Forestry

Forestry plays no big role in Ben Tre's economy (its volume ratio is just 1.7% of the Sector I, and its contribution to the GDP is a mere 1.1%). Its most important role is in protection of the environment and coastal ecology. The typical structure includes protective forests and combined production of forest-fishery woodlands. In 2000, the province has 8,593 hectares of mangrove forests, covering 19% of salt-marsh areas and 25% of coastal areas. Besides, there are around 3.0 to 4.7 million evergreen trees, with more and more trees being grown every year, covering an area of 69,000 hectares, that is 35%-37% of the overall green coverage, which makes Ben Tre one of the most green-coveraged provinces in the Mekong Delta. By 2002, Ben Tre's forest coverage were reduced to 6,500 hectares. This same year, 50 hectares was newly afforested, and the total protective and specialised forest areas topped 3,720 hectares.