VIETNAM

Large areas of Vietnams forests have been destroyed or degraded as a result of shifting cultivation, conversion to cash crop plantations or the devastation resulting from the Vietnam war, in which an estimated 2million ha were destroyed or degraded. Following the war, attempts by state forestry authorities to reforest were largely unsuccessful; policies focused on managing forests mainly for production purposes, and local communities were not generally engaged in forest management.

More recent efforts have focused on increasing protection and rehabilitation of degraded forest areas as well as reforestation. This has resulted in a significant increase in forest cover from 26% in 1994 to 39% at the end of 2007. A Forest Land Allocation policy was introduced in 2004 for individuals and organisations wishing to use the land for long-term sustainable uses. This has not only helped to protect and restore degraded forest areas, but has also reduced poverty and shifting cultivation practices in many areas.

Despite these successes, the most fertile land is still often converted for agriculture, and illegal logging continues to pose a serious problem. The Vietnamese government admits that some local authorities have limited awareness of violations, illegal activities are not often detected or not addressed due to a lack of staff, and penalties have been too lenient. In one province, park rangers have been attacked and recently received death threats following attempts to shut down illegal logging operations. Some local administrations have also been accused of involvement in illegal logging. The government is also aware of the illegal cross-border trade with Cambodia and Laos and intends to investigate this further.

The FAO has suggested a number of measures to strengthen forest protection, including redefining the roles and responsibilities of forest protection units, rationalising sawmill numbers and efficiencies, strengthening checkpoints, and increasing credit available to smallholders to minimise illegal harvesting.

For information about the EU FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) negotiations with Vietnam, see the Vietnam VPA page.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
02/05/2013	Ecosystems in the Greater Mekong: Past trends, current status, possible futures The Greater Mekong subregion in Southeast Asia risks losing more than a third of its remaining forest ...	WWF-Greater Mekong
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28/02/2013	EIA Comments on the 6th Draft of the Vietnamese Timber and Timber Product Legality Definition On 27th February 2013, EIA submitted comments on the 6th draft of the Vietnamese Timber and Timber Product ...	EIA
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26/09/2012	Checkpoints: How Powerful Interest Groups Continue to Undermine Forest Governance in Laos In July 2011 the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) released a report entitled Crossroads, ...	EIA (Environmental Investigation Agency)
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01/09/2012	REDD+ in Vietnam: Integrating National and Subnational Approaches The international REDD+ community is still struggling with the question how a future REDD+ mechanism ...	Forest Trends, Climate Focus, Vietnam Administration of Forestry & Japan International Cooperation Agency (Phuc Xuan To, Robert O'Sullivan, Jacob Olander, Slayde Hawkins, Pham Quoc Hung & Noriyoshi Kitamura)
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01/05/2012	The Context of REDD+ in Vietnam: Drivers, Agents and Institutions This report discusses the political, economic and social opportunities and constraints that will influence ...	CIFOR (T.T. Pham, M. Moeliono, T.H. Nguyen, H.T. Nguyen, & T.H Vu)
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01/04/2012	Where Next for Governance Reform? This article for ETFRN News explains the Chatham House Illegal Logging Indicators project and examines ...	Sam Lawson, Chatham House (for ETFRN Newsletter no.53)
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09/01/2012	How Viet Nam is Prepared to Meet Legal Requirements of Timber Export Markets This report aims to provide some initial assessments of the impacts on Viet Nam of the newly emerged ...	Tropenbos International (Nguyen Ton Quyen and Tran Huu Nghi)
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21/11/2011	Oil Palm Expansion in South East Asia: Trends and Implications for Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples The exponential growth in the palm oil sector, which accounts for a third of the total global trade of ...	Forest Peoples Programme and Sawit Watch (Marcus Colchester & Sophie Chao (Eds) with Jonas Dallinger, H.E.P Sokhannaro, Vo Thai Dan & Jo Villaneuva)
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01/11/2011	Forest Tenure in Asia: Status and Trends While Asia’s rapid growth has lifted millions out of poverty, persistent pockets still remain in ...	The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC)
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28/07/2011	Crossroads: The Illicit Timber Trade Between Laos and Vietnam This report from EIA highlights an illegal trade in banned timber from Laos into Vietnam, where it supplies ...	Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
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01/07/2011	Timber Trade Flow Maps of China and the Mekong Region This report gives an overview of the timber trade flows in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, ...	EFI (European Forest Institute)
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01/04/2011	Vietnam: Overview of Forest Governance and Trade As part of EFI’s information collection role, a number of forest governance, markets and trade ...	EFI/Forest Trends (To Xuan Phuc and Kerstin Canby)
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28/03/2011	Assessment of the Diversity and Distribution of the Threatened Tree Species in a Logged Forest in Vietnam Conservation of biodiversity and of endangered tree species in tropical forests represents a challenge ...	J Millet (Université Claude Bernard, France) & Luu Hong Truong (Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam)
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15/07/2010	Illegal Logging and Related Trade: Indicators of the Global Response - Country Report Cards This document contains the individual report cards for each country covered in the study. ...	Chatham House (Sam Lawson & Larry MacFaul)
