Joint Circular No. 02/2008/TTLT-BKH-BNN-TC guiding Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg dated September 10, 2007 of the Prime Minister on certain policies for developing production forests issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Finance.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Directive on Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg dated September 10, 2007 of the Government on certain policies for developing production forests issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Ministry of Finance

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Pursuant to Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg dated September 10, 2007 of the Prime Minister on certain policies for developing production forests for the period 2007-2015 (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg),

The Ministry of Planning and Investment - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - The Ministry of Finance provide guidelines for implementation as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

The terms used in this Circular shall be understood as follows:

1. Bare hills suitable for afforestation referred to in this Circularmeans land that has been planned for production forests but has not had any forest for at least three years prior (status Ia, Ib, Ic).

2. State-owned organizations referred to in this Circular include: Forest Protection Zone Management Board, Specialized Forest Management Board, State-owned Forestry Farms, Forestry Companies, enterprises in which the State holds at least 50% of the charter capital and are granted or leased forestry land by the State.

3. Non-state-owned organizations referred to in this Circular include: cooperatives, private enterprises, limited liability companies, joint stock companies in which the State holds less than 50% of the charter capital, partnerships, community groups.

4. Forestry activities referred to in this Circular: planting and caring for forests (including establishing seedling forests, nurseries, experimental forests); establishing nurseries; forestry advisory services (project development, technical design for forestry; allocating land and forests, leasing land for tree planting); constructing firebreaks; mapping tree planting areas.

5. Long-term land lease for tree planting: when state-owned organizations allocate land or lease land to households, individuals, or community groups, the lease period is the remaining period of the land allocation decision or lease contract between the state-owned organization and the competent authority, but not exceeding 50 years.

6. Concentrated forest areameans the area of contiguous or adjacent forest plots forming a forest region, where the area of non-forested land does not exceed 10% of the total concentrated forest area.

II. CONTENT OF GUIDANCE

1. Preparation, review, and approval of projects supporting afforestation of production forests

1.1. Determination of project sponsors and scope: the sponsor of projects supporting investment in afforestation of production forests is determined according to Clause 1, Article 15 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg of the Government.

a) Support project for household and individual production forest planting (hereinafter referred to as household): based on the current capacity of state-owned organizations, Forest Inspection Stations, Border Guard Posts (hereinafter referred to as state-owned organizations) and the existing area of production forest land, the county-level steering committee will unify the assignment of each unit to build support projects for household production forest planting in certain communes.

b) Non-state-owned organizations may independently build support projects for production forest planting. These projects can overlap with the communes of household production forest planting support projects but must not overlap in actual location.

c) For non-state-owned organizations without projects but with a need to plant forests: the provincial People's Committee (People's Committee) allows the construction of support projects for production forest planting, after approval of the project, it serves as the basis for land allocation and leasing.

1.2. Content of building projects supporting afforestation of production forests:

a) Determining the area and target of afforestation until the forest matures, including:

- Afforestation on bare hills suitable for production forests;

- Afforestation after harvesting from planted forests funded by sources 327 and 661 now designated as production forest land;

- Identifying the type of land eligible for support (extremely difficult communes, border communes, other communes);

- Preliminarily identifying the forest owners eligible for support (ethnic minorities or ethnic Kinh);

- Recommending the main tree species for planting to the forest owners.

b) Developing plans for land allocation, leasing, and long-term land leasing for afforestation (as per Section 2 of this Circular).

c) Planning a system of seedling nurseries (as per Section 14 of this Circular).

d) Planning a system of firebreaks (as per Section 15 of this Circular).

e) Comprehensive map (scale 1:10,000) clearly delineating the boundaries of the project area.

g) Total investment capital including the required investment support from the state budget and specifying the estimated investment for each item.

h) Expected financial results.

i) The ability of the investor to mobilize capital.

In some cases, planning the nursery system, land allocation plan, long-term land lease for tree planting, and planning the firebreak system can be developed into separate projects but must have specific reasons and be approved by the county-level steering committee, costs must fall within the amount allocated as stipulated in Clause 1.4 of this Section.

1. 3. Review and Approval:

a) For projects supporting investment in afforestation of production forests for households established by state-owned organizations:

- After the project is established, the county-level Project Management Board (PMO) reports to the county-level steering committee and seeks the review opinion of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD). If the ARD does not provide a written opinion within 15 working days from the date of receipt of complete documents, it is considered to have agreed with the project. Within the next 10 working days, the county-level PMO submits the project for review and approval by the county-level People's Committee. The approval decision must be sent to members of the county-level steering committee, the provincial PMO, and relevant organizations and individuals;

- For state-owned organizations that already have support projects for individual and household production forest planting but do not comply with the investor requirements and support levels specified in Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, the project leader is allowed to implement and disburse funds according to the decision approved by the competent authority until the end of 2008; meanwhile, they should review and adjust the project according to this Circular and report to the county-level People's Committee for approval before the provincial People's Committee allocates the budget for implementation from 2009.

b) For projects of non-state organizations:

- The provincial People's Committee assigns competent agencies (the Department of Agriculture and ARD takes the lead for forest planting projects and forestry infrastructure investments; the Department of Planning and Investment leads for comprehensive investment projects) to organize reviews and submit to the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee for approval;

- For non-state-owned organizations that already have investment projects and have received one of the following decisions from the competent authority: project approval decision; land allocation decision; land lease contract, only need to prepare the plan for using the investment support capital according to Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg and submit it to the provincial People's Committee for approval and budget allocation.

1.4. Costs for preparing and reviewing support projects for individual and household production forest planting are calculated at 30,000 VND per hectare, including planning firebreaks, nursery systems, and land allocation plans.

