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| Miss Bao Ngoc and members of Gaia participate in planting trees in Xuan Lien Nature Reserve (Photo: Gaia) |
Through the 2-day-1-night journey, Miss Bao Ngoc took part in afforestation activities in many different areas, and met and discussed with local people and forest rangers to understand more about the afforestation program and the local culture.
“Participating in the trip, Ngoc learned that Xuan Lien Nature Reserve is the Chu River watershed forest, so afforestation will be especially important to protect water source security, helping reduce damage from natural disasters such as preventing erosion, landslides, and floods for millions of people in Thanh Hoa province and surrounding areas. At the same time, the restored forest will be a home for all wild species, contributing to protecting biodiversity and responding to climate change. In Xuan Lien, there are still hundreds of hectares of poor forests to be restored. Ngoc hopes that more and more businesses and individuals will join hands with Gaia and Ngoc to plant and restore poor forests here," she shared.
In March 2024, Vietnam received a payment of 51.5 million USD for verified emissions reductions resulting from reducing deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and enhancing carbon storage through planting and regenerating forests. This payment has been transferred to Vietnam for reducing carbon emissions by 10.3 million tons for the period from February 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019. This payment will benefit 70,555 forest owners and 1,356 communities living near forests, divided according to a broad benefit sharing plan developed through a transparent consultation process with many stakeholders.
Vietnam is the first country in the East Asia Pacific region to receive payments based on emissions reduction results from the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). This is an opportunity for Vietnam to participate in the global carbon market. This shows that forest restoration and protection is one of the directions to help us achieve sustainable development, economic growth along with environmental protection," shared Ms. Do Thi Thanh Huyen, Founder and Director of Gaia Nature Conservation Center.
Gaia is promoting the connection of social resources for planting and restoring forests across the country. At the same time, responding to the project of planting 1 billion trees, aiming to achieve the goal of achieving net emissions by 2050 of the Prime Minister and the Government. Among the key areas where Gaia deploys afforestation are Xuan Lien Nature Reserve, Ben En National Park in Thanh Hoa province, and Phong Dien Nature Reserve in Thua Thien Hue province. These are two of the six key provinces in the greenhouse emissions payment agreement in the North Central region, signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the World Bank.
Not only planting forests, Gaia also carries out many communication activities and nature experience journeys to help raise awareness about planting and protecting forests.
After being planted, the forests will be cared for and monitored by the Gaia team along with Reserve staff and local people for 4 years to ensure a survival rate of 70 - 80%. Monitoring reports with specific images and data will be sent to sponsors and published on Gaia's media platforms.
In the near future, Gaia will continue to promote activities of planting and restoring watershed forests throughout Vietnam such as: Xuan Lien Nature Reserve, Ca Mau Cape National Park, Dong Nai Nature and Cultural Reserve, directly contributing to the restoration of natural resources, improving forest ecological functions in response to climate change, aiming for zero net emissions and preserving rare wild species. Gaia hopes that, in the coming time, there will be more businesses and individuals accompanying Gaia on the path to restoring and creating green forests./.