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COUNCIL OF MINISTERS  SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
No. 17-HDBT           Independence--Freedom--Happiness

                      Hanoi, January 17th 1992

DECREE OF THE COUNC1L OF MINISTERS

For the enforcement of forest resources protection and
development act.

THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

- Based upon the Law being enforced since July 4th, 1981 and
regulating the Organisation of the Council;

- Based upon the Forest Resources Protection and Development
Act being enforced since August 19th 1991; and

- On recommendations of the Minister of Forestry.

DECREES

CHAPTER I

General Provisions

Article 1.

The forest Resources Protection and Development Act is
regulating the basic legal relationships of direct effect on
forests which comprise natural and man-made forests
developed on forest land. Natural forests comprise all
timberlands and bamboo groves of all ages, not excluding
young regrowth under rehabilitation. Man- made forests
comprise those established through funding by the Government
or non-Governmental entities such as social organisations
and voluntary individuals on forest lands.

Rows of trees, forest trees planted in groups or as
dispersed trees on other lands, through any funding, shall
not be regulated by the above-mentioned Forest Resources
Protection and Development Act.

On forest lands, however, the Forest Resources Protection
and Development Act is dealing only with legal relationships
having direct effect on forests.

For the processing, distribution and consumption of forest
products the Forest Resources Protection and Development Act
is only effective when determining the origin of the
resources having direct effect on the management, protection
of the forests and the development and utilisation of their
resources.

Activities for research on, exploration and exploitation of
other natural resources on forest lands shall be done in
accordance with the Forest Resources Protection and
Development Act.

Article 2.

The overall management of forest and forest plantation lands
by the State shall be regulated by laws, policies, planning
documents, operations plans and other relevant rules.

It shall be executed through decentralisation and division
of power from the Central Government down to the lowest
level of administration as stipulated by laws.

The State shall allocate forest and forest plantation lands
to organisations and individuals of all sectors of the
economy. for the protection, development and utilisation of
the resources on a long-term and sustainable basis.

Article 3.

Natural forests and State-funded plantations now being
allocated or remaining to be allocated to organisations and
individuals for management and utilisation are property of
the State.

Village and hamlet forests, the lands of which being used by
the communities, shall be regulated by the laws now being in
force. When the villages and hamlets move to other places
for settlement the lands shall be retrieved by the State
with equitable compensations being paid to the people
involved.

For forest plantations established through the funding of
any organisations and individuals, the plant end-products
thereof shall be the property of the entity that financed
the plantation. When forest users are disbanded organisation
or deceased individuals leaving no one for continued use of
the land, the forest and forest plantation lands will be the
property of the State

Article 4.

The State is trying to extend its international relations
and cooperation for forestry development, it encourages
foreign organisations and entrepreneurs to make investments
in forest plantation, forest product processing and trading,
in forest infrastructure development, and in the extension
of Social Forestry for better environmental and ecological
conservation. The State also encourages and shall create
favourable conditions for expatriate nationals to make
investments in Vietnam for further forestry development.

The Ministry of Forestry shall formulate relevant policies
to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval and
enforcement.

CHAPTER II

State management and administration of forest and forest
plantation lands.

Article 5.

The Ministry of Forestry by authority of the Council of
Ministers shall be responsible for the overall State
management of forest and forest plantation lands, which
embraces the following activities:

1) Organise and carry out forest surveys, resources
reassessment; determine forest categories; delineate
boundaries of forest and forest plantation lands on maps
scaled at 1/10,000 and in the field down to the commune
level; monitor changes in forest resources over the whole
country and in specific zones.

2) Shape out strategies for forestry development; prepare
management plans in all forest zones for the establishment
of protection forests, special-use forests, production
forests and set stands (over the whole country); submit
long, medium and short term plans to the Council of
Ministers for approval; and organise the execution of same;

3) Implement the division of responsibilities in State
administration of forest and forest plantation lands from
the Central Government down to the lowest administrative
units.

4) Show out technological advances, trends and direct all
units involved to develop them; promote the issuance and
enforcement of technical procedures for better management,
protection, development and utilisation of forest and forest
plantation lands.

5) Formulate policies, regulations, normative rules for
forest and forest plantation lands management, protection,
development and utilisation; to submit these to the Council
of Ministers and promote their enforcement.

6) Coordinate with the Land Management General Department to
establish and enforce regulations on forest and forest
plantation lands allocation, and on retrieval of same.