2. Procedures for preparing plans for allocating land and forests, issuing land use right certificates, and contracting land for forest planting for organizations and households under the Support Program for Production Forest Planting

2.1. Preparing plans for allocating land, issuing land use right certificates, and contracting forestry land:

a) Principles for allocating land, leasing land, and contracting forestry land:

- All forest land areas in the project must be allocated, leased, and granted land use certificates, or issued lease maps for tree planting (only in places where conditions for issuing land use certificates are not met) for planting forests, establishing nurseries, seedling forests, seedling centers;

||| - The area of forestry land planned for production forests (or converted from protective forests to production forests) leased by households from state-owned forest enterprises, agricultural and forestry companies, other state units, or non-state enterprises that were converted from state enterprises when implementing the state's business restructuring program, if within three consecutive years the lessee does not receive support in terms of seedlings, materials, techniques, or the lessor only uses state budget funds for support (New Forest Planting Project of 5 million hectares or the previous Program 327), in reality the lessor only leases without providing support and collects ground rent, then the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall consider and decide to reclaim this area to lease, rent, and issue land use right certificates according to regulations.

||| In cases where the forestry land is within the planning area for raw material supply to wood processing factories specifically approved when planting forests under Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, such areas will not be reclaimed but instead transferred to long-term stable forest land leasing for the lessee. Product distribution will be based on the specific capital contribution ratio of each party and the product selling price agreed upon in the leasing contract according to market prices. If the lessor does not contribute capital, the lessee only needs to pay management fees as stipulated in Point 2, Clause 6 of Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

||| b) The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to compile the total area of forestry land to be reclaimed and submit it to the Provincial People's Committee for decision, and transfer it to the competent authority to issue land use right certificates according to the guidance at point a, clause of this provision.

||| c) Based on the approved zoning plan for three types of forests and the principles of land allocation and reclamation, the District Project Management Board shall take the lead in formulating plans for land allocation, leasing, and forest land leasing, conducting announcements and consultations with local people and communities to adjust the plan (if necessary). Then, they shall hire units with relevant functions to measure and complete the documentation to submit to the competent authority to issue land use right certificates.

||| 2.2. Content of the land allocation plan: determine the area of land within the project area, clearly distinguishing between the area of land with land use right certificates, the area requiring issuance of land use right certificates or forest land leasing, and the area requiring reclamation to issue land use right certificates. For leased land (without issuing land use right certificates), the lessor must prepare a land lease map at a scale of 1/5000, confirmed by the District People's Committee, to hand over to the lessee.

2.3. Costs for land allocation, forest allocation, and contracted land for forest planting (until obtaining land use right certificates)

||| a) The cost of allocating land, leasing land, and leasing forestry land to households averages VND 200,000 per hectare, with specific costs approved by the competent authority.

||| b) The cost of allocating land and leasing land to non-state organizations is VND 100,000 per hectare (from the stage of preparing the plan to issuing land use right certificates). The investor is permitted to prepare the design estimate, approve the cost of land allocation and leasing, and implement according to the assigned plan.

2.4. The time limit for completing the issuance of land use right certificates is within 12 months from the date of signing the forest planting contract.

||| 3. Procedures and formalities for pre-investment support for afforestation.

3.1. For households

||| a) The condition for receiving pre-support is that the village must have at least 50 hectares of concentrated land for afforestation. Pre-support will not be provided for small and scattered areas.

||| b) Procedures and formalities for pre-support.

||| - Based on the three-year afforestation support plan assigned and the project area, the District Project Management Board shall notify all communes and organize meetings with each village to disseminate the afforestation plan, planting locations, management measures, discuss and modify (if necessary) until at least 70% of participants agree, and provide a model application form for afforestation requests to households;

||| - If there is a need for afforestation, households shall submit an application (according to the attached model) with confirmation from the village head to the Commune People's Committee. Within ten days from the end of the submission period, the Commune People's Committee must compile the afforestation demand in its jurisdiction, including lists of households, planting areas, and locations, prioritized and publicly posted at the Commune People's Committee and submitted to the District Project Management Board;

||| - Based on the applications, meeting minutes, planned land area, and approved afforestation plan, the District Project Management Board shall coordinate with the Commune People's Committee and villages to unify and submit to the District People's Committee for approval of the list of participating households, planting areas, and locations;

||| - After the District People's Committee approves the list of afforestation households, the investor is responsible for publicly announcing at the Commune People's Committee and signing afforestation contracts and providing technical guidance to households according to the approved list.

||| c) Pre-support will be paid in two installments. In the first year, support for seedling and fertilizer costs (if applicable) will be provided. The remaining amount (if any) will be paid in the third year after the forest inspection.

d) Inspection and settlement:

||| - Annually, when the forest meets the inspection criteria, the investor shall notify the inspection schedule for all forest owners and Village Forest Development Boards. Based on the inspection schedule, the investor shall take the lead, invite Village Forest Development Boards to participate as members to inspect for forest owners;

- Documents required for inspection for household forests: forest planting contract, certificate of origin of seeds (if seed type requires proof of origin);

- Settlement documents: extract of the contract prepared by the project investor, inspection record of the forest;

3.2. For non-state organizations

||| a) The condition for pre-support is a plan to plant at least 100 hectares of concentrated land.

When the afforestation support project is approved, the investor shall submit a request to the Provincial People's Committee to allocate a three-year afforestation support plan; within fifteen working days, the Provincial People's Committee shall base on the assigned plan to decide to allocate the three-year support plan to the investor according to its authority.

||| b) Pre-support will be paid in two installments: when the plan is allocated, the investor is allowed to advance 50% of the support funding to prepare seeds and prepare the planting site; the remainder will be paid in the third year when the forest is inspected and approved by the District Project Management Board.

c) Inspection and settlement:

||| - When the forest meets the inspection criteria, the investor shall submit an inspection request along with the internal inspection report to the District Project Management Board. Within fifteen working days, the District Project Management Board shall take the lead, invite some departments and the County People's Committee to inspect for the investor.

- Documents for acceptance: decision approving the project, document approving the plan, decision approving the technical design estimate for planting and caring for forests, decision establishing the Project Management Board (BQLDA), certificate of seed origin (if the type of seed requires origin);

- Settlement documents: document approving the forest planting plan and inspection record of the forest;

4. Procedures and formalities for post-investment forest planting support

4.1. For households

a) Object:

- Households have a certificate of land use rights (for production forest planting);

- Households that have long-term land lease contracts (including production forest land and protective forest land now reclassified as production forest land) with state-owned organizations (including state-owned enterprises that have been privatized) before the effective date of Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg;

- Households having land within the planning area for planting production forests, currently cultivating stably for three years or more without disputes but without land use rights certificates or long-term land lease contracts: households need to provide a self-drawn plot map, self-measured land area, clearly marking the location and boundaries of the plot, confirmed by adjacent landowners to ensure no disputes; this map must be confirmed by the village and commune authorities. This area must complete the issuance of land use rights certificates or land allocation maps for forest planting within twelve months for the forest owner.

b) Procedures: as point b, clause 3.1, Section 3 of this Circular.

