Blue carbon trend in Vietnam

Locals’ direct involvement in measurement

From a little-known concept, carbon credit has now become familiar to the people of Vinh Chau Town in the southern province of Soc Trang. Now many even know how to measure carbon credits for mangrove forests and actively take part in planting mangrove trees.

Le Thi Nu, a member of the local forest protection team, shared: “When we first began to measure carbon credits, everyone was reluctant because they thought it was very difficult. For many, forest carbon credit was something very distant. But after years of working with experts from the Institute for Forest Ecology and Environment (IFEE) under the Vietnam National University of Forestry (VNUF) and forest rangers of Vinh Chau Town, many people, including myself, have become proficient in measuring carbon.”

According to Nu, whenever measurement takes place, members of the forest protection team all feel excited for they believe that this task is very meaningful, especially when they can now guide other members to supervise forest carbon or measure the growth of forest trees. It is encouraging that the community can measure biomass by themselves and determine the conversion coefficient from fresh to dry biomass for three mangrove species using reliable scientific methods.

Tran Tri Van, Vinh Chau Town’s Vice Chairman, shared that the town has a 43-kilometre-long coastline and 4,000 hectares of mangrove forests. Locals all understand the importance of the protection forest system to their lives and production. Protection forests will alleviate the impacts of climate change, reduce coastal erosion and tidal surges. They can also help regulate local weather.

Research conducted in Vinh Chau Town from 2022-2024 by the IFEE in collaboration with the Aid for Social Protection Program Foundation Vietnam (AFV) and ActionAid Vietnam shows that the average carbon growth in the area is 6.77 tonnes per hectare a year (equivalent to 24.8 tonnes of CO2 per hectare a year) with potential annual economic value from forests ranging from 5-10 USD per tonne of CO2 on a hectare (equivalent to 124-248 USD per hectare a year).

According to Professor Pham Van Dien, President of VNUF, there are currently 177 carbon standards worldwide as the benchmarks for trading. Among these, mangrove forest carbon, also known as blue carbon, is one of the most valuable type on the market. The carbon growth measurement method from the above research has been validated by the Forestry Department (now Department of Forestry and Forest Management) and used to issue a technical manual for surveying and measuring mangrove forest carbon.

This is the first time that a guideline in this field has been issued and applied nationwide. “Measuring and determining mangrove forest carbon is essential to helping achieve the net zero emission goal,” emphasised Professor Dien.

Investing to create blue carbon credit sources

According to Tran Quang Bao, Director of the Department of Forestry and Forest Management under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the department is building a database on mangrove forests in 28 coastal provinces and cities, and local authorities will update changes in forest area on an annual basis. The activity sees the participation of forest owners, especially forest keepers, communities and cooperatives.

Bao said: “Through this method, we can calculate and build a map of national mangrove forest carbon reserve, quantify the total value stored in carbon and annual CO2 absorption growth. Thereby we can determine the environmental value of mangrove forests.”

However, mangrove forests are facing numerous challenges.

According to Associate Professor Vien Ngoc Nam from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, climate change and rising sea levels are causing large parts of mangrove forests to be deeply submerged as the sea encroaches into the mainland, causing changes to the ecosystem in these areas, such as reduced forest area and biodiversity. Furthermore, erosion, salination and upstream activities on the Mekong River such as dam construction are exerting a strong impact on the mangrove forest system.

Nam suggested that the immediate issue is managing forests sustainably, followed by raising public awareness about carbon credits. In the future, forests should be actively planted in areas with potential to increase the quantity of carbon credits, biodiversity. Solutions must be worked out to reduce erosion. In addition, it is necessary to increase preservation and management of mangrove forests; prevent them from suffering deterioration, destruction or loss; and restore deteriorated and destroyed mangrove forest to create blue credit sources.

For their part, local authorities need to soon introduce a policy of handing over land and forests to communities and individuals for long-term use. It is also necessary to expand the mangrove forest area by planting Indian mangrove trees, which are appropriate with the soil conditions and salinity of Vietnam’s coastal regions.