ADVANCING FOREST MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION CAPACITY FOR NAM TAY NGUYEN FORESTRY COMPANY

Nam Tay Nguyen Forestry One Member Limited Liability Company (Nam Tay Nguyen Forestry Company), formerly known as Quang Truc Forestry Company, is one of the major forest owners in Dak Nong province with a management area of ​​over 27,000 hectares, mainly bordering Cambodia. As one of the pioneering units in Dak Nong province in applying science and technology to business, production, forest management and protection, Nam Tay Nguyen Forestry Company has been implementing numerous training programs to enhance the capacity of technical staff and forest management officers, aiming to improve the effectiveness of forest management, planting, restoration, and forestry business.

Following the annual capacity training program on forest management and protection, this year, the program focuses on data management and patrol reports using the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART tools). In April 2024, Nam Tay Nguyen Forestry Company and Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) organized a training for over 60 officers from departments, divisions, and staff of 9 forest protection stations of the Company. The main objective of this training is to introduce the SMART tools and how to utilize them in the management of patrols, reports, and supporting study programs, biodiversity monitoring, thus operating an effective and sustainable management system. 

Throughout the training, CCD’s team guided trainees through processes such as building data models, establishing patrol activities; developing data collection procedures; input and managing data in the system; and creating reports using the SMART tools. To master the SMART tools, on-field sessions are necessary where trainees directly apply SMART’s processes on mobile phones in regular tasks as well as appreciating its integrity and convenience in synthesizing information, retrieving reports, correcting errors, and improving the database and reports as per the Company’s demands.

In the coming time, CCD will continue to coordinate with Nam Tay Nguyen Forestry Company to update models, fix errors, and refine data collection forms and report templates from the SMART’s system. In addition to cooperation with Nam Tay Nguyen Forestry Company, CCD has been and is supporting many forest owners nationwide in building and standardizing management systems using the SMART tools to enhance accuracy and efficiency in forest management activities, patrols, forest monitoring, and biodiversity.