DECISION

APPROVING THE FOREST PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN DURING 2011-2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the December 3, 2004 Law on Forest Protection and Development;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 18/2011/QH13 of the XIII^th National Assembly, 2nd session, on the implementation of Resolution No. 08/1997/ QH10 and Resolution No. 73/2006/QH11 on the 5 million-ha forestation project;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

DECIDES:

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I. OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

1. Objectives

a/ To properly protect existing forest areas; to effectively and sustainably use forest resources and planned forestry land;

b/ To raise the forest coverage to 42-43% by 2015 and 44-45% by 2020; to increase forest yield, quality and value; to restructure the forestry sector toward raising its added value; to basically meet domestic and export demands for timber and forest products;

c/ To generate more jobs and raise incomes for people living on forestry, contributing to eradicating hunger, reducing poverty and maintaining security and defense.

2. Tasks

a/ Forest protection

- To protect and sustainably develop 13,388,000 ha of existing forests (as of December 31, 2010), 750,000 ha of forests zoned off for regeneration and 1,250,00 ha of forests planted during 2011-2014; to reach a total forest area of around 14.270,000 ha by 2015 and 15,100,000 ha by 2020;

- To basically reduce violations of the law on forest protection and development; to effectively promote forests' functions of protection and eco-environment protection and biodiversity, contributing lo sustainable national socio-economic development.

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- During 2011-2020:

+ Forestation: 2.6 million ha, including 250,000 ha of new protection and special-use forests (25,000 ha/year on average), 1 million ha of new production forests (100.000 ha/year on average) and 1.35 million ha of forests replanted after exploitation (135,000 ha/year on average);

+ Zoning off for regeneration: 750.000 ha (mostly protection and special-use forests), including 350,000 ha zoned off for continued regeneration and 400,000 ha zoned off for new regeneration;

+ Rehabilitating impoverished natural forests: 350,000 ha (35,000 ha/year on average);

+ Growing scattered trees: 500 million trees (50 million trees/year on average):

+ Raising quality of natural forests and yields of planted production forests by 25% in 2020 against 2011.

-During 2011-2015:

+ Forestation: 1.25 million ha, including 150,000 ha of new protection and special-use forests (30,000 ha/year on average), 500,000 ha of new production forests (100,000 ha/year on average) and 600.000 ha of forests replanted after exploitation (120,000 ha/year on average);

+ Zoning off for regeneration: 550,000 ha, including 350,000 ha zoned off for continued regeneration and 200,000 ha zoned off for new regeneration;

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+ Growing scattered trees: 250 million trees (50 million trees/year on average);

+ Raising quality of natural forests and yields of planted production forests by 10% in 2015 against 2011.

II. IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

1. Promotion of information work and awareness raising

a/ To regularly disseminate economic, social, environmental, security and defense values of forests in the mass media.

b/ To increasingly educate people about the law on forest protection and development and raise their sense of forest protection; to mobilize households living in and near forests to sign forest protection commitments; to develop and observe forest protection rules; to change awareness and habit from extensive to intensive forestry farming combined with production of small and large timber.

2. Planning and forestry land management

a/ To review and stably plan 16,245,000 ha of forests and forestry land (including 2.271,000 ha of special-use forests, 5,842,000 ha of protection forests and 8,132,000 ha of production forests); to uniformly manage planning on the basis of establishing permanent national forest estate according to the system of sub-zones, plots and lots on the map and placing boundary markers in the field for the three categories of forests:

b/ To closely manage and promptly adjust inappropriate contents of master plans on three categories of forests; to accelerate stable and permanent allocation of forests to organizations, individuals and households. State organizations shall directly manage around 50% of the total forest area, including all special-use forests, 65% of protection forests and 30% of production forests:

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d/ To provide state budget funds for general forest survey and inventory.