Within twenty working days from the date of receipt of the application, the BQLDA at the district level, based on the approved forest planting support plan of the Project, shall be responsible for dispatching staff to verify the site and determine the level of support according to regulations to sign a forest planting support contract, accompanied by a technical guide for planting and caring for forests for the household.

c) Inspection and settlement:

- When the planted forest reaches 16 to 18 months old, the BQLDA at the district level shall notify the schedule for acceptance to all forest owners, the Forest Development Boards at the commune and village levels, and organize the acceptance according to the notified schedule for the forest owners.

- Documents required for inspection: forest planting support contract, certificate of origin of seeds (if seed type requires proof of origin);

- Settlement documents: extract of the contract prepared by the project investor, inspection record of the forest;

- Post-investment support shall be paid in one lump sum immediately after the forest is inspected;

4.2. For non-state organizations

a) Upon receiving the decision approving the project from the competent authority, the project proponent registers a three-year forest planting plan with the People's Committee at the provincial level. Within fifteen working days, the People's Committee at the provincial level, based on the assigned plan, shall issue a document approving the plan for the investor.

b) The project owner, based on the assigned plan, shall develop a technical design, budget for planting and caring for the forest, and self-approve according to current regulations to implement forest planting;

c) Inspection and payment:

- When the forest meets the acceptance criteria, the forest owner shall submit a report (accompanied by an internal acceptance record for each plot and section) to the BQLDA at the provincial level requesting forest acceptance. Within fifteen working days, the BQLDA at the provincial level shall be responsible for inviting relevant departments and representatives of the People's Committee at the district level to organize forest acceptance for the investor.

- Documents for acceptance: decision approving the project, document approving the plan, decision approving the technical design estimate for planting and caring for forests, certificate of seed origin (if the type of seed requires origin).

- Settlement files: approval documents for afforestation plans and inspection reports of the competent authority;

- Post-investment support shall be paid in one lump sum immediately after the forest is inspected;

5. Inspection time and quality standards for inspected forests

5.1. Acceptance time for pre-investment support: first acceptance when the forest reaches 8-10 months old, second acceptance when the forest reaches 31-34 months old.

5.2. Acceptance time for post-investment support: when the planted forest reaches 16-18 months old.

5.3. Quality standards for accepted forests: survival rate reaching 85% or higher compared to the number of planted trees as per the contract, with weeding and soil mounding completed prior to acceptance. Areas not meeting the standards must be replanted and accepted in the following year.

The planted trees grow well, with a survival rate distributed relatively evenly, each gap without trees having an area smaller than 100 square meters,²The third year of the three-year forest planting plan, the BQLDA at the district level shall be responsible for preparing a digital map to complete the construction results of the planted forest for the entire area of planted forest during the three-year plan period, with a scale of 1/10,000. The map will be prepared together with the final monitoring and evaluation report to be supervised and summarized by the BQLDA at the provincial level for reporting to the Central Steering Committee. The cost of preparing the digital map is 30,000 VND per hectare.

7. 1. Principles of Support

7. Procedures and formalities for supporting scattered tree planting

a) The BQLDA at the district level shall coordinate with the People's Committee at the commune and village levels and organizations with scattered tree planting land to develop a scattered tree planting plan in the project area. The BQLDA at the district level shall organize for participants to register planting, clearly defining the planting location, planting time, and tree species.

c) Scattered tree planting by households along the edges of plots and sections in shifting cultivation areas combined with protecting agricultural crops; scattered trees planted by specific organizations (such as schools, health clinics...) and benefiting from them, with support for no more than 200 scattered trees per hectare of existing land. Specific amounts are determined by the People's Committee at the district level.

b) Each organization, individual, or household can only receive support once during the implementation phase from now until 2015.

d) Scattered trees on public land (roads, ditches), the People's Committee at the commune level may assign to organizations such as: Youth Union, Veterans' Association, Cooperative, Farmers' Association, community groups to plant and benefit from them.

e) Based on the approved plan, the BQLDA at the district level shall notify organizations, individuals, and households to register in advance to prepare seeds. The registration period depends on the seedling growing period.

g) After having the plan and consolidating the scattered tree planting needs in the area, the BQLDA at the district level, together with the commune and village, prioritize and submit the plan for scattered tree planting to the People's Committee at the district level for approval. The scattered tree planting plan must be publicly announced at the commune and village offices (village cultural centers) and notified to each organization, individual, and household concerned.

h) The provision of scattered tree planting seeds must be tendered openly (according to the three-year plan), and the tender package cannot be divided to avoid investment procedures.

7. 2. Methods of support and level of support. The forest owner may choose one of the following two forms:

a) Post-investment support: Organizations and households planting scattered trees as stipulated in Clause 7.1 of this Section, after the planted trees reach 16-18 months old and meet the acceptance criteria specified in Clause 5.3 of Section 5, shall be paid 100% of the seed price, at a rate of 1.5 million VND per 1,500 trees.

b) Pre-investment support: scattered tree planting seeds for organizations and households are purchased at a preferential price of 20% of the actual seed price of the province (actual seed price is the tender price provided locally), with the remaining 80% funded from the budget allocated for scattered tree planting. The proceeds from selling seeds are collected by the BQLDA at the district level and used to prepare seeds for the following year.

7. 3. Converted area from scattered tree planting is: 1,000 trees are equivalent to one hectare of concentrated planting for tree species with a cycle over ten years; 1,500 trees are equivalent to one hectare for tree species with a cycle under ten years.

7. 3. The converted area from scattered tree planting is: 1000 trees are equivalent to one hectare of concentrated planting for trees with a cycle over 10 years; 1500 trees are equivalent to one hectare for trees with a cycle under 10 years.

8. Management of afforestation seed sources

8. 1. Organizations, individuals, and households are permitted to produce and supply forest planting seed sources (seedlings, seeds, propagation materials) for major forestry crop species listed in the published directory, and must have a certificate of origin for the seed lot in accordance with the Forestry Crop Seed Management Regulation issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Decision No. 89/2005/QĐ-BNN).

