The programme, from November 2016 to June 30, 2020, has been implemented in Hanoi and the six northern central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue, at a total cost of US$5.696 million, including US$5 million of non-refundable ODA capital from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
The FCPF-2 project aims to assist relevant agencies at the central level and in the six northern central provinces to improve their institutional and technical capacity to prepare for the REDD+ implementation in Vietnam.
It also supports the building of the emission reduction and transfer of the rights to emission reduction programme in the northern central region (ERPD) for 2018-2025, helping to carry out the national REDD+ action programme and the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
Pham Van Dien, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said the ERPD programme for 2018-2025 is the first REDD+ programme in Vietnam to have been implemented across a region according to the results-based payment approach.
Vietnam has mobilised resources by itself for implementing the programme’s activities with the aim of reducing about 25 million tonnes of CO2, of which the FCPF pledged to purchase 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 at 5 USD per tonne via the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA), equivalent to 51.5 million USD in total.
Results used for assessment are those between February 1, 2018 and December 31, 2024. The country will receive payments after the results are verified by an independent party.
Dien noted that the MARD will report on outcomes of the ERPA negotiation to the Prime Minister to seek approval. Once getting the green light, the ministry and the World Bank will sign this deal, expected in August this year.
Thanks to efforts by authorities and people in the six northern central provinces, the successful implementation of the ERPD programme will be a prerequisite for expanding the REDD+ to many other localities with forest in Vietnam and attracting new financial partners.
MARD Deputy Minister Ha Cong Tuan said REDD+ is a new initiative, and although the country has implemented the project well, it still needs more efforts to move to a new phase – the phase of results-based payments, towards a full carbon credit market.
REDD+ is an international initiative aimed at providing financial and technical assistance for developing countries to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change impact via efforts against deforestation and forest degradation.
Vietnam has participated in REDD+ since 2008, and more than 45 related projects have been implemented in the country so far.