3. Forest protection

a/ To further socialize forestry activities under the line that forest protection is the responsibility of all agencies, organizations, households and individuals;

b/ To strengthen and develop forest protection forces from central to grassroots level and of forest owners; to increase legal powers and responsibilities of ranger forces in forest management and protection and law-enforcement;

c/ To enhance inspection and examination of the implementation of the law on forest protection and development; to promptly and strictly handle violations of the law on forest protection and development;

d/ To strictly observe the law on forest protection and development; to implement the mechanism on compensation for biodiversity values and regulations on forestation to replace forest areas used for other purposes.

4. Forest allocation and lease

a/ To generally review and improve policies on forest protection contracted to organizations, households, individuals and village communities; in planned areas, to allocate forests to persons undertaking contracted forest production so that they can directly get benefits from forests. The State shall support the management and protection of impoverished forests from which revenues have not been generated under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 60/2010/QD-TTg of September 30, 2010, promulgating principles, criteria and norms for allocation of state budget funds for development investment during 2011-2015;

b/ Provincial-level People's Committees shall review and accelerate the allocation and lease of forests to organizations, village communities, households and individuals, ensuring that all forest areas have specific owners. To basically complete the allocation and lease of forests and grant of forest-attached land use right certificates by 2015.

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c/ To allocate or lease forests currently managed by commune-level People's Committees (over 2.7 million ha) to village communities, households, organizations, individuals or enterprises. To assign ranger forces to protect forests which cannot be allocated or leased and advise commune-level administrations in performing the state management of forest protection and development.

Special-use and protection forest management units and state forestry companies and local communities shall co-manage forests on the basis of sharing the responsibilities for forest management, protection and development and benefits from forests based on each party's contributions.

5. Science, technology and forestry extension

a/ To elaborate and improve technical processes and regulations on forest fire prevention and fighting, forest exploitation and use, and intensive forestation established in forest sites and eco-regions;

b/ To accelerate scientific and technical research and transfer, attaching special importance to studying, sorting and creating new varieties of high yield and quality, and concurrently study and apply appropriate advanced technologies which take over and promote traditional experience to raise natural resource use effectiveness, output product value and forest environmental service quality;

c/ To use appropriate advanced equipment and technologies for exploitation and processing, to associate research with production and diversification of products to increase their added value and mitigate environmental pollution;

d/ To consolidate the grassroots forestry extension system, especially in forest- and forest land-intensive communes and deep-lying and remote areas.

6. International cooperation

a/ To be proactive in bilateral and multilateral cooperation with regional and international forestry organizations. To further implement forestry treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (RAMSAR Convention), REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO);

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7. Markets

a/ To boost trade promotion and expand markets for forest products:

b/ To renew management of forest product circulation, guaranteeing their lawful origin, to encourage all economic sectors to enter the market, to create a fair competitive environment and harmonize the interests of producers and consumers; to create market motive to promote domestic forestry production.

8. Formulation and implementation of key projects and plans

a/ Project to plant wave-breaking forests, protect sea dykes and fight coastal erosion;

b/ Project to plant and protect watershed forests in river basins;

c/ Plan to raise planted forest yield and enrich natural forests;

d/ Plan to plant forests in border areas in association with resettlement;

e/ Plan to grant certificates of sustainable forest management by international standards:

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g/ Plan to build and develop forest product processing and sale networks;

h/ Plan to raise ranger force capacity;

i/ Construction of a national wildlife park in Ninh Binh province.

9. Funding demands and fund raising mechanism

a/ The total fund needed during 2011-2020 is VND 49,317 billion, mostly for plantation of production forests and forest protection. The amount includes VND 14,067 billion from the state budget, accounting for 29% of the total fund, with an average VND 1,407 billion/year; and VND 35,250 billion outside the state budget, accounting for 71% of the total fund, with an average VND 3,500 billion/year.