8. 2. Organizations and households planting forests may purchase propagation materials and seeds from seed source providers and production facilities, but must comply with the provisions set forth in Clause 8.1 of this Section. The People's Committee of the district shall base on the seed supply requirements of afforestation contracts and household requests for seed supply to develop a suitable scattered tree planting plan according to the actual situation in the locality.

8. 3. Seed price management: every January, the Provincial People's Committee approves and announces the prices of forest planting seeds for all types of seeds within its jurisdiction.

8. 4. Publicizing seed sources: annually, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development publishes in writing the production facilities that meet quality standards and seed sources within their jurisdiction. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development publicizes on the seed management website the production facilities that meet quality standards and seed sources nationwide.

9. Determining and implementing the level of support for afforestation

The support level for each item is taken from the total allocated budget, specifically as follows:

Provinces base on actual conditions of their locality may use local budget to supplement support for projects with high seedling costs implemented in difficult areas

For the cost support for forestry promotion work at 100,000 đ - 200,000 đ/ha/year: mainly used to pay salaries, training, and administrative expenses for staff.

10. Benefits for non-state organizations, individuals, and households receiving contracts for special-purpose forest and protective forest afforestation previously funded by Program 327 and the New Forest Planting Project of 5 million hectares, after being approved as productive forests.

10.1. For areas of forest where households and non-state organizations have received full contracts for all stages, from afforestation, care to protection, they will be transferred to long-term stable contracts or granted land use rights certificates in accordance with regulations; benefits are stipulated in Article 6 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

Upon harvesting, the forest owner must replant the forest within 12 months as prescribed without state budget support for the next cycle

10.2. For areas of forest where households only receive contracts for forest protection stages (currently receiving protection contracts): when harvesting, households will receive additional money for forest protection, averaging 200,000 VND/ha/year for protection from the proceeds of selling timber harvested from the managed protected area. Specific amounts are proposed by state-owned organizations and decided specifically by the District People's Committee.

All revenue obtained after deducting legitimate costs for auctioning harvesting and supporting the contractor must be deposited into a temporary account to support afforestation as stipulated in Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg. In cases where the revenue from the auction is lower (or insufficient) to supplement the contractor, the revenue should first cover legitimate management, design, and bidding documentation costs of state-owned organizations, and the remainder should be distributed to households based on the area and number of years of contracted management and protection.

The harvesting and sale of timber under this category must go through public auction as prescribed: state-owned organizations currently managing the forest decide the time of harvesting, prepare auction documentation for the area of forest, submit it to the competent authority for approval, and organize a public auction.

10.3. For protective forest areas where the project owner previously invested their own capital for planting, caring for, and protecting the forest, which has been approved by the competent authority, when selling these forest areas, the proceeds are handled in the following priority order: legitimate costs for auctioning, harvesting timber, supplementary support for households, the remaining amount is divided according to the ratio of investment between government funds and the project owner's funds, the portion corresponding to government funds will be collected to continue afforestation under this policy. The project owner receives profits corresponding to the additional investment made.

10.4. For protective forest areas where the project owner still manages them independently without household participation up to now, the project owner decides the time of harvesting. The project owner prepares auction documentation, submits it to the competent authority for approval, and implements the auction. The proceeds are deposited into the project owner's temporary account and reported to the Provincial People's Committee for permission to implement investments as stipulated in Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

10.5. For protective and special-purpose forest areas currently under basic construction (1 year planting + 3 years care), when planning to convert to productive forests according to Directive No. 38/2005/CT-TTg dated December 5, 2005, the handling is as follows:

a) For areas already allocated and stably contracted to non-state economic components, these components continue to fund care and protection of the forest and enjoy benefits

b) For state-owned organization areas, follow the approved standard for the full period of basic forest construction

11. Logging and payment of forest owners' obligations

11.1. Before harvesting, the forest owner must send a specific harvesting plan for each plot to the District Forest Protection Division, and copy it to the Commune People's Committee for monitoring. Within five working days from receipt of the document, if the Forest Protection Division does not object in writing, the forest owner has the right to harvest, transport, and sell the products. Within forty-five days from sending the wood harvesting plan to the Forest Protection Division, the forest owner is responsible for depositing money into the commune and village forest development fund as stipulated. If the forest owner fails to deposit within the above period, they will be penalized as if they were late in paying taxes.

After logging, the planted area must be replanted within 12 months

11.2. The rice price for payment into the commune budget is calculated based on the common rice price set annually by the provincial People's Committee (like the agricultural tax rice price)

11.3. The Forest Development Board of the Commune and Village shall be responsible for opening separate accounts and collecting fees from forest owners. This amount shall be used in accordance with Clause 21.8, Section 21 of this Circular.

12. Investment support for seedling forests and nurseries

12.1. Develop planning projects for seedling forests and nurseries:

a) Planning for seedling forests and seedling nurseries is a long-term, stable plan managed uniformly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development according to the general regulation. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development takes the lead in developing a system of seedling forests and nurseries until 2050:

- The planning project for the system of seedling forests and nurseries is fundamentally based on ensuring the ability to provide seeds for the industry. Mainly using existing seed sources, planning to supplement new seed sources, consistent with the forestry seed strategic planning already approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

- Identifying the investor, location, area of seedling forests and nurseries capable of providing seeds, the area requiring ownership transfer, among which state-owned organizations only manage 30% of the area of national importance seedling forests and nurseries;

- Solutions for transferring investors for seedling forests and nurseries that require transfer;

- For new seedling forests and new seedling gardens, they must have a scale of at least one hectare. For converted seedling forests, the scale must be at least five hectares.

b) The planning of seedling forests and seedling gardens shall be submitted by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for review by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and approved by the Provincial People's Committee. The approval decision must be sent to the owners of seedling forests and seedling gardens and publicly announced.

