{"id":4415,"date":"2021-05-21T13:51:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T06:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/?p=4415"},"modified":"2021-05-21T16:09:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T09:09:30","slug":"drastic-forest-development-vietnam-to-plant-1-billion-trees-but-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/drastic-forest-development-vietnam-to-plant-1-billion-trees-but-how\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Drastic forest development\u2019: Vietnam to plant 1 billion trees \u2014 but how?"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>After a string of deadly typhoons in late 2020, Vietnam\u2019s prime minister called for the country to plant 1 billion trees nationwide by 2025 to reduce the risk of landslides and flooding.<\/li>\n<li>Surprisingly, the government says tree planting will be concentrated in developed areas such as cities and industrial zones; it has not released further specifics on what species will be planted, where, by whom, or the cost.<\/li>\n<li>Past reforestation campaigns have succeeded in increasing the country\u2019s overall tree cover, but mainly by establishing plantations of non-native species that are regularly clear-cut for paper or timber. Some organizations and farmers are working to change the way Vietnam approaches reforestation.<\/li>\n<li>This story was produced with support from the Rainforest Journalism Fund in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In October and November of 2020, a relentless barrage of nine typhoons and tropical storms slammed into Vietnam, setting off record floods and countless landslides. Nearly 200 people died, and property damage was estimated at $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Then-Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc responded on Nov. 10 <a href=\"https:\/\/vietnamnews.vn\/politics-laws\/804568\/pm-calls-for-a-billion-more-trees.html\">by\u00a0calling for<\/a>\u00a01 billion trees to be planted nationwide by 2025 in hopes that increased forest cover would help prevent future landslides and reduce flooding.<\/p>\n<p>The billion-tree program is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.vietnamplus.vn\/pm-gives-green-light-to-1billiontree-growing-project\/199619.vnp\">now\u00a0official government policy\u00a0<\/a>with a number of aims, including protecting ecosystems, improving scenery, responding to climate change, and aiding economic development. But the government has yet to release specifics on what species will be planted where and by whom, or the cost and source of funding.<\/p>\n<p>And while the initiative was created in the wake of natural disasters that heavily impacted communities in mountainous areas, especially in central Vietnam, it places most of its emphasis elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development [MARD] created a draft circular, and if you look at it, 85% of the trees are planned for urban areas and industrial zones, so only 15% for upland areas,\u201d said Phuc Xuan To, a program analyst at the international NGO Forest Trends. \u201cOf course urban and industrial zones are important, but not as important for preventing and mitigating the impacts of floods and landslides caused by tropical storms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MARD did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thuvienphapluat.vn\/van-ban\/Tai-nguyen-Moi-truong\/Chi-thi-45-CT-TTg-2020-to-chuc-phong-trao-Tet-trong-cay-va-tang-cuong-cong-tac-bao-ve-phat-trien-rung-461184.aspx\">government directive<\/a> outlining the program, which is only available in Vietnamese, notes that planting will be concentrated in urban areas, industrial zones, export-processing zones, and traffic corridors, but does not indicate why. It begins by noting the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on lives and property, and calls \u201cdrastic forest development\u201d both \u201can urgent task and a long-term strategic task.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, a lack of green space is a chronic problem in Vietnam\u2019s urban areas. For example, the government of Ho Chi Minh City, the country\u2019s commercial center,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tuoitrenews.vn\/news\/society\/20200521\/ho-chi-minh-city-making-plan-to-increase-urban-green-space\/54694.html\">says<\/a>\u00a0the city has just 0.55 square meters (6 square feet) of public park per resident, compared to 30 m2 (326 ft2) per person in Singapore. City officials have already\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e.vnexpress.net\/news\/news\/hcmc-set-to-plant-half-million-trees-this-year-4245019.html\">begun planting trees\u00a0<\/a>under the program after years of urban tree loss due to infrastructure development.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, Phuc said he was surprised by this emphasis on cities. \u201cWhen Vietnamese people hear about 1 billion trees, we think about forests,\u201d he said. That many trees could create up to 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of new forest, but MARD\u2019s plan calls for planting just 80,000 hectares (198,000 acres), with the rest of the trees going into urbanized areas, he added.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4417\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4417\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung2.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung2-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4417\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">On April 4, officials and volunteers planted 23 trees in an unfinished park along the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, part of Vietnam\u2019s plan to plant 1 billion trees by 2025. Most of the trees are slated for planting in urban areas. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure id=\"attachment_4418\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4418\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4418\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung3.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung3-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4418\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some of the new trees have started to fade in Ho Chi Minh City\u2019s dry-season heat. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Vietnam\u2019s reforestation history<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tree planting directed by the central government can be traced back to the late former president Ho Chi Minh, who began a Lunar New Year tradition of planting trees in 1959, when Vietnam was divided into two countries.