Viet Nam
History before PEFC
Sustainable Forest management has been implemented in Vietnam since the 1990s. The Vietnamese government has approved the second phase (from 2006 to 2020) of the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy.
In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) assigned Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) and Vietnamese Academy of Forest Science (VAFS) to develop Sustainable Forest Management (FM) and Chain of Custody standards for Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS).
In 2018, the Prime Minister approved the Project on Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Certification through Decision No. 1288/QD-TTg, in which the Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS) was established and operated under Vietnam Administration of Forestry – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
On January 11th 2019, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issued the Decision to establish the Vietnam Forest Certification Office (VFCO). VFCO is responsible for all activities in terms of sustainable forest management and forest certification and issues national standards and guidelines of the VFCS.