Payment for Forest Environmental Services: For Sustainable Development

Payments for environmental services (PES) is now being paid special attention to by Vietnamese government. PES has been implemented since the 1990s. Many nations have become interested in it and achieved significant results in preserving and promoting eco systems. Vietnam is a pioneer amongst Southeast Asia countries to conduct pilot payments for forest environmental services.

The payment of forest environmental services helps every individual of the community to directly benefit from the services they supply. In other words, environmental service suppliers are to be paid or refunded for what they do in order to maintain the function of the eco-system and environmental service users should pay for these services in order to compensate for damages caused to biodiversity due to construction of infrastructure system, etc.

In 2008, the Prime Minister made a decision to select Son La and Lam Dong as pilot provinces for implementation of the policy on payments for environmental services. Under the policy, hydro power plants, running water plants and tourist companies, etc. which benefit from the forests are supposed to make payment for environmental services at different rates. After nearly two years of implementation of Decision No. 380/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister on pilot policy on payments for forest environmental services, the policy has been officially accepted and disseminated, creating a sustainable economic connection between users and suppliers of forest environmental services. Over VND117 billion has been collected from enterprises. This amount has been deposited at a fund and been paid to organisations and households which are responsible for preserving, taking care of and developing forests.

As assessed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, forests are well protected where the policy is implemented. Forest destruction cases decrease by 50 percent ; the State does not need to allocate budget to protect the forests and social-economic & environmental objectives are effectively implemented, which helps generate jobs for the ethnic minority groups, protect the environment, maintain biodiversity and prevent natural disasters.

 

The policy on payments for forest environmental services is a new one not only to Vietnam. There are not many nations which have successfully implemented the policy. According to policy, organisations and individuals providing tourism services which benefit from forest environmental services shall be obliged to pay for forest environmental services. The rate is equivalent to 1-2 percent of the turnover per each term. Carbon absorption and restoration of forest service, supply of breeding sites, food and breeding animal, and usage of water source from forests for raising aquatic products shall also make payment for forest environmental services. Meanwhile, forest owners who provide forest environmental services and organisations, households, individuals and the community with long-term contract to protect forests with forest owners who are state organisations shall be paid forest environmental services. Payment is made either directly or via Vietnam Forest Preservation and Development Fund or provincial-level forest preservation and development funds.