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15/07/2010	Chatham House Illegal Logging Indicators Country Report Card - Vietnam ...	Chatham House (Sam Lawson & Larry MacFaul)
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01/06/2010	Exporting in a Shifting Legal Landscape The authors describe this document as a guide for organisations that currently export, or intend to export, ...	WWF GFTN (Global Forest & Trade Network)
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01/01/2010	Timber Markets and Trade between Laos and Vietnam: A Commodity Chain Analysis of Vietnamese-Driven Timber Flows The Vietnamese wood manufacturing industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, becoming one of the ...	Forest Trends
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01/06/2009	Sustainable Public Procurement Preparedness Assessment in Vietnam: a Reference to the Timber Industry This report provides the findings on the sustainable public procurement preparedness assessment carried ...	IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development)
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08/05/2009	Forest Transition in Vietnam and Displacement of Deforestation Abroad In some countries across the globe, tropical forest cover is increasing. The national-scale reforestation ...	Patrick Meyfroidt & Eric F. Lambin, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
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01/05/2009	Forest Governance Learning Group Update May 2009 This 7th Forest Governance Learning Group Update describes activities and their impacts over the last ...	Forest Governance Learning Group
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01/10/2008	Amendment to the US Lacey Act: Implications for Vietnamese forest product exporters The possibility that some of the Vietnam wood products being exported to the United States are associated with ...	Forest Trends and Sidley Austin LLP (R. Juge Gregg and Amelia Porges)
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01/06/2008	Forest Governance Learning Group Update June 2008 This Update highlights the impacts and plans of the Forest Governance Learning Group in its country-based ...	IIED
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19/03/2008	Borderlines: Vietnam's Booming Furniture Industry and Timber Smuggling in the Mekong Region Vietnam has become a hub for processing huge quantities of unlawfully-logged timber from across Indochina, ...	Environmental Investigation Agency and Telapak
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01/01/2008	Forest anti-corruption advocacy in Asia-Pacific: Transparency International Strategy 2008-2012 The TI Forest Anti-Corruption Advocacy Programme (TI FAAP) addresses corruption as a primary driver of illegal ...	Transparency International
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01/09/2007	Forest Governance Learning Group Update September 2007 The latest update report from the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG), describing activities over ...	FGLG
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01/04/2007	Forest Governance Learning Group Update April 2007 The latest update report from the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG), describing activities over ...	FGLG
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01/03/2007	Good Wood, Good Business Good Wood, Good Business is written mainly for CEOs or senior managers of companies that produce and/or ...	Tropical Forest Trust
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23/06/2006	Illegal timber logging in Vietnam: Who Profits from Forest Privatization Connected with a Logging Ban? This paper examines how forest land allocation and a logging ban influence the distribution of income ...	To Xuan Phuc & Thomas Sikor, Humboldt University, Berlin
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01/01/2006	Forest Governance Learning Group Update January 2006 Describes the group's activities, impacts and outputs over the last year and outlines the path ahead. ...	FGLG
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01/12/2005	Stemming the Tide: Halting the Trade in Stolen Timber in Asia This briefing uses specific case studies to illustrate options for action. Though solutions must necessarily ...	EIA and Telapak Indonesia
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01/03/2005	Approaches to Controlling Illegal Forest Activities: Considerations from Southeast Asia This paper discusses illegal forest activities from the perspective of tropical timber producing Southeast ...	Asia Forest Network (Akiko Inoguchi, Rowena Soriaga and Peter Walpole)
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01/10/2004	ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on Forestry for 2005 – 2010 This action plan was endorsed on October 2004 in Yangon. It discusses development of a common certification ...	ASEAN
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
11/06/2013	International protection for Siam rosewood begins As international UN trade restrictions on endangered Siam rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) come into ...	EIA
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20/05/2013	A Plague of Deforestation Sweeps Across Southeast Asia In 1968, during the six-month siege of Khe Sanh — one of the most bitterly fought battles of the ...	Yale Environment 360
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13/05/2013	Deutsche Bank and IFC accused of bankrolling Vietnam firms' land grabs Two Vietnamese firms bankrolled by Deutsche Bank and the International Finance Corporation – the ...	The Guardian
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02/05/2013	New forest loss figures highlight need for green growth in the Greater Mekong The Greater Mekong subregion in Southeast Asia risks losing more than a third of its remaining forest ...	WWF
