Evaluating Policy Implementation Result of Payment for Forest Environmental Services In Da Bac District ofHoa Binh Province

Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province has started implementing the PFES policy since 2013. PFES is a mandated payment program from users of forest environmental services (FES) to service providers without using the state budget. Based on secondary and primary information gathered from various stakeholders related to PFES, this paper aims to assess the success and shortcomingsof PFES in Da Bac district.The results show that in2017, the area of ​​forest protected by using PFES money has reached 90,35% of district's forest area; Income of 5.883 households has been increased; People's awareness of forest protection has been improved. However, there are still some difficulties in process of implementing policy, such as low PFES money received by the forest owners; limited propaganda activities; insufficient activities of checking and monitoring quantity and quality of forests after payment. Therefore, the paper suggests that it is essential to support households to increase their income from forests; propaganda activities on the policy should be consecutively encouraged, and a mechanism to check and monitor forest areas and forest quality should be developed...