Achieving emission reduction in the Central Highlands and South Central Coast of Viet Nam to support National REDD+ Action Programme goals (RECAF)

Viet Nam’s rapidly growing economy is placing increasing pressure on its natural resources, including forests. Despite a logging ban in 2016, the nation has faced challenges in balancing forest conservation with farmers' sustainability and economic development in rural areas. Proactive interventions to sustainably enhance forest management and agricultural productivity are necessary to reduce pressure on forests and enable them to continue acting as carbon sinks. The project aims to set up an enabling environment, and address financial and technical barriers, to unlock the potential of communities and private agroforestry actors in partnership with the public and financial sectors, to invest in forest conservation and the development of deforestation-free value chains for commodities such as coffee and pepper, bamboo or fruits, as well as a variety of specialty products like honey, medicinal plants, mushrooms or silk. The project will improve 145,000 hectares of land through agroforestry and community forest management and reduce deforestation pressures on 500,000 hectares of threatened natural forests in Central Viet Nam, enabling significant environmental and socio-economic co-benefits, primarily for Indigenous Peoples.