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17/01/2013	Dak Lak ravaged by deforestation With more than 2,500ha of woodlands illegally destroyed in the last six months, Ea Sup District has suffered ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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27/12/2012	Give land to farmers, and they will stop deforestation Local residents who have been living together with the forests, considering the forests as their homes, ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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21/11/2012	Certifying Vietnam’s timber plantations would help smallholders profit from lucrative export market Bogor, Indonesia - If Vietnam wants its timber producers to benefit from the growing eco-conscious and ...	CIFOR Forests Blog
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25/10/2012	End sought to illegal logging Ha Noi - Environmental experts have called for an end to forest wood exploitation in Viet Nam after it ...	Viet Nam News
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05/10/2012	Forest scheme needs more time Ha Noi — Viet Nam may need more time to prepare for the implementation of the emission reducing ...	Viet Nam News
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04/10/2012	Calls to halt natural forest exploitation by 2013 Ha Noi - The Tay Nguyen Steering Committee has urged the Government to ban natural forest exploitation ...	Viet Nam News
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26/09/2012	Corruption still plundering forests in Laos for furniture The forests of Lao are still suffering from widespread destruction with the government turning a blind ...	Mongabay.com
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27/08/2012	Indonesia detains 21 Vietnamese in illegal logging Indonesian police say they have detained 21 Vietnamese who illegally logged a rare type of wood in a ...	The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
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07/08/2012	Forests illegally cut down in Dak Lak Ha Noi – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural ...	Viet Nam News
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21/07/2012	Reforms needed in forestry sector The deputy head of the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry, Ha Cong Tuan, spoke to Viet Nam News about ...	Viet Nam News
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11/07/2012	Illegal loggers still destroying forests Ha Noi - Over 13,700 violations of forest protection and timber management laws were reported nationwide ...	Viet Nam News
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29/06/2012	VN urges ASEAN nations to save forests The ASEAN community must co-operate more profoundly at all levels to promote sustainable forest management ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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30/05/2012	Vietnam national park losing trees as law not enforced: study A recent study by an international conservation group found that weak enforcement of the law at Phong ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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29/05/2012	Equitable benefit sharing and better monitoring needed for REDD+ success in Vietnam Bogor, Indonesia - Vietnam, the only Asian country that has implemented a law on payment for environmental ...	CIFOR Forests Blog
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24/04/2012	Vietnam's mangroves trees threatened by rising tide of deforestation ...	The Guardian, UK
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07/04/2012	Authority to report on illegal logging claims Quang Nam — A delegation from the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry is inspecting deforestation ...	Viet Nam News
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05/04/2012	Ha Tinh forests illegally chopped down Protected forests upstream in border area near Laos, in the central province of Ha Tinh, have been terribly ...	Tuoi Tre News, Vietnam
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28/03/2012	Vietnamese exports to EU banging against thick barriers to entry The EU, the center of the global public debt crisis is tightening its belt, which means that the export ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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22/03/2012	Ha Tinh Province investigates illegal deforestation Investigation Police in the central province of Ha Tinh on Wednesday said they would take strict action ...	Saigon GP Daily, Viet Nam
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19/03/2012	Hydropower water reservoirs lend a hand to illegal lumberjacks When the water flow is withheld for the hydropower water reservoirs in the upstream waters in Quang Nam ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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07/03/2012	Illegal loggers use new reservoirs as transport routes More perennial trees in the central province of Quang Nam have been cut down as loggers have increasingly ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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13/01/2012	Illegal road fosters illicit logging in Quang Ngai A five-kilometre long illegal road has been constructed in order to facilitate the destruction of a protected ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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12/01/2012	Timber goods' market on target Ha Noi — The timber products market needs to promote local business and develop the export market ...	Viet Nam News
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11/01/2012	Vietnam’s sustainable forest target deemed unattainable A forest development program of the agriculture ministry has a target of making around one-third of the ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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09/01/2012	Vietnam announces crackdown on illegal timber logging In what is being billed as good news for timber investment in Eastern Europe, Vietnam has announced a ...	KMS Baltics
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20/12/2011	Deforestation, Mekong River's biggest threat The biggest threat the Mekong River's ecological system faces is not the controversial dam-building ...	China.org.cn
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15/12/2011	Timber traffickers targeted by forest management body Ha Noi - The forest management sector is planning stricter measures to fight timber trafficking following ...	Viet Nam News
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08/12/2011	ASEAN justices reach common vision on environment Chief Justices and senior judiciary from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed ...	IIFL
