The central province of Thua Thien – Hue has established a workshop that cultivate saplings using biodegradable seedling bags instead of polythene ones.
A plantation of saplings cultivated using biodegradable seedling bags (Photo: snnptnt.thuathienhue.gov.vn)
Located in Phu Loc district’s Loc Tien commune, the facility produces 30,000-40,000 biodegradable bags a day from byproducts such as sawdust and rice husk.
Compared to traditional polythene bags, biodegradable seedling bags are about three times lighter and their production is about four times faster. The bio-bags do not need to be torn off before planting trees, thus tree roots are better protected.
The workshop has to date cultivated 500,000 acacia trees using green seedling bags for local afforestation, with survival rate reaching 95 percent.
Every year, Thua Thien – Hue plants and replants approximately 6,000 hectares of forests, which need about 18 million saplings. If all of the trees are cultivated inside polythene bags, environmental pollution risks will be high.
The province is striving to plant 13,000 hectares of wood trees by 2020, of which 5,200 hectares fulfill standards set for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.
It now has 150 facilities cultivating saplings for afforestation, which are working to shift toward greener methods. -VNA