VIETNAM IS READY AND WILL TAKE AN APPROACH IN LINE WITH EUDR REGULATIONS
03 July 2023
According to the new EU regulation on products that do not cause deforestation (EUDR): 100% of agricultural products of Vietnam (as well as worldwide) when imported into the European market need to have positioning information (GPS) to each garden, based on which confirmation of the risk of deforestation by remote sensing monitoring systems…
According to EUDR regulations, 100% of Vietnam’s agricultural products, especially coffee, when imported into the European market, require location information (GPS) to each garden.
Late afternoon June 29, 2023, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; The Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam and IDH jointly organized the conference “Production and supply of agricultural products without deforestation in accordance with European Union regulations”.
The conference was chaired by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and Ms. Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director General of the Environment Department of the European Commission (EC), with the participation of Mr. Giorgio Aliberti, Ambassador of the European Union to Vietnam, and more than 100 delegates including provincial authorities in the Central Highlands, European Union (EU) member states, corporations, corporations, associations, and coffee industry enterprises and national and international development organizations.
VIETNAMESE FARMERS WILL NOT DESTROY FORESTS FOR CULTIVATION
Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director General of the European Commission’s Environment Department, said that on May 16, 2023, the European Parliament adopted the European Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). This regulation takes effect from 12/2024, so countries will have 18-24 months to prepare proposals for implementation.
The conference took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“According to this Regulation, 100% of Vietnam’s agricultural products, especially coffee, when imported into the European market, require GPS information to each garden, based on which confirmation of the risk of deforestation by remote sensing monitoring systems.” Florika Fink-Hooijer emphasized.
According to Florika Fink-Hooijer, 90% of global deforestation is caused by agriculture. As a major consumer market, the European Union sees its important role in this regard. That is why, the EU recently adopted a European Union Regulation aimed at combating deforestation. Due diligence obligations and traceability requirements will apply strictly and irrespective to all products involved.
Ms. Florika Fink-Hooijer said that wood and wood products, coffee and rubber are the main export sectors of Vietnam affected when this Regulation is applied. More than 2.3 billion euros from Vietnamese products exported to Europe mainly fell on coffee products (accounting for 47.5%); wood (35.2%) and rubber (17.1%).
“The EU is committed to supporting Vietnam in its sustainable development process. By combining the strengths of both sides, the EU and Vietnam aim to address environmental challenges more effectively, contributing to the prosperity of the Vietnamese people as well as preserving the country’s unique natural heritage.” Florika Fink-Hooijer said.
Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasized: “When the regulation comes into effect from December 2024, commodity supply chains will face many challenges to meet EUDR, especially in the issues of location data, traceability, monitoring system, anti-deforestation response”.
“We are committed to preserving a green planet and are responsible for 100 million Vietnamese people. Today’s generation is not for survival reasons taking away what is possible. The new EU rules will help us further strengthen our responsibility to the world. Green growth is the attitude, not the slogan”, Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized.
Minister Le Minh Hoan: “Vietnam is ready and will take an approach in line with the European Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).”
Through the conference, Minister Le Minh Hoan proposed that the EU have a program to support Vietnam’s agricultural value chains affected by this Regulation, especially small-scale actors to improve their capacity to meet the requirements of the Regulation. In addition, the EU is requested to share good experiences on models to support small-scale actors to meet EUDR regulations and request the EU to support the development and implementation of a Green Growth Project for Vietnam’s coffee industry.
NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR RESPONDING TO EUDR
At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development presented the National Action Plan Framework of Vietnam’s agricultural sector to meet EUDR. These include stages of developing a public-private partnership framework; propaganda and advocacy; come up with technical solutions; building dialogue channels; resource mobilization.
The first task is to establish public-private partnership groups for EUDR-affected industries and implement public-private partnership activities. After that, technical guidance and propaganda and dissemination of EUDR regulations will be developed to management agencies at all levels and actors in industry value chains.
With technical solutions, it is necessary to develop and recognize a national database on growing areas; Develop mechanisms for sharing and responding to information. Then develop and implement traceability and develop and implement mechanisms to strengthen forest surveillance protection, strengthen community patrols/surveillance to protect forests.
At the same time, develop and implement sustainable livelihood transformation models in risk areas. Along with that, building a channel for regular dialogue with the EU, synthesizing and sharing information periodically. Another important issue is mobilizing financial and technical support from international organizations and the private sector to support EUDR-adaptive value chains.
Ms. Tran Quynh Chi, Director of Asian Landscape Region, IDH affirmed the important role of public-private partnership in the process of implementing EUDR response solutions in Vietnam.
“Vietnam’s agriculture in general and the coffee industry in particular have had a foundation for multi-stakeholder cooperation to promote sustainable development for many years. However, the introduction of EUDR will be an important push to create a fundamental shift for the entire sector towards transparency and sustainability, meeting the diverse requirements of markets and buyers such as zero deforestation, low emissions and farmers’ livelihoods.” Ms. Chi emphasized, while affirming: “IDH will continue to call on domestic and foreign interested companies and organizations to participate and contribute to the action program, thereby creating important impacts on all three aspects – responsible production, resource protection and social security.”
At the conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, EC representatives and relevant agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to support Vietnam’s coffee industry in the direction of reducing emissions, not causing deforestation or forest degradation, ensuring livelihoods for farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also together with representatives of 5 Central Highlands provinces (Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lam Dong), Vietnam Cocoa Coffee Association (VICOFA), IDH Organization, Koninklijke Douwe Egberts BV (KDE) of the Netherlands signed a memorandum of cooperation, Share resources to support the construction of production areas that do not cause deforestation, forest degradation, sustainable production in combination with the goals of resource conservation and ensuring social security in the locality.
The goal is to build a large-scale, sustainable coffee supply chain that does not cause deforestation and forest degradation, meeting the requirements of the market and the European Union for the period 2023-2030.