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06/12/2011	Pacific trade deal could help save species: U.S. Trade in illegally poached and harvested wildlife and wild plants could be curbed, possibly saving endangered ...	Reuters
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25/11/2011	Nigeria, Indonesia top deforestation list, China lowest Singapore - Nigeria, Indonesia and North Korea have the world's highest rates of deforestation while ...	The Sun Daily, Malaysia
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21/11/2011	Palm oil need not harm environment or local communities, says new study The exponential growth in the palm oil sector, which accounts for a third of the total global trade of ...	Forest Peoples Programme
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12/11/2011	Authorities tighten grip on illegal forestry exploitation Ha Noi — Authorised agencies have attempted to strengthen measures against rampant and illegal ...	Viet Nam News
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24/09/2011	Regenerating forests in Thua Thien-Hue chopped down completely Nearly 100 hectares of the artificial forests in A Luoi district have been chopped down by local residents ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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19/09/2011	Rosewood trees in crisis Asia's last real expanse of the highly-prized payoong (rosewood) tree in Thailand's Northeast ...	Bangkok Post, Thailand
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08/09/2011	EIA responds to criticism of crossroads report London - The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a London-based international NGO, strongly refutes ...	EIA (Environmental Investigation Agency)
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02/09/2011	Illegal logging for charcoal threatens national park HCM City — Illegal logging of mangrove trees for producing charcoal in Ca Mau Cape National Park, ...	Viet Nam News
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01/09/2011	VN denies illegal timber trade with Laos Ha Noi - Viet Nam authorities have rejected claims from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) ...	Viet Nam News
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18/08/2011	Vietnam faces setback in wood furniture export Nguyen Ton Quyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Timber & Forest Products Association is concerned ...	Saigon GP Daily, Vietnam
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15/08/2011	Forest groups say Indonesia should look to Chinese model Greenpeace says 1.8 million hectares of Indonesian forest is disappearing each year. China and India ...	Deutsche Welle, Germany
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14/08/2011	Illegal logging: from the rainforest to your dining room Bangkok, Thailand — Is your coffee table stamped “Made in Vietnam”? ...	Global Post, US
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28/07/2011	Report: Vietnam makes millions off illicit log trade with Laos Bangkok - Vietnam last year imported about 500,000 cubic metres of illegally harvested timber from neighbouring ...	Monsters and Critics
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06/07/2011	Illegal loggers destroy 800ha of forest More than 800ha of forest were destroyed in 2,900 cases of illegal logging in the first six months of ...	Viet Nam News
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03/07/2011	Wood exporters to cope with tougher rules Vietnamese timber and wood product exporters will have to develop an elaborate system to ensure the legality ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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23/06/2011	Brunei forest loss among lowest in SE Asia Brunei's deforestation rate from 2005 to 2010 was among the lowest in Southeast Asia, according ...	The Brunei Times
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03/06/2011	Timber wars Conservationists demand better support for rangers defending Vietnam’s forests against a growing ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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30/05/2011	Journalist covering illegal logging stabbed ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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20/04/2011	Binh Duong timber smuggler jailed Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on Tuesday sentenced the mastermind of a timber smuggling operation ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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05/03/2011	FAO helps Vietnam with forest management The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has offered US$2.7 million over a period ...	VOV News, Vietnam
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08/02/2011	Export markets erect new trade barriers Ha Noi — Trade barriers used by export markets will become more diverse and sophisticated in the ...	Viet Nam News
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02/02/2011	The world's 10 most threatened forest hotspots As UN marks 2011 the International Year of Forests, Conservation International highlights forest ecosystems ...	Conservation International
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31/01/2011	Forestry programmes promote sustainability by market incentives HCM City — Awareness of illegal logging, sustainable forest management, and requirements of international ...	Viet Nam News
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16/01/2011	Vietnam struggles to find balance in reforestation Let us just say that it is nice to be writing an article with the word “reforestation” in ...	Tiny Green Bubble
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15/01/2011	Locals to manage Hue's forests Thua Thien, Hue – The central province of Thua Thien-Hue has decided to expand allocation of forest ...	Viet Nam News
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10/01/2011	Illegal logging plagues nation's woodlands, says forestry official The deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Directorate of Forestry, ...	Viet Nam News
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23/11/2010	Developing countries often outsource deforestation, study finds In many developing countries, forest restoration at home has led to deforestation abroad, according to ...	EurekAlert!
