Decision No. 129/2009/QD-TTg Approves the Scheme "Mechanisms and Policies to Encourage Investment in Natural Resource and Environmental Protection"

Pursuant to …;

Approving the Project "Mechanism and Policy to Encourage Investment in Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Conservation"

trong lĩnh vực bảo vệ tài nguyên và môi trường

__________________

 

PRIME MINISTER

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

Pursuant to Resolution No. 25/2006/NQ-CP dated October 9, 2006 of the Government promulgating the Action Program of the Government to implement the Resolution of the 10th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the Ninth National Assembly on the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010;

The Prime Minister issues this Decision on principles, criteria, and allocation standards for state budget investment capital development phase 2016-2020.

DECISION:

Article 1. Approving the Project "Mechanism and Policy to Encourage Investment in Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Conservation" (hereinafter referred to as the Project) with the following main contents:

I. OBJECTIVES

Building and perfecting a comprehensive, specific, consistent system of mechanisms and policies regarding land, finance, investment capital, human resources, science and technology to encourage investment, ensuring the implementation of the set goals for natural resource protection, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

II. VIEWS

- Recognizing the cause of natural resource and environmental protection as a national cause, by the people and for the people. The State performs its management function, supervising organizations and individuals in implementing natural resource and environmental protection according to the provisions of the law.

- Continuing to implement policies in the field of natural resource and environmental protection that are still effective. Studying amendments and supplements to mechanisms and policies encouraging direct and indirect investment in the field of natural resource and environmental protection.

Allocating a reasonable portion of the budget as core capital to attract other investment funds to promote socialization of investment in natural resources and the environment.

- Strengthening and expanding international cooperation to attract international support in terms of technology, finance, and expertise in implementing development and environmental protection goals.

III. PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION

- Creating new breakthroughs in macro mechanisms and policies to enhance the ability to exploit resources, especially domestic resources, to increase investment capital for natural resources and environmental protection, ensuring the achievement of natural resource and environmental protection goals.

- Ensuring sustainable development based on environmental protection.

- Ensuring synchronization and completeness of conditions for implementation; ensuring the interests of organizations and individuals participating in investment projects related to natural resource and environmental protection.

 IV. DIRECTIONS FOR SPECIFIC MECHANISMS AND POLICIES

1. Group of mechanisms and policies on land planning and utilization

- The land fund for construction of works in the field of natural resource and environmental protection must be clearly defined in terms of area, purpose of use, and managed strictly within the land use plan.

- In urban areas and industrial zones, the land fund allocated for environmental works must be detailed in the land use plan. New urban areas must allocate a certain proportion of land for the construction of public environmental works.

- In rural areas, the residential land planning in rural areas must allocate a certain proportion of land for the construction of public environmental works. Implementing the protection, restoration of natural conservation areas, national parks, mangrove forests; reinforcing upstream and coastal protective forests.

2. Group of mechanisms and policies encouraging land use

- The State organizes the implementation of land recovery, compensation, resettlement, and clearance for investment projects.

- Land used for constructing works and projects addressing environmental goals in urban and rural areas shall be exempted or reduced from initial registration fees, land lease fees, land transfer fees, and land use taxes.

- In the field of natural resource exploitation, organizations and individuals requiring land for waste disposal during extraction and processing shall be granted land use rights, leases, and reductions in land transfer and lease fees, and land use tax.

- For forest land planned for production forest planting, including naturally occurring production forests, continue to promote the allocation of land and long-term forest protection contracts to households, businesses, legal entities, and community villages, with incentives for those who have been granted long-term land use rights and forest protection contracts to organize forestry production and business combined with economic development in agriculture and animal husbandry.

3. Group of mechanisms and policies encouraging financial support

- Permitting the use of land use rights to contribute capital in joint ventures for the construction of environmental treatment works with commercial purposes, or to mortgage for bank loans to implement projects.

- Expanding the scope of taxation, fees, and increasing tax rates in business activities that have harmful impacts and pollute natural resources and the environment.

- Providing investment capital from the state budget and preferential credit at low interest rates or without interest for projects in the field of natural resource and environmental protection.

4. Group of mechanisms and policies encouraging attraction of investment funds

- Increasing investment capital from the state budget, prioritizing investment through state credit and ODA funds for projects in the field of natural resource and environmental protection.

- Central government budget supporting localities under targeted investment programs aimed at protecting natural resources and the environment, inter-sectoral and inter-regional cooperation. Encouraging other sources of funding from the private sector and enterprises, and foreign direct investment for projects in the field of natural resource and environmental protection.

