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Lam Dong Province Records First Hydropower Payments For Forest Conservation Under Pilot Environmental Services PolicyFriday, May 08, 2009 Vietnam’s Lam Dong Province today formally marked the first payments to support forest conservation through Vietnam’s pilot Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) policy, which encourages investments to protect forests and livelihoods. This is the first Payment for Environmental Services program in Asia; the groundwork for similar programs in Laos and Cambodia are under way.The Da Nhim and Dai Ninh Hydropower Plants in Vietnam made their first quarterly payments of nearly 12 billion dong (about $680,000) to the Lam Dong Forest Protection and Development Fund in early May. They were the first power facilities or utilities to take advantage of the pilot PFES policy to invest funds with the expectation that the province and local communities will use these resources to help reduce overall operating costs while preserving forests. Other companies are expected to invest in the fund that, in turn, will help support rural families who, working closely with local authorities, can choose to plant more sustainable crops or join forces to help reduce illegal logging and deforestation and safeguard forests in priority watersheds of the Dong Nai River Basin. Provincial officials who manage the fund are examining how these resources can bring the most benefit to community members. Payments will be disbursed among districts and local communities based on priority conservation targets in the local, district, and provincial conservation and development plans. Monitoring and evaluation will ensure that payments reach beneficiaries and that conservation activities are conducted. The PFES pilot policy promotes investments by hydropower companies, municipal water agencies, and the tourism sector to maintain valuable forest areas while cutting water and electricity costs. The national policy and the pilot site in Lam Dong are being implemented with support from the Asia Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program (ARBCP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The program is funded by the U.S. Government through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Regional Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA) and is implemented in partnership with Winrock International. “In the long term, mobilizing financial resources in this way can help increase forest cover, restore wildlife habitats and clean drinking water, reduce operating costs for hydropower facilities, provide cheaper electricity costs to consumers, and generate higher incomes for poor rural families living in forested areas throughout Vietnam,” said Francis A. Donovan, the USAID Representative at the launch event in Dalat some 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Following the pilot, a full PFES decree, subject to legislative approval, would help stimulate local economic growth, public-private partnerships for biodiversity friendly economic activities, and increase financial support for environmental protection. A full PFES decree would provide the potential to implement PFES across the country. Such a policy could reduce the costs of water and power production for urban areas, provide additional income for thousands of poor families living in forest areas, and provide funds for meeting Vietnam’s National Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Action policies. ### END ### | |||
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