Vietnam's North Central Region Forest Carbon ERPA — FCPF Results-Based Payment

In October 2020 Vietnam signed an Emission Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) covering six North Central provinces — Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue — an area holding 3.1 million of the region's 5.1 million hectares of forest.

More than 70% of the payment flows directly to forest owners, local communities, households and organisations under a benefit-sharing plan designed through a consultative, participatory process. The remainder funds forest protection contracts, monitoring and management activities. This FCPF results-based tranche runs alongside, but is legally distinct from, Vietnam's own domestic Payment for Forest Environmental Services law (Decree 99/2010), administered separately by the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund.

In March 2024 the World Bank confirmed payment of US$51.5 million for 10.3 million tonnes of independently verified CO2-equivalent emission reductions achieved between 1 February 2018 and 31 December 2019, making Vietnam the first country in the East Asia and Pacific region to receive a results-based FCPF payment. The World Bank reports 70,055 forest owners and 1,356 communities near the forest as direct beneficiaries. In September 2025, Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment confirmed the transfer of a further 1 million tonnes of verified CO2-equivalent credits, worth approximately US$5 million, with more than VND126 billion channelled to five North Central provinces for forest-protection contracts, community livelihoods and monitoring.

The programme has continued beyond the initial payment, with a further verified-credit transfer in 2025, indicating a sustained results-based financing relationship rather than a one-off transaction.