<\/p>\n<p>According to a yet-to-be-published<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/343399918_Assessing_the_Social_Benefits_of_Tree_Planting_by_Smallholders_in_Vietnam_Lessons_for_Large-Scale_Restoration_Programs\">\u00a0research paper<\/a>\u00a0from 2020 about large-scale reforestation programs in Vietnam, 1992 saw the implementation of the 327 Project, a five-year, $68 million nationwide reforestation program. However, this was criticized for placing wood production over food security and focusing on exotic tree species such as eucalyptus and acacia.<\/p>\n<p>In 1998, the government introduced the national 5 Million Hectare Reforestation Program (5MHRP), which cost more than $1.5 billion through 2010, dramatically increasing the scale of the 327 Project. 5MHRP did not meet its area-based reforestation goals, and in some provinces encouraged the replacement of natural shrubland that local communities lived off with monoculture plantations, generally acacia, managed and periodically clear-cut by smallholders.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4419\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4419\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4419\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung4.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung4-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4419\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Acacia plantations dominate the landscape of Huong Tra district in central Vietnam\u2019s Thua Thien-Hue province. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure id=\"attachment_4420\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4420\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4420\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung5.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung5-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung5-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4420\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nguyen Quang Hoa tending to seedlings at his home outside Hue, in Thua Thien-Hue province. Most plantations in the area grow a monocrop of acacia but Hoa plants long-lived native trees among the acacia on his plantation. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Smallholders are a major aspect of forestry in Vietnam, as they control at least half of the country\u2019s planted forest area, and in rural areas such as the mountains outside Hue, plantations are the main source of income for residents. Plantation forests generally offer fewer environmental benefits than native forest ecosystems; for example, they shelter less wildlife, offer less protection from storms, and store less carbon.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these shortcomings, initiatives such as the 327 Project and 5MHRP did have an impact on raw forest figures. Vietnam\u2019s forest cover grew from 28% of the country, or 9.4 million hectares (23 million acres), in 1990 to 42%, or 14.6 million hectares (36 million acres), in 2020, according to figures in the 2020 paper. Both natural forests and plantations grew during this time, but plantations grew more rapidly, according to\u00a0Open Development Mekong. As of 2016, natural forests comprised about 71% of total tree cover; of this, only\u00a00.25%\u00a0is primary forest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn one hand, forest cover has expanded, so if that\u2019s your metric, then reforestation has been somewhat successful,\u201c said Pamela McElwee, an associate professor of human ecology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, U.S., who co-authored the 2020 paper. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t say anything about the quality of forests and what their long-term status will be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McElwee said there are major regional differences in how reforestation has been pursued, given Vietnam\u2019s diverse geography. While swaths of central Vietnam are now carpeted with non-native acacia plantations for harvesting,\u00a0parts of the Mekong Delta\u00a0have successfully expanded or, at the very least, maintained indigenous mangrove forest cover that is intended to stay in place and protect coastal communities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4421\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4421\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung6.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung6-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung6-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4421\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Newly planted mangrove trees in Tra Vinh province, part of local tree-planting efforts in the Mekong Delta unrelated to Vietnam\u2019s 1-billion-tree program. Mangroves help protect local communities from the rising sea levels and increasing storms that are resulting from climate change. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The acacia problem<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the descent into the city of Hue in central Vietnam, the region appears an endless expanse of forested hills and mountains. At ground level, however, it becomes apparent that this is a ruse: mile after mile of mono-crop plantations, mostly growing acacia, cover the lowlands and foothills leading up toward the rugged border with Laos.<\/p>\n<p>Acacia is not native to Vietnam, yet is has come to dominate this landscape, where thousands of smallholders grow it on harvest cycles of up to seven years for paper and timber production.<\/p>\n<p>The forestry sector is of major economic significance, with the Vietnam Administration of Forestry\u00a0aiming\u00a0to hit $14 billion in exports this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo acacia puts money in people\u2019s pockets, but it has driven land stratification, and not everyone is benefitting from it,\u201d McElwee said. \u201cThere are different models elsewhere [in Vietnam], for example some of the mangrove models rely on more diverse ecologies, but that does not happen with acacia: it is one species, and nothing else is there, and that\u2019s not what people think of as a forest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, tall, thin acacia trees are easily knocked down in high winds, pulling up soil and increasing the risk of landslides.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4422\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4422\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung7.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung7-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung7-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4422\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trucks carrying timber are a common sight on the roads of Thua Thien-Hue province. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure id=\"attachment_4423\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4423\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4423\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung8.