7) Determine the functions and responsibilities of all
agencies involved in forest administration and management
and submit these to the Council of Ministers for final
decision.

8) Carry out inspection and auditing activities within and
without the forestry sector to secure the enforcement of
laws, policies, regulations, normative rules related to
forest and forest plantation lands management, protection
and development; reward or make proposals for forwarding all
organisations and individuals who have made outstanding
contributions to the protection and development of forest
resources; punish or make proposals for punishing all
entities who break the provisions of forest legislation and
thus cause damage to forest resources.

Article 6.

People's Committees at various levels shall carry out the
forest and forest plantation lands State administration
which embraces the following activities:

1) Direct the preparation and execution of management plans,
operation plans for better management, protection,
development and utilisation of forest and forest plantation
lands; take responsibilities in forest resources
conservation in their respective areas.

2) Organise and direct all activities for the enforcement of
laws, policies, regulations, normative rules set out by
competent State agencies for the management, protection,
development and utilisation of forest and forest plantation
lands; carry out inspection and auditing activities to
secure legislation enforcement in all organisations and
private enterprises, including those under the jurisdiction
of central agencies operating in the localities.

3) Direct and implement policies on forest and forest
plantation lands allocation to entities in various sectors
carrying business in their respective areas.

4) Settle conflicts regarding the use of forest and forest
plantation lands as stipulated by laws.

Article 7.

All ministries and central agencies, to which forest and
forest plantation lands are allocated for farming, shall
abide the provisions set out in the Forest Resources
Protection and Development Act and the orders issued by the
Ministry of Forestry and shall do the business under the
latter control.

Article 8.

The principles for and the competency in forest and forest
plantation lands allocation are laid down below:

1) The Chairman of the Council of Ministers shall decree
for:

a) The establishment of protection forests of over 20,000
hectares extending over the territories of several
provinces; that of National Parks and important Protected
Areas, the management of which shall be entrusted to
agencies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forestry

b) The establishment of national cultural, historical,
scenic and 'touristic' heritage sites, the actual
establishment and management of which can be entrusted to
the provincial People's Committees.

c) The establishment of important production forests of over
20,000 hectares, that of forests of over 5,000 hectares
giving special non-wood products, that of seed stands of
national importance, the actual management and farming of
which shall be entrusted to state-owned forest enterprises.

d) The foundation of national private companies and firms
dealing with forestry business, forest plantations over
1,000 hectares.

e) Licences for individual foreigners and expatriate
nationals to use forest plantation lands for farming and
forestry development.

2) The Chairman of Provincial People's Committees shall make
decisions on:

a) The establishment of protection forests of less than
20,000 hectares, that of local cultural, historical, scenic,
'touristic' heritage sites when approval for it has been
given by the Ministry of Forestry or other competent
agencies, the actual establishment and management of all of
which shall be entrusted to the Provincial Forest Service or
other relevant provincial authorities.

b) The establishment of production forest stands and forest
plantation areas of 1,000 - 20,000 hectares, that of forests
giving special non-wood products of less than 5,000
hectares, the actual management and farming of all of which
can be entrusted to State-owned forest enterprises, state
firms, schools, army and security units, cooperatives,
production teams.

c) Licences for national individuals to carry forestry
farming forest plantations over areas of areas of 100 -
1,000 hectares.

3) The Chairmen of District People's Committees shall deal
with:

a) Allocation of forest and forest plantation lands to
individual households for them to establish home gardens,
agroforestry systems.

b) The establishment of forest stands, forest plantation
areas of less than 1,000 hectares, the management of which
can be entrusted to Commune People's Committees, which in
turn can entrust the management of these to interested
cooperatives, production teams or other collective
organisations operating in the communes for further forestry
development therein.

c) Licences for national entrepreneurs to carry forestry
farming, forest plantations for profits over areas of less
than 100 hectares.

Article 9.

Any organisations, individuals being already beneficiaries
of allocated forest and forest plantation lands, any
villages and hamlets having used village and hamlet forests
on a traditional basis before the date of promulgation of
the Forest Resources Protection and Development Act, and in
case of their rights being in compliance with the provisions
of the Act, shall be allowed to be the legal users of the
forest and forest plantation lands after regular
consideration of the cases. In case of their rights being
not in compliance with the provisions of the Forest
Resources Protection and Development Act and those of the
Land Act, the formerly allocated forest and forest
plantation lands or parts of these shall be retrieved
through decisions of the competent People's Committees as
stipulated in Article 14 and Article 15 of the Forest
Resources Protection and Development Act.