12.2. Investment, acceptance, settlement, and finalization of seedling forests and nurseries

a) Conditions for receiving investment support for seedling forests and seedling gardens: having a land use right certificate; having a stable long-term land lease contract or forest lease contract; or having a layout map of the seedling forest or seedling garden drawn by the investor and confirmed by adjacent land users as not being disputed and by the commune People's Committee. The investor must commit to using the land for the purpose of building a stable long-term seedling forest or seedling garden and can only change the purpose of the seedling forest with permission from the competent authority. Priority will be given to planning for investors and households with forestry knowledge (holding degrees from universities or specialized secondary schools).

b) The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for guiding investors in designing technical details and detailed budgets for establishing new seedling forests and seedling gardens, converting seedling forests and seedling gardens, and protecting seedling forests and seedling gardens. Investors may hire consultants to prepare technical designs and budgets, or prepare them based on the guidance of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for signing an investment support contract (according to the attached contract model) with the investor within three months after the provincial People's Committee approves the planning of seedling forests and seedling gardens.

c) After signing the contract, the investor shall implement the investment according to the contract.

d) Annually in the fourth quarter, the investor must report the results according to the contract to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Within twenty working days, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for forming an acceptance committee. The composition of the acceptance committee is similar to the recognition committee for forestry seed sources (according to the management regulations for forestry seeds), and additional members from the provincial Project Management Board and the commune Forest Development Board where the seedling forest and seedling garden are located are invited to accept the work of the investor.

e) Acceptance documents: contracts between the seedling forest and seedling garden owners and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, documents proving the origin of superior trees, planting and construction logs compared to the technical design that has been guided. These documents serve as the basis for issuing certificates of qualified seed sources to the seed source owners.

g) Payment documents: the acceptance minutes and the project planning approval decision of the provincial People's Committee.

h) Investment in seedling forests and seedling gardens is disbursed in four installments. The first installment is 30% of the support amount immediately after signing the contract, the second installment is 30% paid after the first year's acceptance of the seedling forest and seedling garden investment. The third installment is after the third year's acceptance of the seedling forest and the fourth installment is after the fourth year's acceptance, each installment being 20% of the support amount.

i) The provincial Project Management Board receives 3% of the total state support capital for seedling forest and seedling garden owners to implement planning, technical guidance, contract management, and procedures for issuing land use right certificates to seedling forest and seedling garden owners. Issuing certificates of qualified seed origins. These costs are clearly stated in the contract between the parties. The provincial Project Management Board spends according to current administrative service cost regulations.

13. Procedures for developing projects to support investment in high-quality tree seedling production centers

13.1. Investment policy and procedures:

a) If there is no tissue culture nursery for forestry seedlings in the area, the provincial Project Management Board publicly announces through mass media to select enterprises for investment, prioritizing enterprises with large forest planting areas in the area, enterprises with joint ventures, collaborations, or cooperation with State-owned Institutes of Science and Universities that have tissue culture technology for forest trees. After selection, the provincial Project Management Board compiles and submits to the provincial People's Committee for permission to invest.

b) After obtaining the investment policy, the investor builds the project and submits it to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for review. Within twenty working days from receiving complete files, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development must issue a review document to the investor. The review content must comply with Article 8 of Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

c) The investor approves the general budget estimate design. The investor's decision must be sent to relevant agencies in the province, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

d) After the approval decision, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall sign a contract (according to the attached model) for the project investor within twenty working days from the date of receipt of the project investor's decision.

13.2. Capital advance and acceptance, settlement and final payment

a) After signing the contract and investing more than 50% of the workload (confirmed by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), the investor can apply for corresponding support funds based on completed work.

b) After completing the investment, the investor submits a report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Within twenty days, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development forms an acceptance committee and accepts the work of the investor. The committee includes the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as the main organizer, the Department of Planning and Investment, the Construction Department, and the Science and Technology Department.

c) The acceptance minutes, review documents, investment decision, and investment policy are the basis for disbursing the first installment of support funds to the investor.

d) For the second disbursement, the investor reports the actual production volume sold to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for verification. If the sales reach a capacity of one million trees per year, an acceptance minute is prepared for the investor to disburse the remaining funds.

e) The provincial acceptance committee and the provincial Project Management Board receive 2% of the total state support capital for high-quality seed center investors to implement reviews, acceptances, contract management, and procedures for issuing land use right certificates. These costs are clearly stated in the contract between the parties. The provincial Project Management Board spends according to current administrative service cost regulations.

14. Seedling Nursery Investment Support

14.1. Procedures and formalities for planning the seedling nursery system of the Provincial Project Management Board under State-Owned Enterprises:

a) The Provincial Project Management Board shall compile a comprehensive list of existing seedling nurseries within its jurisdiction (location, area, scale, production capacity, nursery owner...).

b) Organize the planning of the seedling nursery system within its jurisdiction in accordance with Article 9 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, which must include existing nurseries in the plan.

c) Determine the nursery owner: a domestic organization, a household, or an individual.

d) New planned nurseries must have a land use right certificate, or a layout map of the nursery drawn by the investor and confirmed by adjacent land users as not being disputed and by the commune People's Committee. The nursery owner must commit to using the land for the purpose of building a nursery for over ten years.

e) The planning content includes: determining the location of the nursery, whether it is a new nursery or an upgraded one, the current land area, and the nursery owner.

g) After the planning is completed, the investor shall seek the review opinion of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, then submit to the People's Committee of the district for examination and approval. The decision approving the plan must be sent to members of the Steering Board at the county level, the Provincial Project Management Board, and the owners of the nurseries.

h) After the plan has been approved, the County Project Management Board shall be responsible for guiding technical design for the nursery owners.

i) After the design is available, the County Project Management Board shall sign a contract with the nursery owner (the contract template is attached).

k) The level of State support as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 9, Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg. The level of support from the central budget for nurseries in border communes shall not exceed VND 700 million per nursery, with the remaining amount to be supplemented by the local budget.

14.2. Capital advance and acceptance, settlement and final payment:

a) After signing the contract and investing more than 50% of the workload (confirmed by the County Project Management Board), the investor is entitled to advance the corresponding support funding for the completed work volume.

b) Upon completion of the nursery according to the contract, the nursery owner shall report in writing to the County Project Management Board. Within 20 working days, the County Project Management Board shall be responsible for inviting representatives of the County Steering Board and the Village Forest Development Board to inspect and accept the project for the investor.

c) The settlement documentation includes: the investment support contract, the acceptance record of the completed nursery project.

d) The County Project Management Board shall benefit 3% of the total State support capital for the nursery owner to implement planning, technical guidance, contract management, and procedures for issuing land use right certificates for nurseries. These costs shall be clearly stated in the contract between the parties. The County Project Management Board shall disburse these costs according to the current administrative expenses regulations.

