Due to war and forest exploitation, forest area dropped to 33 percent in 1976 and to 27 percent in 1990. The government recognized the urgency of reforestation for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation, and thus implemented widespread and ambitious reforestation projects from 1990 onwards. Consequently, Viet Nam’s forest area coverage increased to 32 percent in 1999, and 49 percent in 2015. This increase has resulted largely from reforestation programmes and land reforms, namely: the 'Greening the Barren Hills Programme’ (or Programme 327) and its successor the Five Million Hectare Reforestation Programme (5MHRP).