Decision No. 1174/QĐ-TTg on approving the pilot project to transfer forest land and allocate forest protection responsibilities to households and communities of ethnic minorities residing in place in the Central Highlands provinces.

Pursuant to …;

REGARDING THE APPROVAL OF THE PILOT PROJECT ON TRANSFERRING FORESTS AND ASSIGNING FOREST PROTECTION TO HOUSEHOLDS AND COMMUNITIES OF ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS IN PLACE IN THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS

PRIME MINISTER

  Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated December 25, 2001;
Pursuant to the Land Law on November 26, 2003;
Pursuant to the Forest Protection and Development Law on December 3, 2004;
Pursuant to Decision No. 168/2001/QĐ-TTg dated October 30, 2001 of the Prime Minister regarding long-term orientation, five-year plan 2001-2005, and basic solutions for economic and social development in the Western Highlands;
At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. Approves the pilot project on transferring forests and assigning forest protection to households and communities of ethnic minority groups in place in the Western Highlands with the following main contents:

1. Objectives:

a) Creating conditions for stabilizing and improving the living standards of ethnic minorities in place in the Western Highlands, prioritizing the resolution for ethnic minorities under the provisions of Decision No. 132/2002/QĐ-TTg dated October 8, 2002 and No. 134/2004/QĐ-TTg dated July 20, 2004 of the Prime Minister (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 132 and 134) concerning the provision of residential land and production land for ethnic minorities in place in the Western Highlands and some support policies for production land, residential land, housing, and drinking water for poor ethnic minorities with difficult living conditions.

b) Protecting, restoring, and developing forests in the Western Highlands sustainably. Accelerating the progress of socializing forestry to ensure that forests and forest lands have real owners.

2. Guiding Principles:

a) Transferring forests and assigning forest protection must ensure requirements to create conditions for stabilizing and improving the living standards of ethnic minorities in place, primarily those households under Decision No. 132 and 134 in the Western Highlands; the areas of forests transferred and protected must be stable and develop.

b) The process of transferring forests and assigning forest protection must be conducted democratically, respecting the customs and traditions of ethnic minorities, and procedures must be simple and suitable for the actual situation of ethnic minorities in place.

c) Integrating programs and projects in the area, linking them with the transfer of forests and assignment of forest protection to effectively utilize state support funds in these programs.

3. Implementation contents:

a) Objectives of forests to be transferred and assigned for protection:

- Forests assigned for protection: special-use forests, protective forests, natural forests classified as productive forests with high and medium stocking levels but currently closed; these types of forests will be funded by the state budget for protection assignments.

- Forests to be transferred are productive forests, including:

+ Natural forests currently planned as productive forests and other types of forests reclassified as productive forests after planning, but not included in the above-mentioned forests assigned for protection.

+ Areas of forest land planned for planting productive forests.

+ Productive forests managed by forestry farms or companies, reorganized according to Government Decree No. 200/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2004.

+ Sacred forests, cemetery forests, protective forests guarding water sources of villages, etc., currently managed and used by village People's Committees or community residents.

b) Recipients of forest transfers and protection assignments:

- Households of ethnic minorities currently residing in communes with forests who wish to receive forest transfers and protection assignments; priority should be given to poor ethnic minorities in place under the provisions of Decision No. 132 and 134 of the Prime Minister.

- Communities of ethnic minorities living in villages with similar customs, traditions, and needs for forest transfers and protection assignments.

c) Limits for forest transfers and protection assignments:

- Forest transfers: based on the commune's forest fund, planned productive forest land, number of households (under Decision No. 132 and 134) and communities within the commune wishing to receive forest transfers, the People's Committee of the commune shall formulate plans for forest transfers ensuring that the area of forest allocated to each household does not exceed 30 hectares (according to the 2003 Land Law); if there is agricultural land within the transferred forest area, the average forest area allocated per household shall not exceed 25 hectares; the area of forest allocated to communities shall depend on the forest fund and the allocation needs of each community.

- Forest protection assignments: based on the commune's forest fund (special-use forests; protective forests; natural forests classified as productive forests with high and medium stocking levels but currently closed, and productive forests under state-owned forestry and farm management), the number of households (under Decision No. 132 and 134) and communities wishing to receive forest protection assignments. Forest owners shall take the lead in coordinating with the commune People's Committee to formulate and implement forest protection assignments for the assignees. The area of forest assigned to each household shall not be less than the national average of 15-20 hectares per household; the area of forest assigned to communities shall depend on the forest fund and the assignment needs of each community.

