Local residents and specialized forces patrol and monitor the forest. Photo: T. Duc.

Speaking about income from forest carbon credits, Mr. Tran Quoc Hen, head of the Cu Lac residential group (Phong Nha commune, Quang Tri province ), said that the total amount of money received by villagers from protecting the forest is over 3.2 billion VND. “Increased income makes people more aware of the importance of protecting the forest. The taller the trees grow, the more money the villagers receive. This shows that the belief in the treasures of the forest is real,” Mr. Hen enthusiastically added.

Protecting forests is like keeping money safe.

The majority of people in the buffer zone of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park have received contracts to protect the forest under the greenhouse gas emission reduction program in the North Central region. According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Deputy Director of the Center for Forest Protection and World Heritage ( thuộc Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park), to date, 40 villages with nearly 5,400 households have participated in and benefited from this program. “To date, we have paid the people over 59 billion VND from the sale of carbon credits . This is the money they received for fulfilling their forest protection contracts,” Mr. Vinh said.

Since joining the greenhouse gas emission reduction program, residents of Cu Lac neighborhood (Phong Nha commune) have gained more motivation to protect the forest. Nearly 400 households here have received training on forest protection tasks and unanimously agreed to participate in the forest protection contract.

According to Mr. Tran Quoc Hen, head of the residential group, after meetings and training sessions, the residential group established a forest protection team with the core force being households, organized into several groups to take turns coordinating with Forest Protection Station No. 6, the Center for Forest Protection and World Heritage, to conduct forest patrol and control trips.

After receiving money from the program several times, the villagers have accumulated nearly ten million dong. "This money has helped the villagers improve their lives, ensuring they have food to eat and no longer worry about hunger. Now, they feel secure protecting the forest as if it were money kept safe in a cupboard," Mr. Hẹn said happily.

Mr. Tran Van Son is also a member of the forest protection team. Previously, he went into the forest to harvest timber for a living. Now, he goes into the forest to protect it and drive away strangers with malicious intentions. “Some people still secretly go into the forest. We go to their homes to advise them not to do that anymore so that everyone can do their assigned work well and avoid damaging neighborly relations. Gradually, they listend and became participants in the program,” Mr. Son added.

Thanks to participating in the program, the lives of the people in Ho Rum village, Kim Ngan commune, have become more stable. According to village head Ho Van Anh, nearly 100 households in the village are now members of community forest protection groups. On average, each household is contracted to protect about 20 hectares of forest and receives nearly ten million dong. Last year and this year, the villagers received an additional 600,000 dong per hectare of forest from selling carbon credits.

To create livelihoods for the people, the Dong Chau Reserve coordinated with the Kim Ngan commune government to agree with the villagers on focusing on developing pig farming. In this spirit, the villagers received training on building pigpens, caring for pigs in pens, and disease prevention. Afterwards, the project provided piglets and feed to the villagers. Mr. Ho Van Lai (from Ho Rum village) rode his motorbike to the receiving point to pick up piglets to raise. He said that this expensive motorbike was also bought with money received from forest protection. He received over ten million dong in two recent payments, spending only a small amount and saving the rest to buy cows to raise.

Great potential…

According to Mr. Tran Xuan Duong, Director of the Quang Tri Forest Protection and Development Fund, the cumulative disbursement of carbon payments (ERPA) up to the end of March 2026 reached over 352 billion VND, achieving 87.61% of the total approved amount.

"Of that amount, nearly 337 billion VND has been disbursed to beneficiaries. The policy of paying for emission reductions in the North Central region, implemented in the province, has contributed to creating an important source of funding to maintain forest management and protection, support livelihood development, and improve the lives of households, individuals, and communities in the area," Mr. Duong observed.

"The people have become a well-coordinated and effective force in quickly reforesting the area. This also creates potential for the livelihoods of the local people," Mr. Truong Thanh Khai shared.

From the ERPA funds received, households have additional money to invest in livelihoods, infrastructure development, and rural cultural institutions. To date, in Quang Tri province, there are 11,910 forest owners (households, individuals, and communities), 28 forest owners (organizations), and 93 forest owners (commune-level People's Committees) who have been assigned or temporarily assigned to manage natural forests, with ERPA payments covering an area of ​​over 532,400 hectares.

Currently, Quang Tri province still has nearly 4,000 hectares of forest that are not eligible for payment due to unclear boundaries, management ownership, and the fact that forest owners do not reside locally. Mr. Tran Xuan Duong stated: "Quang Tri has enormous potential for forests to participate in the greenhouse gas emission reduction program. This is also an inexhaustible resource for organizations and individuals to integrate forest protection and development with economic growth and livelihood stability."

The additional ERPA funding has helped forest owners (organizations) strengthen their forest protection forces through contracts with communities living near forests. At the same time, it provides additional funding for forest development through the implementation of silvicultural activities, contributing to improving the quality of natural forests.

According to Mr. Truong Thanh Khai, Deputy Director of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, relevant units have intensified patrols and inspections, doing a good job of protecting the forest at the source. They have promptly, synchronously, and effectively implemented solutions for forest fire prevention and control; and applied information technology in forest protection work.