Forest in the central province of Quảng Trị, home to more than 252,000 ha of forest, of which natural forests cover over 140,000 ha. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồ Cầu

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam had 14,790,075 ha of forest area in 2022, of which 10,134,082 ha were natural forests and 4,655,933 ha were planted forests, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The total area of forest meeting standards for calculating coverage was 13,926,043 ha, resulting in a total 42.02 per cent coverage of the country.

The ministry has assigned the Administration of Forestry to establish a national forest resources database, in a decision announced recently.

Provincial-level People's Committees nationwide were asked to assign Committees at lower levels to perform the responsibilities of state management of forestry in accordance with the provisions of the Forestry Law.

They are required to update forest status data. Meanwhile, agencies, units and forest owners are asked to strictly monitor, update and report on annual forest developments.

The ministry asked localities that recorded a reduction in natural forest area in 2022 to investigate the causes and undertake restoration efforts, as well as to identify the wrongdoings of organisations and individuals (if any).

Localities that have not announced the forest status in 2022 are responsible to the competent authorities for the failure or delay in reporting their forest status in accordance with the law.

In 2021, the country had 14,745,201 ha of forest area, including 10,171,757 ha of natural forest and 4,573,444 ha of planted forest. The total area of forest meeting standards for calculating forest coverage was 13,923,108ha, with a forest coverage of 42.02 per cent. — VNS