestration and preservation; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation; sustainable forest management; and green growth.
Also, for the first time, the Vietnamese government has formally recognized customary tenure as a legal entity. This recognition includes forest land and shifting cultivation areas, and highlights some of the challenges faced by ethnic minorities and local communities in getting customary land and forest tenure rights.

Objectives

• To share the latest CIFOR Global Comparative Study on REDD+ research with government communications officers, senior editors and environment journalists
• To inform government communications officers, senior editors and environment journalists of the latest policies developments of REDD+ in Vietnam including benefit-sharing schemes
• To learn how to make a stronger foundation and connections between the Law and REDD+ implementation in the country
• To provide journalists with story ideas and pitches from the scientific presentations and field trip
• To help government communications officer disseminate the latest REDD+ information by providing a communications workshop, which will include an overview of how to craft a message and disseminate it to the media and the public. It will also cover the tools currently used to convey this information.

Agenda