Japan has pledged a grant package of JPY 534 million (roughly USD 5.6 million) for an afforestation project on sand dunes along Vietnam’s southern central coastal region.
The project aims to replant 900 ha of coastal protective forest in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces to mitigate the effects of sand storms and to help bolster the incomes of local residents. Under an accord signed by Japanese Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat in Hanoi on November 20, 2008 the Japanese Government committed to funding JPY 203 million for designing work and JPY 331 million for forest planting. In the first stage of the project, it already provides JPY 39 million for design preparation. Vietnamese forests have been dwindling considerably as a consequence of prolonged wars and rampant deforestation. In an effort to solve the problem, the Vietnamese Government has taken numerous measures, culminating in the launch of the “National project to plant 5 million hectares of forest” and the “National strategy for forest development.” Japan is among the major donors funding these initiatives, providing grants, credit and technical cooperation to help Vietnam successfully replenish its forests.