14.3. For non-state organizations' nurseries that plant forests on a scale of 1,000 hectares or more, the investment in nurseries shall be decided immediately during the forest planting project development process. The enterprise acts as the investor of the nursery (no need for a nursery construction contract). The enterprise (which is also the County Project Management Board) shall independently develop the technical design and budget estimate for submission to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for review. After approval by the investor, the enterprise shall independently implement the new nursery with a support of VND 200 million per nursery and upgrade existing nurseries. The Provincial Project Management Board shall lead the inspection for the County Project Management Board.

15. Procedures and formalities for supporting the construction of fire prevention barriers (firebreaks)

15.1. Firebreak standards

a) Apply industry standards (standard 04 TCVN 89-2007), the firebreak width ranges from 8 to 12 meters, depending on the height of the forest trees, terrain, and financial capacity. The firebreak shall be planned in conjunction with the logging compartments, facilitating transportation and connection with existing public roads. In each forest planting cycle, the initial investment includes leveling, grading, and building dams across streams (average road width about 5 meters) to serve as transport and movement roads, while the remaining width shall be cleared. In subsequent years, thorough clearing and maintenance shall be conducted throughout the firebreak.

b) In addition to the firebreaks supported above, the County Project Management Board shall plan auxiliary runways in forest areas of 100 hectares or more, dividing compartments. Auxiliary runways shall connect to the firebreaks, or green runways shall be planned in high-risk fire forest areas. The width of auxiliary runways ranges from 5 to 10 meters, with intervals of 50 to 100 meters.

15.2. Principles and procedures for planning firebreaks by the Project Management Board at the district level under state-owned organizations:

- Utilize existing footpaths and public roads;

- Ensure convenience for transportation and forest fire prevention;

- The network of roads should be evenly distributed and comply with Clause 1, Article 10 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg;

- Obtain agreement from at least 70% of the forest owners;

- The County Project Management Board is the investor for planning and investing in firebreaks. During the planning process, meetings with forest owners should be held approximately three times to unify plans. If the firebreak passes through the land of forest owners, the County Project Management Board needs to explain and promote voluntary donation for the common good without using State support funds for compensation.

- When planning, pay attention to previously planted production forests that have not yet received fire prevention road support, which can be supplemented in the plan and receive support according to Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

15.3. Investment procedures and final acceptance payment:

- After approval of the plan, the Project Management Board at the district level collaborates with forest owners to mark boundaries on-site to form the road system;

- Based on the assigned plan, the County Project Management Board may either design or hire a design estimate for submission to the People's Committee of the district for approval. After the design estimate is approved, the County Project Management Board may either self-implement or hire contractors to complete the project.

- Inspection and settlement: after the investment, the County Project Management Board shall report to the People's Committee of the district. Within 20 days, the People's Committee of the district shall invite representatives of the Provincial Project Management Board and the Village Forest Development Board to inspect and accept the project for the investor.

15.4. Maintenance and upkeep.

Annually, the Project Management Board at the district level prepares a maintenance and upkeep plan to submit for approval by the People's Committee at the district level and implement. The average annual cost is 1 million VND/km.

15.5. Advance funding: after the design estimate is approved, the County Project Management Board may advance 50% of the approved funding for the project investment.

16. Forest Industry Roads

The routes supported for construction under the provisions of Clause 2, Article 10 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg for processing facility projects and raw material areas are funded by the central budget up to VND 300 million per kilometer (including bridges, culverts, and dams), with the remainder being local and project owner funding. Implementation shall follow the current investment and construction management regulations.

17. Wood Transportation Support in Northwest Region

17.1. Investment in wood veneer processing plants combined with MDF or particleboard processing in Northwest provinces is supported according to Article 11 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

17.2. Content of the provincial People's Committee's approval of the investment project:

- Approve factory scale suitable for raw material sources;

- Approve factory location.

17.3. Guidelines for converting volume units (m3) of timber products to weight units (tons) as follows:

For MDF boards, 1 m³ product is equivalent to 750 kg;

For HDF boards, 1 m³ product is equivalent to 1000 kg;

For particle boards, 1 m³ product is equivalent to 700 kg;

For various types of glued laminated timber 1 meter long³ product is equivalent to 1000 kg.

17.4. Acceptance Council: the acceptance council for the factory is established by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Members include the Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee as the Chair, and representatives from the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Finance, Science and Technology, and Industry and Trade.

17.5. Advance funding: when the factory is under construction and has completed 50% or more of the workload, confirmed by the Provincial Project Management Board, the investor is allowed to advance the corresponding support funding.

17.6. Deduction of support funds from tax payments as follows:

c) The deduction is carried out annually, and the enterprise determines the deductible amount and includes it in the annual tax settlement report of the enterprise, bearing responsibility for the accuracy of the tax settlement report. The deductible value in the year if not declared in the tax settlement report of that fiscal year can be deducted in the next fiscal year.

Annually, when determining the deductible amount, the enterprise must submit a confirmation of the deductible amount from the tax authority to the provincial project management board for consolidation and monitoring.

c) The deduction shall be carried out annually. The enterprise shall determine the amount deductible and include it in the annual tax settlement report of the enterprise and bear responsibility for the accuracy of the tax settlement report. If the value deducted in the year has not been declared in the annual tax settlement report of that fiscal year, it may be deducted in the following fiscal year.

18. Investment Support Management Boards for Industrial Forest Plantation at all levels

III. SOLUTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

18.2. County-level steering committees:

18.1. The Provincial Project Management Board (BQLDA) is responsible for managing the 5 million hectares of existing forest. If a province does not have a Forestry Sub-department, then the Provincial Project Management Board for the 5 million hectares of forest will be transferred to the Forest Protection Sub-department to implement. In cases where a province does not have a Forestry Sub-department or a Forest Protection Sub-department, it shall be assigned to a public institution with forestry functions to carry out.

