Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland will continue to support the Trust Fund for Forests (TFF) in Vietnam during the 2009-2012 period. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Hanoi on March 18 by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi and the ambassadors of the three countries.
During this phase, the fund will help Vietnam accelerate the implementation of its 2006-2010 forest development strategy. “We hope that with the MoU we signed today, the industry will further receive valuable support to prioritise sustainable forest management activities and strengthen measures for mitigating the negative impacts of climate change,” Nhi said at the signing ceremony.
On behalf of the donors, Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam Pekka Hyvonen expressed his belief that the TFF will make significant contributions to the development of Vietnam’s forestry sector, and serve the common interests of the donor community and the Government of Vietnam.
The TFF was established in 2004 as a multi-donor funding mechanism to strengthen coordination among bilateral and multilateral development partners, and assist Vietnam in implementing forestry policies. Since it was formed, the TFF has supported the implementation of the Vietnam Forest Development Strategy, with priority placed on sustainable management of forests and the conservation of biodiversity towards the goals of environmental protection, improved livelihoods of people in forest dependent areas and enhance contributions by the forestry sector to the national economy as well as to the mitigation of climate change impacts.
The fund, to date, has financed 22 forestry projects in Vietnam at a total investment of nearly 28 million EUR.
