Handing Over Planted Forest Areas to Local Authorities for Continued Management and Care

Since 2021, Hạnh Phúc Xanh (Green Happiness), a programme of Sống Foundation, has implemented the Forest Symphony project. Its goals extend beyond planting and restoring forests to building capacity and empowering stakeholders, so that local communities and responsible authorities can sustain and build on the results after the project ends.

With the support of communities and partners, Hạnh Phúc Xanh has helped restore 28.5 hectares of mangrove forest in Sóc Trăng; plant and restore green cover across 291.5 hectares in the Tân Giang–Thuận Nam protection forest area and Núi Chúa National Park in Khánh Hòa Province (formerly Ninh Thuận); and restore 22 hectares of protection forest around Phú Ninh Lake in Đà Nẵng City (formerly Quảng Nam). These forests help retain soil and water, reduce erosion, and provide a natural buffer that protects communities against drought and increasingly extreme natural hazards.

Alongside forest planting and restoration, the programme has organised activities to raise awareness of forest protection, forest fire prevention and control, and biodiversity conservation. This is an important part of nurturing a connection with nature and strengthening the responsibility of individuals and communities towards the forests where they live. In Sóc Trăng in particular, local residents have participated in and taken leading roles in planting, caring for, and protecting mangrove forests. In Ninh Thuận, forest management boards have gained access to new technologies and solutions and successfully piloted a planting model using multiple native tree species. This approach has gradually strengthened local capacity and autonomy, enabling communities to become the main force in forest planting, care, and protection.

Building on these achievements and an approach rooted in voluntary action and local participation, Sống Foundation is handing over the planted forest areas under the Forest Symphony project to local government agencies and forest management boards for continued management, care, and protection. This handover is the next step towards safeguarding the forests over the long term through local resources and a shared sense of responsibility.

The handover also marks Sống Foundation's transition from a “foundation acting for the community” to a “foundation of communities taking action”, under the name Sống Community. In this new model, Sống Community will connect resources from communities, businesses, government, and experts to build a sustainable collaborative ecosystem around shared goals. It will work alongside communities to protect, care for, and develop forests, helping today's young trees continue to grow and become part of a sustainable living environment for future generations.