Bio-diversity

Thanh Hoa is the province which has the largest area of indigenous bamboo in Vietnam. The province has provided bamboo seedlings and bamboo shoots to meet the demand of other localities throughout the country. With the existing area of bamboo forests and community experience in bamboo forest plantation, Thanh Hoa has great potential in developing into a specialised bamboo area of high economic value. However, these bamboo forests have become degraded in terms of area and quality. Low community awareness on the importance of sustainable use of the bamboo forest and overexploitation of bamboo forest resources for daily subsistence of the rural poor communities living in adjacent to the forests, result in these bamboo forests degradation. Land degradation and the exhaustion of forest resources, which have provided the main income source of the community, have significantly increased the poverty in the area which is acute due to the high population growth. Pest diseases are also a major problem because all of the existing bamboo forests are homogeneous. As a result, farmers have replaced areas devoted to bamboo with other crops for the short-term benefit in recent years. The project meets the goal of GEF/SGP by promoting the sustainable use of the indigenous bamboo forest resources, contributing to poverty alleviation of the ethnic minorities in the project area. It will be carried out in Nguyet An Commune, Ngoc Lac District, which is one of the localities having the largest areas devoted to bamboo forest in Thanh Hoa Province. The project will develop a model which promotes inter-cropping of bamboo trees and other indigenous wood species. Appropriate silvicultural techniques in bamboo forest plantation and harvesting will be transferred to farmers. The model aims to protect the existing bamboo forests, increase the acreage of bamboo forests and generate higher income for the community. Through undertaking the project activities, the project aims to raise environmental awareness of local stakeholders and community on the issues of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of bamboo forest resources. The project supports the forestry programmes of the province of Thanh Hoa through developing the model which has the potential to be largely replicated in all the province where the same problem of bamboo forest degradation has occurred, contributing to poverty alleviation for the ethnic communities in the province.

Vietnam