In Viet Nam, helping locals grow a responsible timber industry

QUANG TRI PROVINCE :: VIETNAM

Mai Thi Huyen, an employee at the Nguyen Phong factory in the Annamite Mountains, slides a board of acacia wood through an industrial ripsaw. Once it’s cut down to size and processed, that wood—sourced from trees grown by area cooperatives—will be packed into neat stacks and transported to a manufacturer to shape into IKEA patio furniture.

For years, the global retailer and WWF have worked with local forest smallholders—individuals with government contracts to work plots of land—to certify their timber operations with the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). But while buyers and manufacturers increasingly require this stamp of approval on products, smallholders have found it difficult or expensive to obtain. So starting in 2010, hundreds of smallholders formed cooperatives to exchange knowledge and resources, enabling them to collectively improve forest management practices, forge relationships with buyers, and strengthen supply chains.

To date, the co-ops have helped more than 3,000 plantation owners secure FSC certification for about 60,000 acres of land. In addition to supporting smallholders in extending their harvesting cycles, which protects groundwater and yields better wood, “We also help introduce native species to increase plantations’ climate resilience and improve biodiversity,” says Le Viet Tam, a forest program manager for WWF-Greater Mekong. This boosts growers’ businesses and their livelihoods as well.