VACNE shares experience in conserving Heritage Trees with experts from the French Republic
(VACNE) – On the afternoon of April 15, 2026, at the VACNE office in Hanoi, VACNE leaders received the delegation of green tree experts from the Île-de-France region (French Republic) to share community mobilization experiences and jointly care for ancient trees - Vietnam Heritage Trees.
This is one of the activities during the business trip to Vietnam of the experts from the Paris Region International Cooperation Support Agency with the Hanoi People's Committee.
The delegation consists of 5 experts in the field of urban greenery, including Mr. Nicolas Cornet – Ecologist (Paris Regional Planning Institute), Mr. Thomas Francoual – Technical Director of the Île-de-France Green Space Management Agency (IDFN), and Ms. Valentine Arreguy.
After hearing the leaders of the Vietnam Union for Nature Conservation introduce the Vietnam Heritage Tree Conservation Program initiated by VACNE since 2010, with results: more than 8,000 ancient trees nationwide have been recognized and cared for – linking biodiversity conservation with the preservation of cultural, historical values, and economic development… the delegates highly appreciated and expressed strong impressions of the community's proactive and voluntary efforts in caring for and protecting Heritage Trees in Vietnam. French experts expressed interest and highly valued the model of mobilizing local community participation in caring for and monitoring the “health” of Heritage Trees. This is considered a distinctive point and a valuable experience in the conservation of ancient trees that the French side wishes to explore further.
At this meeting, the IDFN representative stated that this agency was established in 1976 and manages green spaces covering an area of approximately 15,000 km². Every year, IDFN organizes the 'Tree of the Year' voting, contributing to raising community awareness about the value of trees.
In the near future, the Paris Region International Cooperation Support Agency in Vietnam (PRX-Vietnam) plans to organize the 'Cultural Season' in Hanoi, during which they expressed their desire to connect with and introduce Vietnamese Heritage Trees recognized by VACNE as a unique cultural and ecological highlight.
The working session took place in an open and sincere atmosphere, with many practical exchanges, contributing to enhancing understanding and opening up cooperation opportunities in the field of tree conservation between the two sides.