Behind the Story: How Vietnam Can Smartly Plant 1 Billion Trees

Vietnam's forests remain among the most unique in the world, but they have been degraded by deforestation, urbanization, hydropower development and other threats. A string of deadly landslides in central provinces in late 2020 brought forest health into the spotlight, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for 1 billion trees to be planted in the next five years.

In the process of reporting How Vietnam Can Smartly Plant 1 Billion Trees, a project investigating this ambitious program, Southeast Asia Rainforest Journalism Fund grantee Michael Tatarski, a freelance journalist based in Ho Chi Minh City, spoke to local farmers while reexamining common preconceptions about reforestation. In this Behind The Story video, Tatarksi explains his reporting process and the lessons he learned.