Communications Event on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)

On June 6^th 2015, the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), in cooperation with the Northwest Cooperation Development Centre, held a community awareness event on FLEGT in Hien Luong commune, Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province.

Modeled after the previous workshop in Hanoi, this event was a community level activity to raise FLEGT awareness under the “Promoting FLEGT in Southeast Asia through proactive civil social organizations (CSOs) engagement” (VM051) project funded by the EU and FERN and implemented by SRD over the next three years (2014-2016).The event aimed to increase the understanding of legal timber and the benefits of harvesting, transporting and processing legal timber for households.

 The workshop

The FLEGT event attracted 60 participants from 8 villages of Hien Luong, Toan Son and Tu Ly communes. Two representatives from local authorities came to attend the event alongside the locals. Mr Xa Van Chinh, Party Secretary and Chairman of commune People's Comittee, and Mr Dinh Van Huy, Vice chairman were present. Mr Xa Van Chinh commenced the event with a welcome speech where he said that “In Hien Luong district, 70%-80% of the area is agricultural and forest land. The locals have been trained and supported in developing plantations. However, they do not fully understand forest law as well as state policy. The workshop is a valuable chance for the locals to gain a better understanding of those laws.”

People and FLEGT communication materials

Throughout the awareness event, SRD staff helped the locals to better understand the role of forests in life and the environment. They also shared the benefits of harvesting, transporting and processing timber in contrast with the negative impacts of harvesting, transporting and processing illegal timber. The household representatives enthusiastically shared their experiences in the protection and development of sustainable forests. On top of this, many activities such as singing, games and FLEGT movie were held to create a lively atmosphere over the course of the event. 

-SRD-