VIETNAM FORESTS AND 
DELTAS PROGRAM  
2012 - 2021 | IMPLEMENTER: WINROCK INTERNATIONAL | 
PLANNED BUDGET: $31 MILLION  
The USAID Vietnam Forests and Deltas (VFD) Program supports Vietnam’s transition to more resilient and 
sustainable development. The first phase of the program (2012 -2018) helped put national policies and strategies 
into practice to respond to climate chang e, with a focus on the forestry and agriculture sectors, disaster risk 
reduction, and strengthening rural livelihoods. Beginning in 2018, the program’s second phase focuses on 
supporting the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to ensure that the payment for forest  environmental services 
(PFES) system —a critical mechanism helping to conserve Vietnam’s forests —is an effective tool in accomplishing 
the country’s environmental and socio -economic goals.  
RESULTS ACHIEVED  
To date, VFD has successfully developed policies and implemented actions to achieve green growth, sustainable 
forest management, and equitable payment for forest environmental services in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa 
provinces. As a result of project support, approximately 25,000 households are receiving PFES p ayments and are 
now more actively engaged in local forest protection. In Nam Dinh and Long An provinces, VFD worked with 
communities to better prepare for disasters resulting in more than 200,000 people in 60 communes 
implementing risk -reducing best pract ices. VFD’s experts partnered with local agriculture extension centers to 
promote sustainable agriculture models. This collaboration helped more than 30,000 farmers in both  forested 
and delta areas to improve their practices and productivity. At the natio nal level, the program worked with the 
GVN to develop important policies including Vietnam’s Coastal Forest Decree 119, which for the first time 
provides specific guidance on management and protection of coastal forests. VFD also helped increase Vietnam’s 
annual PFES revenue by approximately 80% since 2018, resulting in an annual amount of about $100 million to 
finance forest conservation  efforts.  
FOCUS ON PAYMENT FOR FOREST ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (PFES)  
The VFD PFES Activity (2018 -2021) strives to develop  a base of evidence through pilots and the development of 
policies and tools that support the GVN’s effort to improve its PFES system via three innovations:  
•Application of electronic payment mechanisms to distribute PFES benefits : The current PFES
cash-based system is inefficient and creates security risks as significant amounts of cash are transported to
rural areas for distribution. VFD and local partners are developing more efficient, secure, and transparent
electronic  payment  mechanisms  that reduce  transaction  costs  and streamline  payment  processes.
•Strengthening PFES monitoring and evaluation systems : In order to determine whether PFES is
meeting  its goals,  VFD and the Vietnam  Forest  Protection  and Development  Fund (VNFF)  are developing  a
system  to monitor  PFES implementation  and improve  data management,  analysis,  and reporting.
•Expanding payment for new forest services such as carbon sequestration : VFD, VNFF, and
provincial partners are developing innovative carbon PFES pilots with local carbon -intensive companies.
These  large emitters  will pay forest  owners  for the carbon  sequestration  and storage  services  provided  by
healthy forests. The mechanism will be scaled up to the national level to increase overall PFES revenues,
protect  more  forests,  and help Vietnam  achieve  its international  climate  change  commitments.
DECEMBER 20 20 FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.usaid.gov/ vietnam/  
RD/DEV/192 
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