Joint Circular No. 06/TT-LB guiding the preparation of plans, allocation, management, and settlement of funds for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work

CIRCULAR

OF THE JOINT MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Guidelines for planning, allocating, managing, and settling accounts for funds

for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work

Pursuant to Decree No. 22/CP dated March 9, 1995 of the Government promulgating regulations on forest fire prevention and extinguishing.

Pursuant to Directive No. 177/TTg dated March 20, 1995 of the Prime Minister on urgent measures for forest fire prevention and extinguishing.

The Joint Ministry of Finance and Agriculture and Rural Development provides guidelines for planning, allocating, and settling accounts for funds for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. Forest fires are a disaster causing significant losses to property and human lives. Forest fire prevention and extinguishing is an important task in forest management and protection. All levels, sectors, and citizens must have the duty to protect forests and comply with regulations on forest fire prevention and extinguishing.

2. People's Committees at all levels must direct the implementation of forest fire prevention and extinguishing work within their respective localities according to their functions, tasks, and authorities. Forestry inspection agencies at all levels are responsible for assisting local authorities in directing the implementation of forest fire prevention and extinguishing work.

3. State management agencies related to forestry must cooperate with forestry inspection agencies at all levels in forest fire prevention and extinguishing work.

4. Funds for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work are provided by the state budget and invested by forest owners.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Contents of expenditure for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work: Funds for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work include regular expenses for business operations, specialized equipment, and construction projects, specifically:

- Expenses for propaganda and education to ensure that state agencies, social organizations, mass organizations, and the public understand and comply with regulations on forest fire prevention and extinguishing.

- Expenses for building forest fire prediction systems, forest fire information systems, procedures and norms for forest fire prevention and extinguishing, fire prevention and extinguishing plans, zoning for shifting cultivation areas, identifying key fire zones on maps and in reality, applying advanced technologies for forest fire prevention and extinguishing...

- Rewards for organizations and individuals who have achieved results in forest fire prevention and extinguishing work according to state regulations.

- Expenses for purchasing equipment and facilities, constructing firebreaks, drainage channels, lookout towers, water reservoirs, forest fire prediction stations, and national forest fire prediction networks from central to grassroots levels... serving forest fire prevention and extinguishing work.

- Expenses for mitigating the aftermath of forest fires (if any).

- Subsidies for those participating in forest fire extinguishing work (if any), at the rate of the highest daily wage for forestry labor in the locality. If personal clothing, belongings, firefighting equipment, and tools are damaged, they will be compensated by the state.

2. Preparation of budgets for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work. Based on assigned functions and tasks, specific requirements for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work, and current financial expenditure regulations, units prepare detailed budgets for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work as follows:

a) At the central level: Annually, the Forest Protection Department bases its needs for forest management and protection and current financial regulations to prepare a budget for fire prevention and extinguishing business expenses together with regular expense plans to submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for review and consolidation into the ministry’s budget plan, which is then sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation and submission to the Government for approval by the National Assembly.

b) At the local level: Annually, the Provincial Forest Protection Departments base their needs for forest management and protection and current financial expenditure regulations to prepare plans for fire prevention and extinguishing business expenses for the forest area managed by forestry forces assisting local authorities, together with regular expense plans to submit to the provincial finance and price departments and provincial planning and investment departments for consolidation into the local budget plan, which is then submitted to the provincial people's committees for approval, sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for review and consolidation and submission to the Government for approval by the National Assembly, and concurrently sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for monitoring.

c) For forest owners:

+ For concentrated state-owned forest areas transferred to organizations, households, and individuals, forest owners must annually prepare a budget plan based on fire prevention and extinguishing plans to submit to the competent authority for approval to fund fire prevention and extinguishing work within their management and business scope.

+ For scattered forest areas owned by multiple forest owners, local forestry inspection agencies develop fire prevention and extinguishing plans and annual budget plans to submit to the competent authority for review and approval as the basis for allocating contributions from forest owners to implement fire prevention and extinguishing plans.

3. Allocation of forest fire prevention and extinguishing funds.

Based on approved plans for funds for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work and budget estimates of forestry inspection agencies at all levels, financial agencies at all levels are responsible for reviewing and timely allocating funds according to the progress of work, specifically:

- The Ministry of Finance directly allocates funds through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work organized by the Forest Protection Department using central government funds.

- Provincial Finance and Price Departments allocate funds for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work carried out by provincial Forest Protection Departments for forest areas managed by forestry forces using local government funds, and allocate funds to mitigate the aftermath of forest fires (if any) from the local government contingency fund. In cases of widespread forest fires causing significant loss of life and property, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and provincial people's committees report to the Government for consideration of support from central government funds.

- As for the funds for constructing firebreak roads, watchtowers, fire-prevention ditches and channels, water reservoirs, establishing forest fire forecasting stations and national forest fire forecasting networks from central to grassroots levels, purchasing equipment and machinery serving forest fire prevention and extinguishing work using investment construction capital, such implementation shall be carried out according to the provisions of Government Decree No. 177/CP dated October 20, 1994 on the regulations for managing investment and construction and the current guiding circulars.

4. Supervise and inspect the use of forest fire prevention and extinguishing funds. Forestry management agencies at all levels shall cooperate with financial agencies at the same level to inspect the use of forest fire prevention and extinguishing funds to ensure that the funds are used for their intended purposes, effectively and economically in accordance with regulations. In cases where expenditures are not made for their intended purposes or violate policies and regulations, the funds must be recovered for public treasury. The person who orders improper expenditures shall bear responsibility for compensation.

5. Settlement of quarterly and annual expenses. The Forest Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and provincial-level Forest Protection Agencies must settle the expenses used for forest fire prevention and extinguishing work together with regular expenses and submit them to the financial agencies at the same level in accordance with the prescribed forms and deadlines. Financial agencies at all levels have the responsibility to review and approve settlements in accordance with current regulations.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to report to the Joint Ministries for consideration and supplementation to make it appropriate./.