Posted on November, 02 2011

With the support of the Sustainable Rattan Project in Vietnam, from 22 to 26 October, a delegation of provincial and district authorities, heads of forestry units, rangers of the provinces of Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam paid a visit to Khamkeut district, Bolikhamxay province (Lao PDR) to see the first-ever FSC certification granted to 1140 ha of rattan forest. This certification is one of the achievement of the regional project “Establishing a Sustainable Production System for Rattan Products in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam” carried out by WWF Greater Mekong.

The delegates had a number of field activities such as meetings with the provincial and district Departments of Forestry as well as the Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) officials, interviewing the local people and visiting the certified rattan forests.

Head of the delegation, Mr. Nguyen Viet Hoach, Vice Director of Thua Thien Hue Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said “The study tour helped us to better understand details of the certification process, from first steps such as the initial survey, responsibilities of each stakeholder (village, district, province and ministry) to the sustainable harvesting and producing of final products.”

“The key is that the community proved a high commitment towards sustainable forest management through its strict rules and a smooth coordination among players has been shown.” he added.

In 2011, the FSC rattan forest provided 20,000 rattan canes which were sold at 20% price increased in comparison with the non-certified canes. Rattan in 1140 ha in 4 FSC forest villages could provide 150,000-200,000 canes/year. The local people produced 2,600 sets of rattan products and gained about 340 million kips (equivalent to 900 million VND) - a remarkable contribution to their livelihood.

Joining the delegation were three Vietnamese rattan companies. Mr. Nguyen Van Do, Director of Phu Do company said, “We are often “thirsty” for the raw material, especially the known sources. In case Lao authorities apply a specific support policy, Phu Do is ready to operate a joint-venture company in Khamkeut to expand our business from this credible source of raw materials.”

The project is supporting Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam to sustainably manage 2000ha of natural rattan and set up two handicraft centres. Hopefully, in the next phase (2012-2014), Viet Nam is able to declare the second rattan supplier which receives both FSC Forest Management and CoC certification.

For more information, contact Mr. Le Viet Tam, Project Manager at tam.leviet@wwfgreatermekong.org