Enhancing Awareness and Management of Indigenous Tree Planting for Ethnic Minority Communities in the Headwater Protection Forest Area of Thường Xuân District, Thanh Hóa Province

Approved by the People’s Committee of Thanh Hóa Province under Decision No. 4196/QĐ-UBND dated October 21, 2024, regarding the acceptance of aid from Bread for the World (BftW), the project “Strengthening disaster resilience of watershed forest communities“ in Thường Xuân District, Thanh Hóa Province, received funding of 500,000 EURO out of a total budget of 667,000 EURO. The project, implemented from October 2024 to September 2027, aims to enhance disaster prevention and climate change adaptation capabilities, focusing on supporting ethnic minority communities in three communes: Xuân Lộc, Xuân Thắng, and Luận Thành, while preserving the headwater forest ecosystem.

The Center for Research, Consultancy on Resource Management, and Climate Change Adaptation (CORENACCA), under the Thanh Hóa Union of Science and Technology Associations, implemented four training sessions on planting indigenous trees to enrich forests in the three communes. A total of 110 participants attended, including village leaders, households with forest protection and management contracts, and members of local rapid response teams.

The project area comprises 12,036.51 hectares of agricultural land, including 9,609.65 hectares of protection forest and 2,426.86 hectares of production forest. The natural forest ecosystem features diverse species such as Golden Cypress (Calocedrus macrolepis), Balansa Cinnamon (Cinnamomum balansae), White-striped Amentotaxus (Amentotaxus argotaenia), Fujian Cypress (Fokienia hodgisii), Mediocre Michelia (Michelia mediocris Dandy), and Indian Mahogany (Chukrasia tabularis A.Juss).

In the coming period, the BftW project will support intercropping indigenous trees to enrich the headwater forests of Thường Xuân, mitigating climate-induced disaster risks and enhancing the technical capacity of communities living near protection forests.

With the consensus of local leaders, project communes facilitated full participation in the training sessions. Participants actively exchanged experiences on current afforestation practices, suitable species selection, seedling quality, cultivation techniques, and forest quality improvement. They also expressed interest in planting multipurpose indigenous trees such as Mediocre Michelia (Michelia mediocris Dandy), Indian Mahogany (Chukrasia tabularis A.Juss), and Manglietia (Manglietia glauca) around Acacia production forests. These trees would serve as green boundary buffers, act as windbreaks during storms, and provide economic benefits while reducing pests and tree falls common in Acacia plantations.

The training sessions involved full participation from village members, with over 90% being ethnic minorities. Elderly village leaders with extensive afforestation and forest conservation experience also attended. Women accounted for 30% of participants, alongside elders whose lives have long been intertwined with natural forests. Many shared their memories of living near dense forests rich in medicinal plants and resources that once ensured their safety. Now, they witness the decline of natural forests and the increasing impacts of disasters on their livelihoods.

To make the training interactive and allow participants to share stories about forests and climate change impacts, practical tree-planting activities were organized around the villages.

Mrs. Cầm Thị Hoà, a 72-year-old participant, shared:
“I’ve lived here for 72 years. In the past, forests were right next to our village. We collected bamboo shoots, herbs, and vegetables and rested by cool streams. Now, big trees are gone, streams have dried up, and Acacia plantations dominate. Landslides and flash floods frequently damage our crops.”

Though the training was brief, it effectively disseminated knowledge to the community. The project now aims to plant 80 hectares of new forests and enrich 250 hectares of existing forests, applying lessons from the training to meet the expectations of the project, local authorities, and communities.

Nguyễn Thị Thùy Dung – CORENACCA