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01/11/2010	Illegal logging rampant in country: ministry HCM City — Illegal deforestation activities are widespread across the nation, says the latest report ...	VietNam News
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05/10/2010	A tree falls in Laos Vientiane - With Pakistan suffering from unprecedented deforestation-driven flooding, are once forested, ...	Asia Times
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18/09/2010	Vietnam, China agree on agriculture, forestry The two neighbouring countries, Vietnam and China, are now committed to carrying out more joint initiatives ...	Nhan Dan, Vietnam
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24/08/2010	Timber suppliers learn about legal issues A workshop was launched in Hanoi on August 23 to help Vietnamese timber suppliers update with revisions ...	Voice of Vietnam News
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15/07/2010	Major decline seen in illegal logging Illegal logging in the world's forests has fallen by nearly a quarter since 2002, according to what ...	BBC News
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17/06/2010	Wood industry needs concerted effort to surmount barriers Experts expressed concerns on Tuesday over the high risk of Vietnam’s furniture products facing ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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15/06/2010	Poverty and deforestation link spelt out Ho Chi Minh City — Poverty is the main cause of the destruction of forests and eliminating poverty ...	Viet Nam News
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29/03/2010	Lacey Act amendment puzzles wooden furniture exporters Vietnam’s wooden furniture exporters are now as nervous as cats on hot bricks because a new American ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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13/03/2010	Wood export rules change HCM [Ho Chi Minh] City — Vietnamese wooden products makers have to conform to new US and EU laws ...	Viet Nam News
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05/03/2010	EC helps Vietnam in forest management A working group on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) has made its debut in Hanoi to ...	VOV News, Vietnam
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26/01/2010	Malaysian timber products to use 'green lane' to EU Malaysia's timber products will use the "green lane" to the European market next year, ...	Business Times, Malaysia
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15/01/2010	Illegal loggers enlist local support in fight against authorities Illegal loggers and local residents allied with them fought forest rangers in a national park for 10 ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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09/01/2010	Stolen logs found as rafts on rivers Quang Nam — In the last few days, thousands of cubic metres of illegally-cut logs have been found ...	Viet Nam News
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08/01/2010	Illegal logs seized in central Vietnam Forest wardens in the central-coast province of Khanh Hoa seized around 14 cubic meters of illegally ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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07/01/2010	Illegal loggers challenged Tran The Lien, deputy director of the Forestry Protection Department speaks with Thoi bao Kinh te Viet ...	Viet Nam News
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31/12/2009	Forestry and fishery exports up 3% Ha Noi — Viet Nam’s total production value of agro-forestry-aquaculture this year reached ...	Viet Nam News
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13/12/2009	Laws protect trees better than awareness campaigns The government should enforce its laws and help forest wardens fight illegal loggers instead of wasting ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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05/12/2009	Protected forests go unprotected Vast swathes of protected forest on Phu Quoc Island have been illegally cut down by landowners holding ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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31/10/2009	Myths about Sua trees leads to massacre The growing popularity of the supposed medicinal and spiritual benefits that come from the sua tree has ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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28/10/2009	Loggers kill forest ranger in Vietnam Hanoi - A forest ranger was killed and two others were badly injured when illegal loggers attacked them ...	Earth Times
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17/10/2009	Ketsana exposes crimes we’d rather ignore Typhoon Ketsana has not left Vietnam. Aside from the devastating physical aftermath, the disaster ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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14/10/2009	Logging threatens red pines Lam Dong — Illegal logging is threatening the survival of Viet Nam’s thong do (red pine) ...	Viet Nam News
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10/10/2009	Pounding surf, floods flush out guilty secrets Typhoon Ketsana has revealed shoddy construction in Da Nang and flushed huge quanties of illegally harvested ...	VietNamNet Bridge
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08/10/2009	Illegal logging drives rare pine to edge of extinction Nearly 20 rare red pine trees (Pinus dalatensis) have been illegally logged since 2008, said forest rangers ...	Saigon GP Daily
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01/10/2009	Six members of illegal logging gang surrender in Hanoi Another six suspected members of a gang illegally logging and trading in red-listed sua trees were taken ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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19/09/2009	UN, Norway fund program to reduce deforestation emissions A US$4.38 million-program to help Vietnam reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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16/09/2009	The U.S., Indonesia & forest trade Deforestation poses a serious threat to the natural environment, and many species of plants and animals. ...	Voice of America
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08/09/2009	Forest protection measures must cover whole region At first glance, Vietnam appears to be one of the few success stories when it comes to preventing destruction ...	Environmental Research Web
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03/09/2009	US introduces new approach to combat illegal wood trade The United States has been intensifying regional dialogue with a number of Asia's wood exporting ...	The Jakarta Post
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02/09/2009	Vietnam outsources deforestation to neighboring countries In conserving its forests while its growing export-oriented wood products industry, Vietnam outsources ...	Mongabay.com
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26/08/2009	Illegal deforestation still rampant From the beginning of the year, the number of cases of illegal logging has been increasing at an alarming ...	Saigon GP Daily
