However, for potential to transform into economic value, the province strives to perfect forest resource data, clearly establish land boundaries and land use rights, enhance measurement, reporting, and verification capacities, while establishing a transparent benefit-sharing mechanism. On that basis, an appropriate direction and roadmap are built to ensure compliance with legal provisions and international standards.

Advantages from natural forests and perennial crops

Điện Biên has a total natural area of more than 954,000ha, of which about 592,000ha is zoned for forestry, accounting for 62% of the province’s total area. According to statistical data, the entire province has more than 438,000ha of forest, with coverage reaching 45.52%, in which natural forest accounts for 97.6%. This constitutes a valuable resource in terms of biodiversity, upstream watershed protection, water regulation, and carbon absorption and storage.

Along with protecting existing natural forest areas, the province concentrates on expanding perennial crop zones to elevate land use value. In January 2026, the entire province had approximately 29,310ha of perennial crops, primarily macadamia, coffee, and rubber; by the end of June, the area increased to over 33,249ha. The data provides evidence demonstrating the strong growth rate of this crop group.

Lê Xuân Cảnh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, stated that with a large natural forest area, Điện Biên has advantages in implementing REDD+ and IFM-N projects (a type of forest carbon credit project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting the environment, and developing the forestry economy). These are projects geared toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting forests, and enhancing carbon absorption and storage capacities. Alongside this, macadamia is identified as a multi-purpose tree, both greening bare land and barren hills and generating income for residents. The goal of developing 40,000ha of macadamia and over 20,000ha of coffee by 2030 opens up headroom to form agroforestry models on sloping land and low economic efficiency hillside farming plots.

In Nà Bủng commune, the potential to take part in emission reduction programs is recognized directly from existing forest resources. The commune has a natural area of more than 16,000ha, of which forest accounts for about 58%, equivalent to over 9,300ha. Trần Đình Nhuận, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nà Bủng commune, stated that the locality determined that forest protection must go hand in hand with livelihood development so people remain attached to the forest. From the beginning of 2026 to date, the commune has newly planted nearly 300ha of coffee and macadamia, thereby contributing to elevating coverage, generating income, and preparing initial conditions for the locality to access opportunities from the green economy.

Perfecting data, clarifying benefits

At the workshop “Forest Carbon Credit Market and Opportunities for Điện Biên,” Trần Lâm Đồng, Deputy Director of the Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences, assessed that Điện Biên possesses distinct advantages regarding REDD+, based on its large natural forest area and participation in the REDD+ Project approved by the GCF on March 26, 2026, with support from JICA. AFP (based on the rapid expansion rate of macadamia and coffee trees) is also a potential direction as macadamia and coffee areas are expanding rapidly. However, a large forest area is merely an initial condition; the volume of reduced emissions or additional absorption must be calculated against a baseline, maintained throughout the commitment timeframe, and undergo an independent measurement, reporting, appraisal, and verification process.

Trần Lâm Đồng analyzed that Điện Biên still has many bottlenecks requiring resolution. Baseline data on natural forest status is incomplete; commune-level cadastral mapping remains unfinished, with approximately 68.8% of post-merger communes unmapped. In reality, overlaps also appear between forestry zoning and macadamia and coffee acreage. Meanwhile, local appraisal capacity remains limited compared to the requirements of international standards ISO 14064, 14065, and 14066; project preparation, appraisal, and verification costs are relatively high, while domestic and international carbon markets are in their formative stages.

Population characteristics and farming practices also pose distinct requirements for Điện Biên province. The high proportion of ethnic minorities, rotational slash-and-burn farming practices, and apprehensive attitudes during land surveying and zoning can influence the progress of determining project perimeters. From the aforementioned advantages and hurdles, experts and scientists recommended that Điện Biên prioritize perfecting baseline data, including forest status classification, cadastral surveying, and resolving zoning overlaps, while elevating provincial appraisal capacity. Resources must be allocated directly during the 2026 - 2027 project drafting phase, establishing a foundation for the province to stand ready to register projects once the National Standard on Forest Carbon takes effect.

The carbon credit market opens up a pathway to generate added value from forests, yet it is not a revenue stream that can form in a short timeframe. Perfecting data, clearly establishing boundaries, managing entities, and benefit mechanisms are tasks requiring early preparation. When the foundation is fully built, forest resources will secure greater opportunities to become a resource for green growth, while generating motivation for local people to remain attached to forests over the long term.