- Allowing enterprises to use pre-tax profits to invest in post-production waste treatment.

- Strengthening the operation and efficient use of the Vietnam Environment Fund. Developing industry and local environmental protection funds.

- Expanding and specifically defining the list of investment projects in the field of natural resource and environmental protection in the list of encouraged and prioritized investment support.

- Utilizing other sources of funding from the private sector and enterprises.

- Supporting investment capital by providing interest-free or low-interest loans for projects in the field of natural resource and environmental protection.

- Support for small and medium enterprises and village craft establishments in implementing environmental treatment projects through programs and projects funded by preferential state credit.

- Establish mechanisms to account for environmental value at the enterprise level.

5. Group of incentive policies on human resources:

- Incorporate environmental education content into teaching curricula at all educational levels.

- Study and promulgate special policies and benefits to ensure adequate material and spiritual life for officials, workers, and employees serving in the natural resources and environment sector.

- Promote international integration in training cadres in the field of natural resource and environmental protection.

6. Group of incentive policies on science and technology:

- Allocate appropriate budgets for researching and applying advanced technologies in the field of natural resource and environmental protection; study and apply domestic technologies to replace imported ones.

- Provide financial support or subsidize part of the investment costs for applying scientific and technological advancements in production and business activities oriented towards cleaner production.

- Amend regulations related to technology transfer to simplify administrative procedures and reduce taxes.

- Encourage enterprises to research and apply scientific and technological advancements in addressing environmental issues to enhance production efficiency.

- Support the import of new technologies, absorb, and master imported technologies; ensure intellectual property rights, publication, exchange, transfer, and assignment of research results.

- Develop international cooperation in research and exchange of science and technology.

Article 2. Implementation of the Project

1. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

- Enact preferential land policies for investment projects in natural resource and environmental protection that fall under the preferential investment category as stipulated in the Investment Law.

- Establish mechanisms and policies to encourage organizations and individuals to establish environmental sanitation services through bidding processes.

- Develop a national target program on environmental protection for community health.

- Improve investment mechanisms and policies for using funds from the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund and establish and utilize funds from sectoral and local environmental protection funds.

2. Ministry of Planning and Investment

- Review, calculate, and update targets and indicators for natural resources and the environment.

- Develop a list of investment projects and plans for the natural resource and environmental protection sector until 2015; calculate funding solutions including state budget funds, non-budgetary funds, and foreign funds to implement these plans.

- Establish inter-ministerial and inter-regional coordination mechanisms for implementing environmental project investments with cross-sectoral and cross-regional impacts; act as the focal point for implementing these coordination mechanisms.

- Complete a set of planning criteria for natural resources, the environment, and sustainable development; ensure their integration into the national socio-economic development plan for 2010-2015, as well as those of central ministries and localities.

- Develop mechanisms and policies to implement the Sustainable Development Strategy Direction that has been approved; monitor and evaluate the implementation of sustainable development goals.

- Develop a report on current budget expenditures for the natural resource and environmental sector, including investments from domestic budgets and ODA; analyze the impact of such investments and expenditures on improving environmental quality and conserving natural resources.

3. Ministry of Science and Technology.

- Develop a plan to survey and assess the technological level of enterprises nationwide in fields affecting the environment and living conditions.

- Establish legal mechanisms to implement procedures for reviewing, supervising, and evaluating industrial waste processing technology chains.

- Develop a proposal to organize a network of consultants for industrial, household, medical waste processing technology for enterprises.

- Develop a plan for technological innovation in enterprises in an environmentally friendly direction.

4. Ministry of Finance.

- Review, supplement, and adjust financial policies supporting enterprises in investing in technological upgrades in the natural resource and environmental sectors.

- Establish financial mechanisms for budget and credit investment in natural resource and environmental protection.

- Perfect tax and fee policies regarding the environment.

- Enact policies exempting or reducing income tax, value-added tax, environmental tax, and fees for protecting the environment; importing machinery, equipment, means of collection, storage, transportation, recycling, and disposal; monitoring and analyzing the environment; producing clean energy and renewable energy.

- Enact policies to support the production of recycled products from waste, energy obtained from waste incineration, and products substituting natural raw materials beneficial to the environment.

- Enact policies exempting or reducing taxes and fees for recycling and landfill waste disposal activities; exempting or reducing taxes and fees for activities investing in clean energy and renewable energy production.

- Guide preferential and financial support mechanisms for socializing investment activities in solid waste management.