The county-level steering committee is established by the Chairman of the County People's Committee, headed by a deputy chairman of the County People's Committee responsible for agriculture and forestry, with members including: the County Forest Protection Station as the permanent body, representatives from the United Front, Farmers' Association, Veterans' Association, Youth Union, County Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, County Department of Natural Resources and Environment. The operation rules are unifiedly issued by the steering committee. The operating costs of the county-level steering committee are entitled to 0.8% of the management fees of the total forestry expenses in the area, and are used according to current regulations.

Districts with 1,000 hectares or more of planted production forests must establish a Steering Committee. The district-level Steering Committee must be linked with other forestry boards in the area (Command Board for Urgent Issues on Forest Protection and Fire Prevention).

The district-level Steering Committee is decided to be established by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level, headed by a deputy chairman of the People's Committee at the district level who oversees agriculture and forestry, with members including: the Forest Protection Station of the district serving as the permanent body, representatives from the United Front, Farmers' Association, Veterans' Association, Youth Union, Agriculture and Rural Development Department, Natural Resources and Environment Department. The operational regulations are unified and issued by the Steering Committee. The operating costs of the district-level Steering Committee are entitled to 0.8% of the management expenses of the total forestry expenditure in the area, subject to current regulations.

b) The county-level project management board has a separate account and is allowed to use the existing seal of the agency for transactions.

c) In cases where forest growers register and request the county-level project management board to provide seedlings, the county-level project management board must organize public bidding to supply seeds according to a three-year plan.

18.4. Village Forest Development Board: The village forest development board is established according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 16, Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, consisting of:

c) If the forest growers register and request the district-level Project Management Board to provide seedlings, the district-level Project Management Board must organize a public tender to supply seeds according to a three-year plan.

The operation rules of the village forest development board are designed towards democracy and transparency. All annual revenue and expenditure plans must be approved by at least 80% of the participants in the annual village member meeting. Specific rules are approved by the Chairman of the Village People's Committee (a reference model is available on the website along with this Circular).

A deputy village chief serves as the head of the board. Members include: the Forest Protection Officer of the village, the agricultural and forestry officer of the village, the land administration officer of the village, a representative from the Youth Union of the village, the Farmers' Association of the village, the Village Militia, or the Veterans' Association of the village, and a representative from each village forest development board (each village development board arranges one representative).

The operational regulations of the village forest development board are designed towards democracy and transparency. All annual revenue and expenditure plans must be approved by at least 80% of the participants at the annual meeting of all members. Specific regulations are approved by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the village (a reference model is available on the website along with this Circular).

18.5. Village Forest Development Board: The Village Forest Development Board is established in accordance with Clause 4, Article 16 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, consisting of:

- The village head or deputy village head serves as the head of the board. Members include: the village elder, a representative from the Youth Union, a representative from the Village Farmers' Association, a representative from the Women's Association, a representative from the Village Veterans' Association, and a representative from the farmers (one to three farmers).

The operational regulations of the village forest development board are designed towards democracy and transparency. All annual revenue and expenditure plans must be approved by at least 80% of the participants at the village meetings held every six months. The regulations of the village forest development board are approved by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the village (a reference model is available on the website along with this Circular).

19. Contract management and information management system

19.1. All contracts must be managed through an information technology system. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will develop software to manage all contracts implementing Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, providing the software to all localities and projects for uniform use.

19.2. All district-level Project Management Boards must have computers connected to the provincial Project Management Board network. All signed contracts must be entered into the management database within no more than three days after signing the contract. On the 20th of each month, the district-level Project Management Board must transfer data and submit reports to the provincial Project Management Board. The provincial Project Management Board must update the data and compile it to transfer to the Central Project Management Board by the 25th of each month.

19.3. Coding forest planting contracts for management:

- The forest planting contract code consists of the following parts: first, the contract number, which is taken from natural numbers, with the first contract being numbered 01, followed by the year the forest planting contract was signed, then the province code, followed by the district code, then the commune code, and finally the forest planting code (HĐTR).

- The province code consists of three letters derived from the initial letters of the province name and written in uppercase but not duplicated (using the province code in forest resource statistics (as listed in the attached list));

- The district code consists of two letters derived from the initial letters of the district name and written in uppercase, but not duplicated within the same province.

- The commune code consists of two letters derived from the initial letters of the commune name and written in uppercase, but not duplicated within the same district;

The district code and commune code are uniformly set by the provincial Project Management Board and communicated to the district-level Project Management Board for use and to the Central Project Management Board for consolidation.

Example: The forest planting contract of Mr. Nguyen Van A, with contract number 09, located in Phong Van Commune (PV), Luc Ngan District (LN), Bac Giang Province (BGI), planted in 2009, has the following code: 09/2009/BGI/LN/PV/HĐTR

19.4. Management of nursery contracts: similar to the management of forest planting contracts except for the final symbol of the nursery (which is: HĐVƯ)

19.5. Management of seedling forest and seedling garden contracts: similar to the management of forest planting contracts except for the final symbol of the seedling forest and seedling garden (which is: HĐRVG)

19.6. Management of high-quality seed center contracts: similar to the management of forest planting contracts except for the final symbol of the high-quality seed center (which is: HĐGCLC)

20. Management Costs

20.1. Management fees are calculated as 10% of the total state budget support investment capital for forestry activities. Allocation is as follows: 0.5% for central ministries and sectors; 0.7% for provincial level; 0.8% for district-level Steering Committees; and 6% for district-level Project Management Boards, 1% for village forest development boards, and 1% for commune forest development boards. Management fees for village and commune forest development boards are combined and allocated by the district-level Project Management Board. Annually, based on the forest planting area of communes and villages, the district-level Project Management Board is responsible for transferring funds to the communes and villages for disbursement.

20.2. Expenditure items: priority is given to training to enhance the capacity of cadres at all levels such as training, experience exchange, enhancing the capacity of cadres at all levels and the community; expenditure for project appraisal and approval, information dissemination and community consultation, mid-term and final review meetings, commendation and reward, office supplies for management and guidance activities, expenditure for management and operation, salaries and allowances for Project Management Boards, travel expenses, annual financial settlement and project completion settlement. For essential equipment (computers, bicycles, motorcycles) of the district-level Project Management Board, if necessary, they can exceed 6% of the specified limit in the first year but should not exceed 6% of the total over the three-year plan.