The total fund needed during 2011-2015 is VND 24,562 billion. The amount includes VND 8,062 billion from the state budget (33%), with an average VND 1,612 billion/year; and VND 16.500 billion from loans and other funding sources (67%) for plantation of production forests. State budget funds for development investment (plantation, care, forestry infrastructure facilities, etc) will be VND 5,512 billion with an average VND 1,102 billion/year, and non-business funds (for contracted forest protection and zoning off for regeneration) will be VND 2.550 billion with an average VND 510 billion/year.

State budget funds worth VND 1,925 billion were allocated in 2011 and 2012 (VND 715 billion in 2011 and VND 1,210 billion in 2012). The state budget fund needed for 2013-2015 will be VND 6,137 billion with an average VND 2,045 billion/year.

b/ Fund raising mechanism

- To incorporate forest protection and development plans into socio-economic development plans and other programs and projects in the same localities to raise synchronous socio-economic, environmental, defense and security effectiveness;

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- To provide the State's non-business funds for economic activities for contracted forest protection, zoning off for regeneration, supervision of forest developments and forestry land and other non-business expenses under current regulations;

- To raise to the utmost resources of domestic economic sectors and mobilize funding supports (ODA funds) from international organizations for forest protection and development plans;

- To raise other lawful funding sources, including revenues from forest environmental services, forest royalty, etc.

III. MECHANISMS, POLICIES AND LAWS

1. To continue a number of current policies

a/ To continue forest development mechanisms and policies according to the 5 million-ha forestation project. During 2011-2015, forest protection and development tasks comply with the Prime Minister's Decision No. 60/2010/QD-TTg of September 30. 2010, promulgating principles, criteria and norms for allocation of stale budget funds for development investment during 2011-2015; and the Prime Minister's Decisions No. 147/2007/QD-TTg of September 10,2007, on a number of production forest development policies during 2007-2015, and No. 66/2011/QD-TTg of December 9, 2011, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decision No. 147/2007/QD-TTg;

b/ To continue current policies on food support for mountainous people to stop slash-and-burn farming and shift to forestation on forestry land being used for farming; the Government's Resolution No. 30a/2008/NQ-CP of December 27, 2008, on the program to support quick and sustainable poverty reduction in 62 poor districts; the Prime Minister's Decision No. 73/2010/QD-TTg of November 15, 2010, promulgating the Regulation on forestry construction investment; and the Government's Decree No. 117/2010/ND-CP of December 24, 2010, on organization and management of special-use forests;

c/ To apply incentive policies for enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas under the Government's Decree No. 61/2010/ND-CP of June 4, 2010, on incentive policies for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas; credit policies for agriculture and rural areas under the Governments Decree No. 41/ 2010/ND-CP of April 12, 2010, to attract investment capital from other economic sectors for forest development and protection.

2. Policies to be revised

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b/ Forest management: To review mechanisms and policies on forest management under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 186/ 2006/QD-TTg of August 14, 2006. promulgating the Regulation on forest management, ensuring consistency and conformity with the land law and avoiding overlap and repetition;

c/ Contracting and lease of forestry land: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, reviewing the implementation of, and submitting to the Government for promulgation polices to replace, the Government's Decree No. 01/CP of January 4, 1995, on contracting land to state enterprises for agricultural and forestry production and aquaculture, and Decree No. 135/2005/ND-CP of November 8. 2005. on forest and forestry land contracting;

d/ Credit policies: The Vietnam Development Bank shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in. formulating policies on lending to forestation projects: and permission for use of forest ownership or use rights as capital contribution to joint ventures on forestry and forest service projects or as loan mortgage.

To assign the Ministry of Finance to assume the prime responsibility for amending and supplementing the Government's Decree No. 151/2006/ND-CP of December 20, 2006. on investment credit and export credit of the Stale, and the Government's Decree No. 106/2008/ ND-CP of September 19, 2008, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 151/2006/ND-CP on investment credit and export credit of the State, for submission to the Government, creating favorable conditions for forest-planting organizations and individuals to take loans and make repayment based on cultivation cycles; to add small-scale forestation households and enterprises to eligible loan borrowers; to expand business lines and sectors eligible for loan borrowing, including projects on planting large material timber and projects to process MDF (medium-density fireboard), particle board and artificial board: and to study and revise forest royalty policies toward using forest royalty revenues mainly for forest protection and regeneration.

