Chairman and General Director of Ecotree Group Lê Thanh Tùng (L) signs the agreement with Germany's NGUYEN GmbH Châu Âu company. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ

HCM CITY — Ecotree Group, a sustainable forestry company focusing on carbon removal and biodiversity preservation, will team up with Germany's NGUYEN GmbH Châu Âu to implement a carbon dioxide reduction project in Việt Nam under an agreement signed on May 31.

Under the project, Ecotree will plant one million ha of forest in Việt Nam and manage them in line with European standard.

According to Lê Thanh Tùng, chairman and general director of Ecotree Group, its strategy is to attract foreign direct investment to Việt Nam, contributing to boosting the country's socio-economic development and GDP growth.

To date, Ecotree has worked with 16 provinces and cities across the country, of which six have approved proposals on conducting surveys to pilot a carbon credit project for planted and natural forests.

He went on to say that Ecotree experts have begun conducting field surveys in some provinces such as Cà Mau, Gia Lai and Bình Định, which will serve as a foundation for signing cooperation agreements with local forest owners.

According to Raphael Thomas, an environmental expert, Việt Nam has a very large forest area and great potential to develop the carbon credit market. He estimated that the project can absorb 12 million tonnes of CO2 each year and earn about 120 million EUR (USD130.4 million) per year.

Trương Thanh Hà, deputy head of Gia Lai Province’s Forest Protection Department, spoke highly of the project, saying said that it does not only brings CO2 credits but also creates a better living environment, and improves income for people engaging in forest planting at the same time.

According to Ecotree Group, the CO2 reduction project will be deployed this year and its implementation results will be reviewed in each phase. — VNS