SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY AND ITS ECONOMICS IN TROPICAL FORESTS WITHIN THE EXAMPLE OF FORESTS IN CENTRAL VIETNAM

Environmental issues in tropical forests and human pressures to their exploitation are solved with better or less successes by establishments of plantations of fast-growing tree species bringing fast profit. However, the large plantations bring also disadvantages such as loss of hiodiversity, higher rate of erosion, loss of soil fertility etc. Within the development project situated in Central Vietnam and focused to the sustainable forestry the mixed forests were proposed combining the fast-growing species and slow-growing tree species which will bring more valuable production. Comparison between pure plantation and mixed forests shows that although the rotation cycle of slow-growing valuable tree species is eight times longer and initial financial inputs are higher, inner benefit percent is very similar and average profit per hectare is higher in case of mixed stands than in case of pure plantations. In addition, the environmental risks are reduced in mixed stands.