3. New mechanisms and policies

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in. studying and formulating the following major policies:

a/ Policy on protection forests toward allowing forest owners of all domestic economic sectors to protect, develop and reasonably use protection forests to get stable revenues from forests;

b/ Policy on timber and forest product exploitation: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall specifically provide criteria and indicators on forest product exploitation, ensuring autonomy of forest owners in production and business under approved sustainable forest management plans;

c/ Forest co-management mechanism: From now to 2014, to pilot the benefit-sharing mechanism in a number of special-use forests toward basically changing from complete state control over forest protection to various co-management forms in which local communities share the management responsibility and benefits with state agencies:

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e/ Incentive policy for processing and consumption of planted timber;

f/ Mechanism and policy on restructuring of state-owned forestry companies.

IV. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

The forest protection and development plan during 2011-2020 shall be implemented under the Regulation on administration and management of national target programs.

1. Planning management

a/ At central level

- To set up the State Steering Committee for the forest protection and development plan during 2011-2020 on the basis of merging the steering committee for urgent issues on forest fire prevention and fighting and the steering committee for the 5 million-ha forestation project, with a deputy prime minister as its head, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development as the standing deputy head, and leaders of related ministries and sectors as members;

- To set up an office to assist the State Steering Committee for the forest protection and development plan during 2011-2020 based at the Vietnam Administration of Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

b/ At local level

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Provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments shall assist provincial-level People's Committees in implementing the forest protection and development plan during 2011-2020 and managing local projects under this plan.

c/ Planning assignment mechanism

To assign work volumes and project lists on a stable three-year planning basis for state-financed investment in the development of protection, special-use and production forests to local project management units for proactive implementation.

2. Responsibilities of ministries, sectors and localities

a/ The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

- To assume the prime responsibility for the administration and organization of the plan implementation;

- To formulate annual, three-year and five-year forest protection and development plans and send them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance for summarization and submission to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval:

- To assume the prime responsibility for examining and supervising the plan implementation;

- To assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs in, developing a plan to consolidate the forest protection apparatus and submitting it to the Government for approval:

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- To annually report to the Government on the plan implementation; to periodically organize preliminary and final evaluations of the plan implementation.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment

- To summarize annual, three-year and five-year plans of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and allocate budget funds for submission to the Prime Minister for approval:

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in examining and supervising implementation results.

c/ The Ministry of Finance

To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in appraising and allocating annual budget funding plans and allocating non-business funds for forestry; to guide organizations and individuals in properly implementing current financial regulations.

d/ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

- To guide localities in determining boundaries of areas planned for forestry development for management and plan implementation;

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in guiding localities in linking land allocation with forest allocation to organizations, individuals and households under approved forest protection and development planning.

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- To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in organizing the plan implementation;

- To participate in examining, supervising and urging the plan implementation.

f/ Provincial-level Peoples Committees

- To assume the prime responsibility for the plan implementation in their localities;

- To review and propose lists of projects for formulation and appraisal; to manage, evaluate and check before accepting project implementation results in their localities under state regulations;

- To elaborate funding plans and needs and submit them the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for summarization and submission to the Government;

- To regularly report to the Government and related ministries and sectors on the plan implementation progress in their localities; to conduct preliminary and final reviews of the plan implementation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's guidance.

3. Mobilization of mass organizations

To request the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and member organizations to actively participate in the plan implementation under the line that forest protection and development are the responsibility and obligation of all organizations, individuals and households.

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Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees shall implement this Decision.-

PRIME MINISTER




Nguyen Tan Dung