Article 10.

The transfer of forest and forest plantation lands to other
land uses than forestry shall be made according to the
following conditions:

- For natural forests and forest and forest plantation lands
meant for protection, special-use forests, national seed
stands, the transfer shall be decided upon by the Council of
Ministers on recommendations of the Minister of Forestry,
the Chairman of Municipal and Provincial People's Committees
under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Government, and
of the Heads of the Central Agencies involved.

- For forest and forest plantation lands meant for
production, that transfer shall be made in compliance with
the provisions of paragraph 2, item b and paragraph 3 of
Article 13 of the Land Act.

The beneficiaries of forest and forest plantation lands, the
use of which is not for forestry development, shall pay to
the State or the outgoing land users compensation for the
fruits of the labour and of investments made therein based
on current market values and the status of forest and forest
plantation lands.

Forest clearing operations shall be made in steps as set out
in the approved projects for new land use and measures
should be taken for economical uses of the products.

CHAPTER III

Development and utilisation of forest and forest plantation
lands.

A) Protection forests.

Article 11.

In collaboration with other central agencies and provincial
authorit1es, the Ministry of Forestry shall take the
responsibilities of planning and establishing a national
network of protection forests, of submitting the documents
thereof to the Council of Ministers for approval, of
promoting the actual establishment and management by
competent authorities within the forestry sector as
stipulated in Article 8 of this Decree.

The Management Board involved is held responsible for the
preparation of the economic and technical feasibility report
or the planning document for effective establishment,
management and running of relevant activities, and for
submitting same to competent authorities for approval.

Article 12.

The establishment and management of protection forests shall
be made following the below mentioned prescriptions:

1) On watershed areas or otherwise vulnerable sites, plans
and strict measures should be taken to protect and maintain
the existing forests, to quickly reafforest the denuded
areas, and to create forest cover having many storeys on
continuous tracts of land.

During the process of forest establishment, protection and
maintenance, it is allowed to do business with non-wood
forest products, wildlife, agroforestry; it is thus allowed
to gather non-wood forest products, to thin over-dense
stands, to remove over-mature and diseased trees. Wood
extraction operations therein shall be done in compliance
with the procedures as approved by the Council of Ministers.

2) For protection forests established for farm crops
protection against strong winds, for sand dune fixation,
gully control, etc, measures for protection and development
of the resources therein shall be adopted so to create full
and dense forest cover extending over continuous tracts of
land.

When the forests under management can function effectively
for protection, it is allowed to carry out thinning or wood
extraction operations as set out in the approved designing
documents. After wood removal, natural regeneration and
plantation operation shall be effected as required.

3) For other protection forests meant for living habitat
preservation or located in less vulnerable areas, a rational
and varied mix of plant crops, in which there should be a
fixed percentage of perennial trees not allowed to be cut,
shall be chosen for protection.

Article 13.

Organisations and individuals which have received forest
lands for the establishment and maintenance of protection
forests are entitled to make full use of minor forest
products, non-wood forest products of common uses, and to
benefit from the products of their activities.

Organisations and individuals to whom denuded and open lands
are allocated to establish protection forests through their
own funds are entitled to have ownership on the plant
resources and to benefit from wildlife resources of common
uses therein. However, the extraction of forest products and
the hunting and capture of wildlife shall be made in
compliance with the rules set out for protection forest
preservation and for wildlife hunting. When there are no
requirements on and no possibility of further utilisation
the forest users can transfer the forests to the State and
receive compensation for the fruits of their labour, and of
investments made therein based on current market values and
the status of forests.

B) Special-use forests

Article 14.

In collaboration with other Central agencies and the
provincial authorities concerned, the Ministry of Forestry
shall take the responsibilities of planning and establishing
a national network of special-use forests, which include:
national parks, protected areas, and historical, cultural,
scenic, 'touristic' heritage sites ..., of submitting the
documents thereof, the Council of Ministers for approval,
then based upon this of promoting the actual establishment
and management by competent authorities as the case may be,
in compliance with the provisions of Article 8 of this
Decree.

The Management Boards in charge of special-use forest
management are held responsible for the preparation of
economical and technical feasibility documents, for
submitting these to competent state authorities for approval
and further for executing all the tasks involved.

Article 15.