20.3. Specifically, for the 0.5% budget of the central government: apart from the above tasks, it can also be spent on researching and reviewing adjustments to some mechanisms and policies of the forestry sector. Economic, social, and environmental impact assessment of afforestation; independent audit. Investment in the construction and experimental production of certain equipment, technology, and models to serve the development of the forestry sector according to the policy of the Central Project Management Board and approved by the investment decision-making agency.

20.4. The management expenses of state-owned organizations, provincial-level Project Management Units, and central units shall be detailed budgeted according to the three-year plan assigned and submitted for approval by the investment decision-making authority.

21. Compensation, Tax Reduction, and Payment of Obligatory Fees by Forest Owners

21.1. If the forest owner receives support for tree species that can be harvested after ten years but wishes to harvest earlier, provided that the earliest time is not sooner than five years, they must compensate the State with 15% of the supported amount for each year of early harvesting. This compensation amount will be collected into the recovery account of the county-level Project Management Unit for reinvestment in afforestation.

21.2. For areas of planted forests managed by households under long-term contracts from state-owned organizations, tax exemptions and land use fees shall be granted similarly to cases where land is transferred or leased to households within the area.

21.3. If forests do not meet the requirements stipulated in Point 5.3, Section 5 of this Circular, they shall be handled as follows:

- In cases where forests are lost due to force majeure such as natural disasters, fires, or pests, as defined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the forest growers are not required to repay the received support funds.

- In cases where the loss of forests does not fall under the provisions mentioned above, compensation must be made according to Clause 2, Article 6, Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg. The agency signing the afforestation contract must terminate the contract and recover the capital to the state budget and may use the recovered funds for other areas within the same project.

21.4. For nurseries: if the nursery owner does not use the allocated land for seedling production for at least ten years, then for each year of discontinued seedling production, the nursery owner must compensate 15% of the supported amount.

21.5. For seedling forests and nurseries: seedling forests and nurseries are fixed planning areas. When the nursery or seedling forest owner has no need for seedling business operations, or when the seedling forest or nursery does not meet quality standards, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall lead the coordination with relevant sectors to report to the provincial People's Committee for a decision to reclaim (seedling forests and nurseries together with land) and transfer to another investor without compensation.

In cases where the land use planning for seedling forests and nurseries is changed for public purposes, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development permits the change and allows for compensation.

21.6. For high-quality seedling centers: if the investor of the seedling center fails to comply with the contract provisions, they must fully compensate the supported amount plus commercial interest rates at the time of recovery.

21.7. Responsibility for recovering and using recovered funds: the agency that signs the contract is responsible for supervising the implementation of the contract and handling compensation according to regulations if there is a violation. The recovered funds must be deposited into the recovery account (compensation account) of that agency. Thereafter, it must report to the investment decision-making authority (county-level People's Committee or provincial People's Committee) to support afforestation according to Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

21.8. Collection and management of funds paid by forest owners as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 6 of Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg are as follows:

- For communes and villages: they must establish operational regulations for the Forest Development Board and commune and village-level forest development fund management regulations, then open accounts for forest owners to deposit money according to regulations. Account numbers must be notified to forest owners in the area. If there are no operational and fund management regulations established temporarily, communes and villages only open accounts for forest owners to deposit obligations without immediate use.

- For state-owned organizations: manage and use the budget as administrative expenses for forest protection and development.

22. Construction, compilation, allocation of plans and supervision and evaluation

22.1. Three-year plan construction:

a) Based on Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg and this Circular, the provincial People's Committee shall direct the construction of a medium-term three-year plan for supporting productive forest planting, with specific annual plans based on approved projects and community consultations. Initially, the plan for 2008-2010 shall be sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

b) The contents of the provincial plan include:

- Report on the evaluation of the implementation results of the previous three-year plan (end-of-plan period report, according to the assigned plan content, items funded by other sources, and participating economic sectors);

- The next three-year plan including objectives, expected results, and investment sources, clearly distinguishing tasks and investments from state budget funds;

- List of projects, tasks, and funds according to policy regulations;

- The construction of the medium-term afforestation plan must be linked to the local socio-economic development plan according to the current five-year plan method.

22.2. Allocation of Plans

a) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead, coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance to compile, balance plans, and report to the Prime Minister for decision on allocating a three-year plan for implementation.

b) After receiving the plan, ministries, sectors, and localities shall allocate the three-year plan to specific projects, clearly defining the capital and tasks for each year for each project within thirty working days. The results of the plan allocation must be reported back to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for monitoring.

c) The subsequent three-year plan must prioritize the settlement of forest areas and investment contents implemented under the post-investment support form of the previous three-year plan.

d) For important projects with investment support from the state budget of 10 billion VND or more for non-state economic components according to Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, the Prime Minister will allocate the project list and investment capital.

22.3. Plan adjustment

a) In the third quarter of the second year of the three-year plan, provinces shall submit reports on the implementation of the assigned plan (mid-term plan report) regarding volume, capital expenditure, and policies to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister for plan adjustments. The principle is that central authorities will reallocate unused capital to provinces with needs.

b) Annually, based on the implementation situation of the county-level Project Management Unit, the provincial People's Committee shall reallocate plans from projects at risk of non-implementation to projects with good performance and capital needs. Capital shall not be reallocated from forest protection activities to infrastructure construction except with the consent of the competent authority.

c) Adjustment of the county-level Project Management Unit's plan shall be carried out according to Point c, Clause 2, Article 17, Decision 147/2007/QĐ-TTg.

22.4. Supervision and evaluation: based on this Circular and Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg, each level shall develop a supervision and evaluation plan to achieve the policy's goals and results.

22.5. Responsibilities of Relevant Ministries and Sectors

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead in guiding technical standards not covered in this Circular and sustainable forest harvesting of planted forests.

b) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead in developing guidelines for supervision and evaluation to ensure transparent and effective implementation of the policy.

c) The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in guiding procedures for payment and final accounting of state budget expenditures.

23. Implementation Provisions

This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette; all circulars containing provisions contrary to those in this Circular shall be abolished.

Any issues arising during the implementation process shall be promptly reported in writing to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.