“As a new social policy, the PES Policy aims to promote the protection of forests, the environment and water resources, combining efforts to deal with climate change to bring practical benefits to forest growers,” the Deputy PM told a conference to review the Prime Minister’s decision relating to pilot payments for forest environmental services in Hanoi on March 9.

The PES Policy has been implemented on a trial basis in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong and the northern province of Son La since 2008 with technical and financial assistance from WINROCK International, USAID, and the GTZ.

In localities where the PES Policy is enforced, local people who take part in growing and protecting forests act as providers as well as beneficiaries of forest environmental services while the users of resources from protected forests, such as hydro-electric power plants, are required to pay for forest environmental services.

According to Hoang Si Son, Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee, up to 80 percent of forest environmental services payments collected have been given to local people, helping a sizable number of poor households escape from poverty.

The remaining 20 percent were used to re-invest in tree planting and forest protection in the locality, partly helping reduce local authorities’ dependence on the State budget allocated for the work.

Jim Peters, Director of the Asia Regional Biodiversity Conservation Programme (ARBCP), said that Vietnam has implemented the pilot PES Policy successfully.

The outcomes of the PES Policy implementation in Lam Dong province should be introduced to other countries participating in an international conference that is slated to take place in Vietnam in July, said the ARBCP official.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is working on a draft decree on PES Policy which will be submitted to the government in June for consideration.