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung8-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung8-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4423\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A former acacia plantation being prepared for the construction of an expressway near the city of Hue in Thua Thien-Hue province. Infrastructure development remains a major driver of tree loss in Vietnam. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Huong Tra district, just outside of Hue in Thua Thien-Hue province, was lashed by last year\u2019s storms, and nearby a series of landslides buried 17 workers at a hydropower dam, setting off a dramatic rescue operation involving the Vietnamese military. Only six bodies were ever recovered.<\/p>\n<p>Endless acacia plantations, the types encouraged and subsidized by previous reforestation programs, spread out from the narrow, pockmarked road that follows a valley. The harvest rotations of small plots create a patchwork of 12-meter-tall (40-foot) trees next to freshly cleared land.<\/p>\n<p>A tree farmer who requested anonymity in order to speak freely about his economic situation sat at a drink stall, taking a break from maintaining his land.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI moved here in 2002 to start growing acacia,\u201d he said in Vietnamese. \u201cIf I sell them for material to make paper, they grow for four or five years, but to get timber it should be over seven years. Economically, it doesn\u2019t make that much money, and the soil is very hard to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His simple concrete house down the road testifies to his meager income. According to the farmer, if he grows 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of acacia for five years, he can sell it for $3,470 in profit, or just $58 per month \u2014 and that is considered a good selling price. He has about 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of acacia and grows jackfruit, mango and banana trees around his home for supplemental income, as the soil on the valley floor is richer than on the hillsides.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe acacia trees don\u2019t hold water or soil, so when it rains, any good soil comes downhill,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the highest parts of the hills, it can take 10 years for a tree to reach a height that it would normally reach in seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked if he or his neighbors have planted anything other than acacia, he said that is all they know: \u201cBut if I got to know about projects using other species, I\u2019d love to learn about them.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4416\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4416\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung0.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung0-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung0-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4416\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cleared plantation plots alternate with growing acacia next to a reservoir in Huong Tra district. Areas such as this are counted as forest cover although compared to natural forest they provide far fewer environmental benefits such as carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and protection from erosion. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Mixed plantations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In fact, such reforestation efforts are underway across Vietnam thanks to conservation NGOs such as WWF-Vietnam and PanNature, as well as the initiative of individual farmers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Vietnam, we focus too much on tree plantation initiatives where we just try to increase forest cover \u2014 wherever there are trees, it can count as forest \u2014 and we want to focus more on the quality and sustainability of those activities,\u201d said Nguyen Hai Van, PanNature\u2019s deputy director. \u201cIn previous programs we planted fast-growing trees like acacia, but for a long time nobody has talked about the sustainability of it, and there are so many questions on that issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PanNature works with local communities, especially ethnic minority groups, in the Central Highlands and the mountainous northwest to revive traditional forest management methods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe try to restore forests and be very careful with which type of species we provide to the local people to plant,\u201d Van said. \u201cWe consider the soil quality, the microclimate, whether it fits with the native ecosystem, what value and benefit people can get if they plant that tree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nguyen Duc To Luu, PanNature\u2019s resource governance program manager, added that they don\u2019t strictly focus on trees either; instead, they mix in shrubs, medicinal plants and fruit plants. This gives people who rely on the forest for their livelihood a more diverse income source, while also avoiding the pitfalls of monocrop plantations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t go for big plantations of industrial species, instead we want to use small-scale projects conducted by local people allocated with multipurpose species and mixed plantations, not just timber,\u201d Luu said. \u201cWe provide not only the seedlings; we take people from the beginning of seed production to plantation design to site selection and protection and care. We try to create a long-term relationship with communities protecting the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PanNature also recently discovered a population of endangered northern white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) near one of their project sites in Son La, a province in the remote northwest. They plan to plant fruit trees that the primates can feed on while extending their habitat through new mixed forests.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4424\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4424\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung9.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung9-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung9-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4424\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nguyen Quang Hoa, left, and Phan Huu Tan at the latter\u2019s farm. The acacia behind them was planted in 2014 and trimmed in 2018. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Thua Thien-Hue, meanwhile, WWF-Vietnam is working with farmers like Nguyen Quang Hoa on an alternative method of reforestation that could provide a model for the billion-tree program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe still replant harvested acacia, but at the same time we also put in native species that last longer,\u201d Hoa said at his house next to a cemetery in the lowlands outside Hue. \u201cSo when farmers want to take the acacia, they will just cut those and leave the others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This project is just a year old, but Hoa took us to a large farm owned by Phan Huu Tan in Huong Thuy district. Spread over 130 hectares (321 acres), Tan\u2019s property is much larger than that of the average smallholder, and outside of acacia he also grows oranges, peppers, bananas and passionfruit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cut down a lot of trees earlier in my life in both Vietnam and Laos, and now I want to help grow them back,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n<p>With support from WWF-Vietnam, he has carved out 7 hectares (17.3 acres) for mixed planting, a move away from solely acacia. Here, 500 indigenous tree seedlings have been planted among 3,000 acacias on each hectare.<\/p>\n<p>The indigenous species include Indian mahogany (Chukrasia tabularis) and resin tree (Dipterocarpus alatus), and the year-old saplings are utterly dwarfed by the mature acacia surrounding them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will let them grow into my grandchildren\u2019s generation,\u201d Tan said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to plant them too deep into the property, as I can\u2019t monitor everything and I worry people will cut them down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said he hopes to eventually expand the mixed-species area to 50 hectares (124 acres), a goal that would add thousands of native, long-living trees to his property. However, Hoa noted that for many, the economics of acacia will outweigh the environmental benefits of more diverse, healthier forests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who have a lot of land will probably volunteer some of it for projects like this, but if they don\u2019t have much land, they won\u2019t, because they know that if they grow native trees, it will be their grandchildren who inherit them,\u201d he said. \u201cPlanting acacia is something they know works, and they don\u2019t want to take the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4425\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4425\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung10.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung10-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung10-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4425\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Acacia at various stages of growth on Phan Huu Tan\u2019s farm. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The future of 1 billion trees<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While any moves away from total reliance on acacia in central Vietnam remain relatively small-scale, it is a trend that forestry experts like Van, Phuc and McElwee want to see.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re going to talk about long-term adaptation, I\u2019d want to see provincial departments of forestry starting to talk about the fact that acacia is not an appropriate species in that context,\u201d McElwee said. \u201cIt is not a durable, deep-rooted species, but you cannot rely on smallholders moving away from it themselves. They just cannot afford it, so if you want to make money off of the sort of natural forest that\u2019s more diverse, you need longer-term subsidies. You\u2019ve got to have money for households as they\u2019re waiting for longer-term timber rotations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While it remains to be seen what kind of forest the billion-tree program will install in upland regions, Phuc, of Forest Trends, said that, ultimately, finding available land to plant new trees on may be the program\u2019s biggest challenge there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is quite a lot of land that could be used, but it is managed by local households, and you cannot tell them to plant trees how you want,\u201d he said. \u201cOn paper there is about one million hectares [2.5 million acres] managed by local authorities, but in reality that has already been used by villagers for cultivation. It\u2019s extremely difficult to find land, and one reason 5MHRP failed is because there simply wasn\u2019t enough land to plant trees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This, Phuc said, is a major reason why the government is focusing on urban areas when it comes to planting over the next five years, despite having created the billion-tree program in the context of devastating landslides and flooding in mountainous areas.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, it may be residents of Vietnam\u2019s fast-growing cities who benefit most from this latest national tree-planting campaign. Additional urban tree cover would help combat\u00a0worsening air pollution\u00a0and reduce the heat-island effect caused by intense development.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, farmers like Hoa and Tan will remain amid vulnerable landscapes in the firing line of the country\u2019s annual typhoon season, which is expected to become more intense in the future due to climate change.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4426\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4426\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4426\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung11.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung11-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/210521_rung11-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4426\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A year-old indigenous tree on Phan Huu Tan\u2019s farm. Image by Michael Tatarski.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2021\/05\/drastic-forest-development-vietnam-to-plant-1-billion-trees-but-how\/\">Mongabay<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a string of deadly typhoons in late 2020, Vietnam\u2019s prime minister called for the country to plant 1 billion trees nationwide by 2025 to reduce the risk of landslides and flooding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,6],"tags":[49,48,54,65],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-4415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-media","category-news","tag-biodiversity","tag-conservation","tag-protected-areas","tag-sustainable-development","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4415"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4428,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415\/revisions\/4428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4415"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nature.org.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=4415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}