Experts from sub-Mekong river countries highlighted the role of civil society organisations, local people, mass media and non-governmental organisations in protecting forests from shrinking and degrading.

At a seminar on sustainable management of forests held in Hanoi on Oct. 27, they also discussed impacts of climate change on the sub-Mekong region and what the region should do to mitigate greenhouse gas emission caused by the cutting down of forests and forest degradation in addition to sharing measures to protect forests sustainably.

Representing Vietnam at the discussion, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi said Vietnam, aware early on the greenhouse effects caused by forest shrinking and degradation, has built a range of national plans to deal with the issue.

An official from the World Bank, which funds a wide range of environmental protection projects, suggested that the sub-Mekong river countries calculate levels of greenhouse gas emission resulted from the cutting down of forests and forest degradation in order to outline detailed investment plans to mitigate climate change impacts on forests.

For the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre for Asia - the Pacific (Recoftc), the sub-Mekong river countries need to conduct surveys on forests with the involvement of the community in order to make plans to use land resources wisely.