Forum discusses promotion of legal, sustainable timber value chains

The event was held by the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VAF) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the multi-party core group within the framework of the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). It welcomed 150 delegates from ministries, sectors, the EU Delegation to Vietnam, the German Embassy, research institutes, universities, and non-governmental organisations.

Pham Van Dien, VAF Deputy General Director, said Vietnam earned nearly US$15 billion from timber and wood product exports in 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, ranking second in Asia and fifth in the world.

Vietnam is striving to become one of the world’s leading centres for processing wood for export, noting that the country's export revenue is forecast to reach US$25 billion by 2030.

Dien said to that end, more need to be done, including creating value chains from input material supply to export, and forming and operating a legal timber guarantee system in compliance with international commitments and agreements.

Oemar Idoe, Group Coordinator of GIZ's projects on environment, climate change and agriculture in Vietnam, said it is necessary to promote forest governance to facilitate timber origin tracing and sustainable timber trade.

To do so, sufficient resources are necessary for developing and maintaining IT infrastructure and enhancing essential capabilities. Digitalisation should be covered by the country’s budget to ensure supervision over timber trade and law enforcement, he added.

On the sidelines of the forum, an exhibition was held to introduce achievements in promoting legal timber and responsible timber trade by member organisations of the EVFTA’s core group and forestry stakeholders. It also provided participants with a chance to seek partnership opportunities.