- Specify specific deposit amounts for environmental restoration and recovery for each type of resource.

5. Ministry of Industry and Trade.

- Develop mechanisms and policies requiring industrial zones and manufacturing plants (paper production, mining, chemical production, mineral processing, food processing, etc.) to plan, construct areas for regeneration, recycling, and waste treatment; reuse waste; strictly prohibit direct dumping of waste into the environment; apply ISO 14001 standards.

- Enact policies to encourage the production and use of packaging products made from organic materials that are easily biodegradable in nature; promote the development of products with eco-labels and other environmentally friendly products; at the same time, strictly prohibit the production and use of packaging products made from plastic bags and difficult-to-degrade materials that cause environmental pollution.

- Coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to develop mechanisms and policies to promote the application of safe production models for businesses, reducing environmental pollution.

 - Study and propose mechanisms and policies to develop the industry and environmental services sector.

 - Develop a clean production strategy, submit it to the Prime Minister for issuance of directives on implementation.

6. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

- Develop policies to implement the National Action Program to Combat Desertification for the period 2006-2010.

- Develop and implement the General Survey and Inventory of Forests project for the period 2010-2015; develop and organize the implementation of the Government Decree on forest environmental service payment policy; the Decree on the organization and management of special-use forests; develop and submit to the Prime Minister for issuance of mechanisms and policies on the allocation of land and stable long-term forest concessions to organizations, households, individuals, and village communities; reform key areas in forestry development policies for the period 2008-2020.

- Enact mechanisms to encourage economic sectors to invest in providing clean water and improving rural environmental sanitation; set price frameworks and guidelines for calculating the cost of rural domestic water supply, encouraging the use of plastic and metal materials to build boats and ships instead of natural forest wood.

- Plan and develop production programs for the industry, linked to establishing environmental protection programs in agriculture and rural areas (Planning for coffee, rubber, food processing and preservation, planning for rural craft villages, etc.), submit to the Prime Minister for approval.

- Plan and develop special-purpose forest systems (natural conservation areas, national parks, marine conservation areas, inland aquatic conservation areas), protective forests, and production forests, submit to the Prime Minister for approval.

7. Ministry of Construction.

- Develop guidelines for the state's encouragement and facilitation of construction, review, and approval of projects; regulations on joint ventures and collaborations to invest in urban drainage systems; encourage and facilitate economic sectors' participation in building part or all of the drainage system, encouraging the use of construction materials to replace natural forest wood.

- Summarize preferential policies and support for investment activities under current laws related to wastewater management and solid waste management.

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to study amendments to separate fees for drainage services and wastewater treatment services, ensuring the recovery of investment costs and operational management expenses for drainage and wastewater treatment systems.

- Establish plans for constructing solid waste treatment facilities, submit to the Prime Minister for approval (in accordance with Government Decree No. 04/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 11, 2008); submit to the Prime Minister for issuance of policies allowing investors in solid waste treatment facilities to enjoy preferential corporate income tax rates throughout the project duration due to this being a specially favored investment area.

8. Ministry of Education and Training.

- Continue to incorporate environmental education programs into various levels of schooling and reform training programs.

- Increase investment and upgrade laboratory systems for environmental science and technology.

- Strengthen learning, exchange, research, and participation in international and regional projects in the field of resource and environmental protection.

9. Provinces and centrally-administered cities.

- Develop local sustainable development strategies (Agenda 21); concretize local goals for resource and environmental protection in line with national environmental and sustainable development goals.

- When planning for construction development, coordinate with central ministries and sectors, neighboring regions in implementing investment projects in the field of resource and environmental protection.

- Local authorities develop and implement measures to reduce waste at source, recycle, reuse waste.

10. Enterprises.

- Assess the current technological status of enterprises and their impacts on the environment during production and business operations.

- Develop plans to modernize technology to avoid environmental damage; propose mechanisms and policies to seek support.

- Develop organizational and training solutions for enterprise staff managing environmental pollution control.

- Develop cooperation and joint venture plans with research institutions in consulting, organizing research, guiding procedures, training staff, and transferring technology in the environmental field, reducing environmental losses.

- Implement the Clean Production Strategy according to the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Article 3. Ministries, sectors, and localities shall base themselves on the contents of the accompanying project to develop, issue, or submit to competent authorities for issuance of specific mechanisms and policies. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead, coordinate with ministries, sectors, and localities to monitor and compile results into the socio-economic development plan report over five years.

Article 4. This Decision takes effect from December 20, 2009.

Article 5. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for implementing this Decision./.