ENRICH kick-off in Ha Tinh province

The kick-off workshop for "Advancing Understanding of Natural Forest Carbon Stock Enhancement as part of REDD+" (ENRICH) was held in September 2012 by the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) and SNV, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of the Ha Tinh province.

The workshop brought together representatives of various organisatons, including VNFOREST, Ha Tinh DARD, the provinces of Ha Tinh and Ca Mau participating in the project, Ha Tinh University, and Ha Tinh Department of Science and Technology. The workshop, which was chaired by Dr Pham Manh Cuong, Deputy Director of the Department for Science and Technology and International Cooperation of VNFOREST, aimed to introduce the key objectives of the ENRICH project as well as the way it works to deliver the expected results in the coming three years.

SNV’s approach is intrinsically focused on the impact and enhancement of livelihoods, which, among many focus areas, includes the support and setup of technical and economic fundamentals for the environment and community to evolve and flourish. In numbers, SNV’s ENRICH project is piloted on a 5,000 hectares forest area in both Vietnam and Laos. And our carbon stock enhancement demonstration activities contribute to the improvement of over 1,000 people. The sites have been chosen to reflect representative forest ecosystems of the region and the results and operational guidance feeds into the National REDD+ Strategies. The project also aims to better understand the socio-economic feasibility of different options and the incentives, which need to be in place to engage local communities and improve their living conditions.

The workshop also offered a platform for stakeholders from various organisations and localities, especially those from the UN-REDD+ programme, the Forest Carbon Partnership Fund (FCPF) and GTZ- Phong Nha Ke Bang (GIZ) programme, to share their knowledge, experiences and viewpoints on how forest carbon initiatives should be coordinated to deliver the best results.