4. Benefits and support policies for people receiving forest transfers and land for planting productive forests:

a) Entitled to all products harvested from the transferred forest area.

b) Supported with forestry seedlings according to the procedure for planting productive forests and supported with agricultural production according to the state's forestry and agricultural promotion policies.

c) If they are poor households lacking food, they will be provided with 10 kilograms of rice per person per month to alleviate hunger during the period when they cannot self-sustain their food supply (the duration of rice assistance is determined by the provincial People's Committee).

d) Households receiving forest transfers and land for planting productive forests under Decision No. 132 and 134 continue to enjoy the policies stipulated in these decisions, specifically as follows:

+ Support of 5 million VND per household for building housing.

+ Support of 5 million VND per hectare for clearing production land.

+ Support of 400,000 VND per household for constructing a water storage tank.

e) Enjoy other preferential policies according to current state regulations.

5. Benefits and support policies for people after receiving forest protection assignments:

a) Shall be entitled to receive a forest protection allowance of VND 50,000 per hectare per year.

b) Shall be supported with forestry seedlings according to the planting procedures for production forests (if there is a need to plant forests or enrich the assigned forest) and shall be supported in agricultural production according to the state's forestry and agricultural promotion policies.

c) If they are poor households currently suffering from hunger, they shall be provided with 10 kilograms of rice per person per month to alleviate hunger during the period when they have not yet been self-sufficient in food (the duration of rice assistance shall be decided by the Provincial People's Committee).

d) Households that have been allocated forests and land for production forests under Decisions No. 132 and 134 shall continue to enjoy the policies already stipulated in these decisions, specifically as follows:

+ Support of 5 million VND per household for building housing.

+ Support of 5 million VND per hectare for clearing production land.

+ Support of 400,000 VND per household for constructing a water storage tank.

e) Shall benefit from other preferential policies as prescribed by current state regulations.

6. Responsibilities of household families and communities when being allocated forests and assigned forest protection tasks.:

a) Manage, protect, and utilize forests in accordance with their intended purposes and boundaries recorded in the forest allocation decision issued by the competent state authority and in the forest protection assignment contract.

b) Organize production and development of forests in compliance with technical procedures, regulations, forest management and protection policies, and other provisions of laws on forest protection and development.

c) Fulfill related obligations as stipulated generally at the local level.

Article 2. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

1. Urgently direct the People's Committees of the Central Highlands provinces to review and re-plan various types of forests; clearly define the areas of each type of forest: special-use forests, protective forests, natural forests with rich and average reserves but must be closed, production forests, and land planned for planting production forests to serve as the basis for allocating and assigning forest protection tasks. This must be completed by the first quarter of 2006.

2. Urgently assess the proposal for reforming, restructuring, and developing state-owned forestry enterprises (according to Government Decree No. 200/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2004) and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval in 2005.

3. Develop procedures and handbooks guiding methods for piloting the allocation of forests and assignment of forest protection tasks; guide and direct forestry and agricultural promotion work.

4. Direct and inspect the implementation of pilot projects for allocating land and forests and assigning forest protection tasks according to the approved proposal; handle arising issues within its jurisdiction; issues exceeding its jurisdiction shall be reported to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Article 3. Responsibilities of Ministries and Sectors:

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance shall balance the budget to ensure the implementation of the pilot project of allocating forests and assigning forest protection tasks to household families and communities in villages inhabited by ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands provinces, ensuring completion according to the approved plan and schedule.

- Relevant Ministries: Civil Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Ethnic Minority Committee, and other relevant ministries and sectors, depending on the functions assigned to them, shall coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development based on the content of the proposal to guide and instruct the People's Committees of the provinces to implement.

Article 4. The People's Committees of the Central Highlands provinces shall be responsible for:

- Directing forest owners to develop plans for assigning forest protection tasks to household families and communities in villages, submit them to the People's Committee of the province for approval, and organize their implementation within the province.

- Directing the People's Committees of districts to guide communes in developing plans for allocating forests to household families and communities, submit them to the People's Committee of the district for approval, and organize their implementation within the district.

Article 5. Timeline for Implementation

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, relevant ministries and sectors, and the People's Committees of the Central Highlands provinces shall proactively coordinate to implement the forest transfer and forest protection assignment based on the contents of the approved project and complete it by the third quarter of 2006, according to their respective functions and responsibilities.

Article 6. This Decision takes effect from the date of signature. The Ministers of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Finance, Planning and Investment, Home Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities; the Heads of relevant agencies and the Chairmen of the People's Committees of the Central Highlands provinces are responsible for implementing this Decision./.