Vietnam: Companies: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute

Abstract

Entrusted with this responsibility, FIPI has had to concern itself with identifying forest stands by three forest types: production, protection and forest for special use in all localities of the country as a basis for forest establishment planning. FIPI has been participating in land use planning, preparing master plans for socio- economic development and forestry development for regions, provinces, and focal economic zones. Inheriting achieved outputs, FIPI will continue surveying, collecting data and analysing related information in order to finish planning of the three forest types in the whole country, making it a basis for realising the afforestration programme during 1997 - 2010.

The Government has been concerned of the recent forest degradation and its negative impacts on environment. As a result, forest management and protection is being strengthened and rational use of forests is being promoted. This required FIPI to quickly carry out the National Five Million ha Forest Establishment Programme.

Entrusted with this responsibility, FIPI has had to concern itself with identifying forest stands by three forest types: production, protection and forest for special use in all localities of the country as a basis for forest establishment planning. FIPI has been participating in land use planning, preparing master plans for socio- economic development and forestry development for regions, provinces, and focal economic zones. Inheriting achieved outputs, FIPI will continue surveying, collecting data and analysing related information in order to finish planning of the three forest types in the whole country, making it a basis for realising the afforestration programme during 1997 - 2010.

A second focus is to clearly determine areas for forest establishment in each locality to carry out the afforestration programme. In fact, to establish forests in the areas planned for the three forest types indicated above, it is necessary to explicitly identify boundaries and areas of non-forested land which is capable of natural re-growth and restoration as well as land for the planting of new forests.

Following this, forest establishment master plans for localities will be set up, founding the basis for forest owners to prepare their forest establishment plans and prepare technical design for forest establishment so that forest owners can establish forests on non- forested plots. Then forest establishment plans for forest owners will be prepared, based on the findings of the studies on soil, tree species, market opportunities, socio-economic conditions and other related issues. Plans should specify activities, amount of work, procedure and technical measures to be taken for each single step during forest establishment, identify needs for seeding, equipment, tools, and other inputs. Further, FIPI has worked out the Technical Guideline for forest establishment planning; and it has acted as the leading taskforce directly implementing forest establishment planning.

Finally, FIPI has also turned its eye to testing forest plantations by manual direct sowing and aerial sowing to speed up forest re-growth in remote mountainous and labour short areas and setting up Data-banks for the afforestration programme.

FIPI, on one hand, is acting as a consulting agency supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in management, and on the other hand, one of the key executing agencies which is directly involved in forest inventorying and planning for the implementation of the national afforestation programme for the whole country.