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20/08/2009	Ministry wants nationwide task force for forest protection A new task force to protect and expand forests has been proposed in response to the illegal logging of ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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14/08/2009	Illegal loggers clearing purebred pine forest near Da Lat Vast swaths of 40-year-old pine trees have been chopped down illegally in a forest just 10 kilometers ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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12/08/2009	Quang Nam court cancels hearing in major deforestation case Judges in Quang Nam Tuesday canceled a hearing over the central provinces biggest-ever logging case, ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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30/07/2009	Fighting illegal logging in the Asia-Pacific The Rudd Government will invest more than $12.1 million in new projects to improve forest management ...	Teatro Naturale
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23/07/2009	Quang Binh forests turned into wood factories It might be highly illegal, but the enterprise is very systematic and organized. ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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22/07/2009	Pride of ownership stems deforestation Villagers in Kon Chieng Commune have turned their lives around since being granted ownership of 3,000ha ...	Viet Nam News
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13/07/2009	Illegal logging flourishes in Phu Quoc Kien Giang - Many trees endemic to the Phu Quoc National Park have been logged without any hindrance ...	Viet Nam News
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13/07/2009	VN's douc face risk of extinction due to deforestation Hundreds of hectares of protected forest in Tam My Tay Commune, Quang Nam Province, are being cut down. ...	Saigon GP Daily
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07/07/2009	New road helps illegal loggers: report Local authorities have built a new road that lends suspicious help to illegal loggers smuggling timber ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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02/07/2009	REDD readiness plans for Panama, Guyana approved but rejected for Indonesia The World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) has approved REDD readiness plans (R-Plans) ...	Mongabay.com
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26/06/2009	Illegal loggers use forestation to cut and sell timber Loggers told to cut foliage selectively for forestation projects have been illegally logging indiscriminately ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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23/06/2009	Plunder of central, southern nature reserves continues Illegal logging in protective forests in the Central Highlands and a biosphere reserve in the southern ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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17/06/2009	Illegal loggers mow down Khanh Hoa protected forest The deforestation of Yang Bay, a protected forest in Khanh Hoa Province, continues unchecked despite ...	Saigon GP Daily
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29/05/2009	Authorities act to protect Quang Nams forests In an effort to cope with an alarming increase in deforestation, Quang Nam Province will not only impose ...	Saigon GP Daily
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14/05/2009	Rangers hit hard by police inaction against illegal loggers Illegal loggers in the Central Highlands and nearby provinces are prepared use lethal force to retrieve ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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08/05/2009	Deforestation on the rise in northern, central Vietnam Illegal logging is escalating in the country's northern and central provinces, wreaking havoc on ...	Thanh Nien News, Vietnam
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04/05/2009	Exporters unaware of new certification The majority of owners of furniture companies in Bali are not aware of a new wood certification process ...	The Jakarta Post
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28/04/2009	South-east Asia faces climate change disaster Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the regions agriculture-dependent ...	The Malaysian Insider
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19/04/2009	Forests disappear at rapid rate VietNamNet Bridge - The Central Highlands province of Dak Nong is rapidly losing large tracts of tropical ...	VietNam Net
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16/04/2009	Africa: countries funded to plan forest protection Five developing countries have received US$18 million in funding to plan how to implement a proposed ...	allAfrica.com
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14/04/2009	Logs sold 'legally' as house frames in Quang Binh With lax controls of local authorities and some new tricks, illegal trading of logs continues to flourish ...	Look at Vietnam
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09/04/2009	Shrinking forests: the many costs In early December 2004, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military and police ...	Prism Webcast News
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01/04/2009	$18 million approved under UN-REDD Programme Funds will back forestry programmes combating climate change and boosting local livelihoods ...	FAO
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31/03/2009	Forests liberally sacrificed for timber, farmland Vietnam - Deep inside the Hao Nghia forest, the sounds of nature are absent. No bird chirps, no insect ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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19/03/2009	REDD funds approved for pilot nations UN agencies have released initial funding to five pilot countries to prepare avoided deforestation action ...	Carbon Positive
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17/03/2009	Deforestation rampant as authorities dither Vietnam - Those assigned to protect forests turn a blind eye, or worse still, abet illegal logging. ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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01/01/2009	Illegal logging creates logjam Vietnam - Forest wardens in central Quang Nam Province have seized around 4,700 cubic meters of illegally ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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28/12/2008	Quang Nam taskforce to surround illegal logging hotspots Vietnam - The Peoples Committee and the Forest Protection Bureau of central Quang Nam Province plan to ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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20/12/2008	Timber hotline opens in Da Nang City Da Nang, Vietnam - The Peoples Committee of Da Nang City and the municipal Agriculture and Rural Development ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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15/12/2008	EC and Vietnam establish FLEGT Technical Working Group The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the European Commission (EC) have agreed ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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15/10/2008	Timber industry to tackle illegal logging Vietnam - Representatives from the timber industry emphasised that the nation should follow the European ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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08/10/2008	Indonesia, Papua NG, Vietnam ask UN for assistance to combat deforestation Hanoi - Three of Asias most rapidly deforesting countries - Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam - ...	Green Assembly Asia Environment
