Vinamilk Net Zero Forest in Dat Mui
Sitting on a boat, weaving through the mangrove forests for nearly an hour, the faces of the members of the Vinamilk staff were all radiant and eager to participate in the activity "Environment and promotion of natural regeneration of 25 hectares of mangrove forests at Mui Ca Mau National Park" for the second year. The group consisted of nearly 60 members, coming from Vinamilk's offices, branches and factories in Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho.
Mr. Nguyen Chi Cuong - Director of Tien Son Milk Factory (Vinamilk) - said that he was the member of the group who had to travel the farthest, more than 2,000km from Bac Ninh to Dat Mui, Ca Mau. However, the members were all very excited to contribute a small part to the company's overall Net Zero 2050 goal.
“I have been to the southernmost point of the country many times, but this is the first time I have participated in such a meaningful activity with my teammates – directly wading through mud to reinforce the fish sauce trap fence. Seeing with my own eyes the fish sauce plants growing inside the fence that my colleagues had built a year ago, I felt very touched, happy and proud,” Mr. Cuong excitedly said.
Vinamilk Net Zero Forest in Dat Mui, Ca Mau is a mangrove restoration project using a natural regeneration promotion solution, implemented by Vinamilk in collaboration with the Gaia Nature Conservation Center and Mui Ca Mau National Park from 2023.
Thanks to the fence that keeps fish sauce on the alluvial land and limits human impact, after one year, Vinamilk Net Zero Forest has been covered with a large area of more than 71,000 fish sauce trees, growing well in both quantity and height. Many trees are 40-50cm tall, with an average density of 2,500-2,800 trees/ha.
Most of the trees have grown roots above the ground, contributing to the retention of alluvium as well as increasing the ability to absorb carbon. According to Ms. Huyen Do - Founder and Director of Gaia Nature Conservation Center - mangrove forests not only have the ability to store carbon in the trunk, leaves, roots, etc., but also in the soil (sedimentary basin). Thanks to that, mangrove forests have the ability to sequester carbon 4-10 times higher than terrestrial forests, with a storage time of up to thousands of years.
“Forests restored by natural regeneration promotion methods are often slower to form than planted forests, but have higher value in terms of biodiversity and carbon sequestration. At Vinamilk Net Zero Forest, the special thing is that the protected forests are filled very quickly. With this result, we believe that the project will soon achieve the goals that the parties initially set out,” said Mr. Le Van Dung - Director of Mui Ca Mau National Park.
Join hands to form carbon sinks from forests
In addition to its great potential for carbon storage, Mr. Le Van Su - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province - assessed that Ca Mau mangrove forests also contribute significantly to responding to climate change. As the only province with 3 sides bordering the sea with the second longest coastline in Vietnam, Ca Mau is one of the Mekong Delta provinces most severely affected by climate change. However, each year, the southernmost province of the country still loses about 350-400 hectares of forest area due to coastal erosion.
Since 2020, Ca Mau has begun to mobilize more resources from organizations and individuals to regenerate forests using various methods. In Ca Mau Cape National Park alone, the total area regenerated in the past 4 years is more than 300 hectares, only approximately equal to the area of forest the province loses every year. This further demonstrates the need for more effective, drastic, and rapid coordination and the mobilization of more resources.
“We highly appreciate the organizations, individuals and businesses that have shown interest and contributed to the process of caring for, protecting and developing mangrove forests. In particular, the role of businesses is very important, to supplement the necessary resources for the relevant parties. Hopefully, you will continue to spread this interest so that it becomes more and more widespread and effective,” Mr. Su said when participating in Vinamilk’s second year of forest protection program.
Vinamilk's natural forest regeneration promotion activities in Ca Mau are part of the Net Zero Forest project. The specific goal is to regenerate 25 hectares of forest in the core area of the national park, with about 100,000-250,000 trees growing after 6 years. When completed, this will be a carbon sink with an estimated reserve of about 17,000-20,000 tons of carbon, equivalent to 62,000-73,000 tons of CO2 equivalent.
Mr. Le Hoang Minh - Production Executive Director and Head of Net Zero Vinamilk Project - added: “With Net Zero Vinamilk Forest, we do not only aim to protect the environment or restore the ecosystem, but also identify measurable goals. Here is the carbon absorption reserve. This goal requires more participation from businesses, the companionship of localities, professional units and people”.
In addition to the existing fence protecting the protected area, Vinamilk also cooperates with Gaia and Mui Ca Mau National Park to conduct patrolling and monitoring activities to protect the forest; communicate to raise awareness of forest protection for local people... In addition, closely coordinate in surveying and measuring the growth capacity of the forest every year, to serve as a basis for calculating the carbon absorption capacity in the future.
Vinamilk is considered a model of sustainable development in Vietnam today and is a pioneer in announcing the roadmap towards Net Zero by 2050. In particular, Vinamilk Net Zero Forest in Dat Mui, Ca Mau is one of the practical activities of the enterprise to form carbon sinks from forests in the future. Before this project, Vinamilk also implemented the program "1 Million Trees Fund for Vietnam" with more than 1.1 million trees planted in 20 provinces and cities, contributing to helping Vinamilk neutralize greenhouse gases for current production activities...
