VALUATION OF FOREST LAND

Forest ecosystems play a very important role for humans and especially the maintenance of habitats, contributing to the sustainable development of each country and the survival of the earth. Forests not only provide raw materials such as wood, firewood, non-timber forest products for some production industries, but more importantly, the benefits of forests in maintaining and protecting the environment, which is climate regulation and drought. reduce erosion and sedimentation, protect coastlines, regulate water resources and limit floods.

The decline in forest resources, especially the rapid shrinking of forest area, is being considered as one of the causes leading to global climate change and environmental degradation. In recent years, we have been witnessing global warming, the unusual proliferation and emergence of intense and destructive storms and floods, land degradation and danger. Large-scale desertification has caused great concerns globally and in many countries.
From the international perspective, the assessment of forest value is seen from the point of view "Total economic value". That is, the value of forests includes direct benefits such as timber, firewood, forest products and the environment such as the ecological functions of forests in climate regulation, erosion and flood control, and conservation of diversity. biology, landscape beauty, etc. (Pear 1990).

In Vietnam, in the past, consideration of the role and value of forests often referred to only the economic benefits to be gained from fuelwood logging. However, this concept is changing and the value of forests is increasingly seen in a more complete and comprehensive manner. This shows that the forest price was first mentioned in the Law on Forest Protection and Development 2004. Accordingly, the value of forests is understood as the value of benefits in terms of forest products and the environment.

In recent years, along with rapid socio-economic development and extensive international integration, forest management in Vietnam is placing urgent and objective demands on forest pricing for purposes such as: forest lease, forest allocation, forest use levy calculation, enterprise capital contribution value, compensation for conversion of purpose, deforestation, and development of payment mechanisms for environmental services. However, the assessment and determination of forest prices still faces many difficulties and shortcomings due to the following reasons

Viewpoints on forest value are still limited, as the forests environmental values ​​and services are not considered as a “special” product of the forest;
There is no forest valuation method and a basis for the development of the forest price bracket;
Lack of a basis for building a legal framework to monetize forest values, evaluate the performance of the forest sectors labor, adjust the benefit distribution mechanism generated by forests, and create a sustainable financial source for physical.

In order to contribute to solving the above shortcomings, Indochina International Investment & Appraisal Joint Stock Company (INA) has researched to appraise forest prices in Vietnam, thereby preparing certificates and price appraisal reports as the basis for to value forests.