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02/10/2008	Rampant redwood logging destroys national heritage site Dac Nong - Rampant illegal logging of redwood (Afzelia xylocarpa) in the Central Highlands province of ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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25/09/2008	Illegal logging in Kim Hy Nature Reserve Vietnam - Kim Hy Nature Reserve is threatened due to illegal logging by local residents in the reserves ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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23/09/2008	Forests in central provinces destroyed by illegal clearing Residents and rangers from central Phu Yen and Quang Ngai provinces have reported the illegal destruction ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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28/07/2008	Forest protection agency accused of illegal logging Thousands of trees in central Quang Nam Province were recently cut down illegally, allegedly by a local ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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24/07/2008	14 countries win REDD funding to protect tropical forests Fourteen countries have been selected by the World Bank to receive funds for conserving their tropical ...	Mongabay.com
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12/07/2008	Illegal loggers use public trains in brazen smuggling Vietnam - Criminals are smuggling illegally-logged pinewood through Da Nangs Hai Van Pass by loading ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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06/07/2008	Forests drift into smugglers pockets Vietnam - Illegal loggers in central Quang Nam Province have been using a branch of the Thu Bon River ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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01/07/2008	Hit men threat for park rangers Vietnam - Death threats are being left for park rangers in central Quang Nam Province following their ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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19/06/2008	Furniture exporters must use legal timber Vietnamese furniture exporters, who are struggling to source legally logged timber, learnt about some ...	VietNamNet Bridge (Vietnam)
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14/06/2008	Forests stripped for farming Lax management of an old growth forest in the central highlands province of Lam Dong has been blamed ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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20/05/2008	HCMC association dispels NGOs illegal timber Vietnam - A handicrafts and timber association has formally rejected international accusations that the ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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10/05/2008	llegal logging videotaped in southern province Vietnam - Former contractor Tran Duc Tien, 59, has recorded hundreds of hours of footage of illegal loggers ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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18/04/2008	Vietnam denies it uses illegal timber Hanoi, Vietnam - Vietnam has denied a report by two non-governmental organizations, the UK-based Environmental ...	Earthtimes (UK)
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17/04/2008	Indonesian authorities seize illegal timber Jakarta, Indonesia - Indonesian national police have confiscated some 12,000 cubic meters of illegally ...	Furniture Today
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05/04/2008	Rangers have illegal loggers on the run in Quang Nam Forest rangers in the central province of Quang Nam Friday seized dozens of cubic meters of illegally ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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24/03/2008	U.S. furniture demand drives illegal logging in Laos Illegal wood for Vietnamese factories devastates forests in the Mekong region of Laos. Western desire ...	Mongabay.com (USA)
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19/03/2008	Garden furniture for UK market 'from illegally logged rainforest', says report Garden centres and online suppliers are unwittingly helping fuel the illicit trade in timber from threatened ...	Telegraph (UK)
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19/03/2008	Vietnam: How the country has become a hub for the region's illegal timber trade (EIA Press Release) Vietnam is operating as a centre for processing huge quantities of unlawfully-logged ...	EIA (UK)
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13/03/2008	Illegal loggers carry out brutal attack on forest officials Vietnam - A group of illegal loggers assaulted two forest officials in central Quang Ngai Provinces Son ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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10/03/2008	Officials probed for assisting central Vietnam logging ring The prosecutors office of Quang Nam Province Sunday approved the polices proposal to place three local ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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22/01/2008	Illegal logging on the rise VietNamNet Bridge National forest rangers discovered more than 39,000 forest violations last year, most ...	VietNamNet Bridge (Vietnam)
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26/12/2007	Illegal loggers to replant trees Two individuals charged with illegal logging will be forced to replant the section of forest they chopped ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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31/10/2007	Village reverses impact of prolonged illegal logging Lam Dong, Vietnam The luxuriant greens of the pines and replenished forests have replaced the barrenness ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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20/10/2007	Asia: Deforestation Symptomatic of Corrupt Regimes Chiang Mai, Thailand - When a global anti-graft watchdog surveys the Asian landscape for corruption indicators, ...	Inter Press Service (Italy)
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31/08/2007	Taking a hack at illegal logging Ha Noi, Vietnam The illegal logging of dalbergia tonkinesis trees in Ha Noi recently has prompted the ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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11/07/2007	Forestry official arrested for allowing illegal logging A senior forestry official was arrested Wednesday for abetting illegal logging in central Vietnam's ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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21/06/2007	Migrants head for the hills for lucrative timber jobs, ruin forests Vietnam Rising migration to Central Highlands provinces is leading to increasing deforestation, particularly ...	VietNamNet Bridge (Vietnam)
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02/09/2006	Illegal logging rampant in central Vietnam forests Vietnam - Forestry authorities in Vietnam's central Quang Nam province said Wednesday they had discovered ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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27/07/2006	Cambodians jailed for illegal Vietnamese logging Phnom Penh, Cambodia - A Cambodian court sentenced 11 men, including army and police officers, to between ...	Reuters (UK)
