Strategic Environmental Assessment for Vietnam’s Forestry Master Plan 2010-2020

Project Description

This Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) served as a foundational technical assessment for evaluating the long-term sustainability of master planning in Vietnam’s forestry sector. Conducted by ICEM, the SEA also functioned as a capacity-building framework to train staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and its Department of Forestry (DOF) on SEA implementation. The SEA included a rapid review of three Provincial Forest Protection and Development Plans (FPDPs) and provided strategic guidance to inform the development of Vietnam’s National Forest Sector Master Plan (2010–2020).

Objectives, Activities and Results

The SEA aimed to ensure that environmental considerations were effectively integrated into forest sector planning at both national and provincial levels. Key activities included reviewing provincial and national forestry plans, conducting scoping and stakeholder consultations, analyzing baseline environmental data, and assessing environmental impacts and alternatives. ICEM updated MONRE’s core SEA training materials and delivered capacity-building events to national and provincial staff. The SEA identified opportunities for improving forestry practices through mitigation measures and informed the formulation of practical recommendations for the Master Plan. A final lessons-learned paper supported future policy development by evaluating the integration of environmental factors into forestry decision-making.

client:
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam (MONRE),World Bank
LOCATION:
Vietnam
TIME:
January 2010
to May 2020

TAGS

Project description
Vietnam
Completed Project
ICEM conducted this strategic environmental assessment (SEA) with the MARD Directorate of Forestry and the World Bank within the framework of negotiations on a Public Investment Reform Development Policy Loan between the World Bank and the Government of Vietnam. The SEA offers a rapid assessment of three Provincial Forest Protection and Development Plans (FPDPs) and provides guidance for the development of the National Forestry Master Plan 2010–2020 and wider decision making in the forestry sector in Vietnam. It focuses on the following five major environmental, social, and economic issues in the Vietnamese forestry sector, which were determined through consultations with national and provincial stakeholders:
  • Biodiversity: changes in habitats, ecosystem connectivity, and diversity of endemic fauna & flora.
  • Livelihoods related to forest land: more specifically, access to resources and land, job creation, and well-being of ethnic minorities.
  • Water retention capacity of forests and protection against extreme climatic events (including risks during floods and droughts).
  • Transboundary trade in timber and wildlife.
  • Forest carbon stock.
The SEA presents relevant policy objectives established by the Government of Vietnam for each of these issues. It outlines ongoing trends, current and future root causes of these trends, and their likely or expected future evolution. It examines the planning context for the forestry sector and provides an overview of three Provincial Forest Protection and Development Plans in Bac Kan, Dak Lac, and Nghe An, which were selected as the focus of this SEA. The SEA then presents an overview of the main identified impacts and offers a basic analysis of key economic considerations.
Access the report HERE

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