The management and utilisation of the resources in
special-use forests shall be done in compliance with the
provisions set out for that purpose and with those
prescribed in the approved economical and technical
feasibility document.

C) Production Forests

Article 16.

In collaboration with other Central agencies and provincial
authorities concerned, the Ministry of Forestry shall take
responsibilities in planning and establishing a national
network of production forests, and following this in
promoting the actual establishment and management of these
forests by organisations and authorities of all sectors of
the economy as stipulated in Article 8 of this Decree for
forest land farming following State management and
operations plans.

The State encourages all organisations and individuals to
use their own resources in labour force, technology and
capital or to borrow money from national banks for making
forestry development investments and for producing raw
material supplies to industries through intensive management
methods and agroforestry practice.

Following this line, and based upon the objectives of land
farming and the ecological conditions of specific zones, and
the characteristics of the plant species used, the State
shall issue preferential policies related to 'priority'
investments, accord preferential credits or tax exemptions
as well as the case may be to interested entrepreneurs and
organisations. In collaboration with other Central agencies
concerned, the Ministry of Forestry shall prepare the
relevant policies, then submit these to the Council of
Ministers for decision.

Article 17.

The State maintains an overall management on the quality of
tree seeds, planting materials, and wildlife breeds, and the
forestry sector is assigned to take charge in the
introduction of exotic tree species. The Ministry of
Forestry shall take responsibilities in planning and
establishing a national network of seed stands, in doing
research, selecting and propagating promising tree seed
sources, and carrying out tree breeding.

Article 18.

Forest land use for production in forestry shall be done
following the below mentioned prescriptions:

1) For natural forests, forest users shall take
responsibilities in maintaining in its integrity the land
area under forest management, in preparing rational
operations plans for resources removal and utilisation and
for further improvements of forest land productivity.

The removal of forest products shall be made in compliance
with the operations plans as approved by competent
authorities, followed by economical uses of all tops and
branches, broken and fallen trees in the logging areas, by
slash disposal and by protection of the stands after
harvesting.

2) On forest plantation lands, forest plantations shall be
carried out following the forest management plans adopted
for each specific zone.

The plantation operations planning, on the other hand, shall
include activities for intensive management, agroforestry
practice, and other activities for soil conservation, soil
erosion control, land capability improvement.

The harvesting of forest products shall be made in
compliance with the approved system set out in the economic
and technical feasibility document; and measures for
promoting natural regeneration or for man-made forest
establishment should be adopted.

CHAPTER IV

Executive Provisions

Article 19.

Campaigns for publicity of, and education in the forest
Resources Protection and Development met at all levels, and
all sectors of the economy, shall be organised to promote
changes among officials and people in their awareness on the
urgent and important problems of forest protection and
forestry development.

- All organisations in charge of information dissemination,
press activities, cultural and ideological education at the
Central and local levels shall prepare and implement plans
for publicity and dissemination of and explanations on the
said Act to all officials and people.

- The Education and Training Ministry shall prepare plans to
introduce the contents of the Act into various education and
training programmes and curriculum at all grade schools,
universities and colleges.

- All ministries and industries, social and popular
organisations at the central level shall take the
responsibilities in directing and organising the publicity
and dissemination of, and the explanations of the Act within
their own sectors, industries and organisations.

Article 20.

In collaboration With other ministries, Central agencies and
the provincial and municipal authorities involved, the
Ministry of Forestry shall without delay determine the area
and boundaries of forest lands over the whole country and in
specific zones for effective division of responsibilities in
the forest and forest land management, so to facilitate the
allocation of forest and forest plantation lands to
organisations and individuals for improved lands resources
farming and management following state management and
operations plans.

Article 21.

The Ministry of Forestry and other ministries and industries
concerned shall issue orders and instructions for the
execution of this Decree. People's Committees at all levels
shall take responsibilities in enforcing the Act and related
legal documents in their respective areas.

Article 22.

The Ministers, Chairmen of State Committees, Heads of other
committees under the jurisdiction of the Council of
Ministers, the Chairmen of Provincial and Municipal People's
Committees under the jurisdiction of Central Government,
shall abide by this Decree.

By authority of the Council of Ministers
Chairman,
Vice-Chairman,
Signed: Phan Van Khai

Ministry of Forestry
No.: 156/VP

Certified to be conformed to Original
Hanoi, January 29th 1992
B/O of the Minister,
Head of Staff,
Signed: Do Van Nhuan

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