A US$4.38 million-program to help Vietnam reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation was launched on Thursday.

The program is funded by the Government of Norway and three United Nations organizations – Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Environment Programme.

“We hope that this collaborative UN program will be able to quickly demonstrate that the costs associated with deforestation outweigh the immediate economic benefits of cutting down trees,” Setsuko Yamazaki, UNDP Country Director said in a statement released that by the UN on Thursday.

More than half of Vietnam’s natural forests are considered poor or regenerating with rich and closed-canopy forests constituting just over nine percent of the total, according to the UN.

Vietnam is among the nine pilot countries chosen for the UN-REDD program and the first pilot nation to fully start implementing activities that will help reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

REDD is expected to be approved at the climate change conference to be held in Copenhagen this December. The program will continue providing developing countries with financial incentives to stop illegal logging of forests and assist these nations in projects that promote sustainable forest management.

Reported by Huong Le