Advancing the application of assisted natural regeneration for low-cost forest restoration in Viet Nam

摘要

The forests of Viet Nam have dramatically decreased during the last 60 years, even though there has been an increase in their area recently. Before 1945, when Viet Nam was under French colonial rule, forests had been harvested heavily for timber and poles as well as for rubber and coffee production. However, at that time the forest area was still considerable as it covered around 43 percent of the country. From the early 1960s to 1975, the forests of Viet Nam were severely damaged by the long war with the United States, overexploitation and shifting cultivation. By 1976, the total area of forests had been reduced to 11.2 million hectares (covering 33.8 percent the country), of which only 10 percent remained intact. Since 1976, forests have continued to be destroyed for many reasons. As a result, forest cover had declined to an estimated 30 percent in 1985, and 27.7 percent in 1995.