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25/05/2006	Southeast Asia plans wildlife crime-busting units BANGKOK, May 25 (Reuters) - Special wildlife crime-busting units will form the core of Southeast Asia's ...	Reuters (UK)
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13/04/2006	Asia pacific loses six million hectares of forest The Asia Pacific region lost more than six million hectares of natural forests, mainly converted to agricultural ...	Pertubuhan Berita Nasional (Malaysia)
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30/03/2006	Ethnic groups key to conservation HA NOI — Work on protecting and developing the nation's forests must be tied to programmes ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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20/03/2006	PM orders stricter forest supervision HA NOI — Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has ordered the punishment of people's committee chairmen ...	Viet Nam News
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24/02/2006	Slow but promising recovery for nation's forest cover Vietnam - Last year a total of 36,376 violations of forest-protection regulations were reported, mostly ...	VietNamNet Bridge (Vietnam)
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23/02/2006	Vietnam and Indonesia issue joint statement The leaders of Indonesia and Vietnam issued a joint statement on 23 February 2006 that includes bilateral ...	Nhan Dan (Vietnam)
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20/02/2006	Vanishing forests result of timber trafficking in SE Asia ...	Manila Times (Philippines)
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26/01/2006	January 2006 Project update by the Forest Governance Learning Group UK - A project update by the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG) describes the group's activities, ...	Forest Governance Learning Group (UK)
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10/12/2005	Illegal loggers sentenced QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — The People's Court in Quang Ngai Province yesterday jailed 21 people ...	VietNam News (Vietnam)
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07/12/2005	Increased responsibility in Tong Coi improves local forest management QUANG NAM, Vietnam — Initiatives giving locals greater authority over managing and protecting nearby ...	VietNam News
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17/11/2005	Nigeria has worst deforestation rate, FAO revises figures Nigeria has the world's highest deforestation rate of primary forests according to revised deforestation ...	Mongabay.com
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03/10/2005	WWF Launches The Vietnam Forest & Trade Network Public Private Partnership Aims to Reduce Illegal Logging and Promote Sustainable Forestry ...	WWF Vietnam
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02/10/2005	Forest and Trade Network to be launched in Viet Nam Ha Noi - The Viet Nam Forest & Trade Network (VFTN) will make its debut during an international wood ...	Viet Nam News Agency
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18/09/2005	Rampant illegal logging threatens Dac Lac forests Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces have seen an unprecedented boom in illegal logging recently, ...	Viet Nam News (Vietnam)
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06/09/2005	Loggers in world heritage park find beautiful life in tourism Illegal loggers in villages adjacent to Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO-recognized world ...	Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam)
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18/03/2005	Legal and illegal logging in Vietnam ...	World Rainforest Movement (Uruguay)
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08/02/2005	Lao Veterans of America Joint Communiqué on Laos: "Vietnamese companies loot our natural resources" ...	Scoop (New Zealand)
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25/11/2004	Vietnamese Gets 2 Years for Log Smuggling An Indonesian court has sentenced a Vietnamese boat captain to two years in jail for smuggling logs out ...	Laksamana.net (Indonesia)
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16/09/2004	Tourists flock to Phong Nha-Ke Bang bringing alternative to illegal loggers Phong Nha-Ke Bang forest used to be a haven for illegal loggers, but with tourism in the region on the ...	Viet Nam News
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02/06/2004	Central highlands province set to close natural forests against destruction Vietnam - The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum announced it will shut down its natural forests from ...	Vietnam News Agency
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06/03/2004	Lessons from the 'ramin war' Business Times report on the ramin trade conflict ...	Business Times
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17/12/2003	Vietnam - Police uncover logging scam in Central Highlands Police have arrested 25 people, including several lumber company officials for allegedly taking part ...	Vietnam News Agency
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PRESENTATIONS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
06/07/2012	Legal timber flows in Asia - regional processor perspective	Dzung Huu Nguyen, Forest Protection Department, Vietnam
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28/01/2011	China and the Mekong: timber trade and governance snapshot	Kerstin Canby, Forest Trends
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23/06/2009	Wood products export development in Vietnam & initiatives towards responsible wood processing and trading	Ngo Sy Hoai, VN Timber and Forest Products Association, VIFORES
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18/06/2008	Borderlines: Timber smuggling in the Mekong Region	EIA (Julian Newman)
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18/06/2008	The Overview of FLEGT in Vietnam and management orientation on forest products processing by 2020	Ministry of Agriculture and rural Development of Vietnam (Pham Ngoc Mau)
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17/01/2008	Overview of Forestry Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in Vietnam	Tran Kim Longran Kim Long, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam
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LINKS

TITLE	DESCRIPTION	REPORT
Video: Asian Illegal Logging Exposed	National Geographic video of the coverage that resulted in the EIA/Telapak report Borderlines which shows illegal logging in Laos helping to feed Vietnam's booming furniture trade.	Broken link
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WWF Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN)	The GFTN - a WWF-led partnership - links more than 360 companies, communities, NGOs, and entrepreneurs in more than 30 countries around the world. The goal is to create a new market for environmentally responsible forest products. Since 1991, market-driven demands from GFTN participants have increased the economic incentives for responsible forest management. This is helping to ensure that millions of acres of forests are independently and credibly certified, a guarantee that the forests are well managed and that their products come from legal and sustainable timber harvests. Click here for GFTN's Guide to Legal and Responsible Sourcing, which includes details on national legality frameworks and guides to legal documentation.	Broken link
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