Decision No. 134-QD/KT Issuing Technical Regulations for Constructing Upstream Protective Forests (QPN 13-91)

DECISION

ISSUING TECHNICAL FOREST CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS FOR HEADWATER PROTECTION FORESTS
(QPN 13 - 91)

THE MINISTER OF FORESTRY

Pursuant to Decree No. 196-HĐBT dated December 11, 1989 of the Council of Ministers on the tasks, powers, and responsibilities for state management of ministries;
Pursuant to Decree No. 141-HĐBT dated August 24, 1982 of the Council of Ministers promulgating the regulations on standardization work;
Based on the proposals of the Heads of the Science and Technology Department, the Forest Industry and Wildlife Department, the People's Forest Inspection Bureau, and the Institute of Forestry Science;

Pursuant to …;

Article 1: Now hereby promulgates with this Decision the "Technical Regulations for Constructing Headwater Protection Forests" applicable to all types of headwater protection forests nationwide. These regulations shall take effect from the date of signing the decision.

Article 2: Provincial People's Committees, cities, and special administrative regions shall direct the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry and related units, forestry-agriculture-industrial cooperatives to strictly implement these technical regulations during the construction of headwater protection forests.

Article 3: The Departments, Bureaus, and Institutes under the Ministry of Forestry shall be responsible for organizing guidance and inspection of the implementation of these regulations.

 

REGULATIONS

TECHNICAL REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING HEADWATER PROTECTION FORESTS (QPN 13-91)
(Issued together with Decision No. 134-QĐ/KT dated April 4, 1991 of the Ministry of Forestry)

Chapter 1:
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: These regulations stipulate standards and principles for determining protective zones, levels of protection, and technical solutions for constructing a dense, multi-layered, stable, and sustainable system of headwater protection forests aimed at regulating water sources, preventing soil erosion, and protecting land.

Article 2: These regulations apply to all headwater protective zones listed in Articles 4a, 5a, and 6 of the Management and Utilization Regulations for Protective Forests issued by the Ministry of Forestry along with Decision No. 1174 dated December 30, 1986.

Article 3: These regulations serve as the legal basis for technical aspects in developing specific technical procedures, economic and technical feasibility studies, or investment projects, technical designs; guiding the organization of implementation, aiming to construct and manage investments in headwater protection areas of river basins and lakes.

Chapter 2:
SCOPE AND CLASSIFICATION OF PROTECTION

Article 4: The scope of headwater protection zones includes all land and forests designated primarily for their protective functions, covering part or all of the area that collects water, bounded by the watershed line up to the transitional zone between hills and plains for rivers, and the dam entrance for lakes.

Article 5: Headwater protection zones are divided into three levels based on the degree of vulnerability to protection needs.

- Level I: Called critical: Includes areas at the headwaters, near river and lake shores, where there is a high risk of severe erosion and the highest demand for water regulation: Areas with the most urgent need for protection, reserved for constructing specialized protective forests, ensuring a forest cover ratio of over 70%.

- Level II: Called critical: Includes areas with moderate erosion and water regulation requirements, where conditions allow for combined development of forestry production, with high demands for land use and protection, requiring the establishment of protective forests combined with production, ensuring a minimum forest cover ratio of 50%.

- Level III: Called less critical: Includes areas with low erosion risks, where there is potential and need for agricultural and forestry production development; with reasonable demands for land use and protection. Requires the establishment of production forests combined with protective measures; ensuring a minimum forest cover ratio of 30%.

These levels correspond to the very critical, critical, and less critical zones within the headwater protection areas.

Article 6: The degree of urgency for protection is determined based on factors such as relative height, slope, length of slope, distance from the riverbank or lake shore; thickness of soil layer, soil composition, amount of rainfall, and intensity of rainfall.

Each factor above is divided into three levels of harm: very dangerous, dangerous, and less dangerous to protection.

Depending on specific conditions in each area, it is necessary to select the main factors affecting the flow and erosion to classify the level of protection by scoring or overlaying maps.

Article 7: The method of scoring or overlaying maps to classify the level of protection is based on the following principles:

a. Scoring method:

Score each factor progressively according to the degree of harm to the flow and erosion: very dangerous, dangerous, and less dangerous. The weight of points between factors varies depending on the degree of harm of each factor. Based on the total number of points from high to low, the levels of urgency for protection are defined.

b. Map overlay method:

Use maps showing the degree of harm of each factor to the flow and erosion: very dangerous, dangerous, and less dangerous with appropriate ratios to overlay them and delineate the boundaries of the urgency levels on the map.

This scoring and map overlay method is detailed, see the accompanying guidelines for this regulation.

Chapter 3:
CONSTRUCTING HEADWATER PROTECTION FORESTS IN VERY URGENT AREAS

Article 8: Headwater protection forests in very urgent areas (Zone I) are priority systems of specialized protection forests that are strictly constructed and managed to regulate water sources, reduce floods, provide water for rivers and lakes during dry seasons; limit erosion, protect land; and prevent sedimentation in riverbeds and lakes.

Optimal specialized protection forests have mixed species structure, multi-layered, dense, sustainable, and stable; with canopy cover over 0.6; with fresh and decomposed litter covering the ground; forest coverage ratio over 70%, and evenly distributed throughout the entire zone.

Article 9: Enclosure and protection for natural recovery applies to vegetation states ranging from shrub or scattered tree state (State Ib) to mature unharvested forest state (State IV) and bamboo forests according to vegetation state classification.

Technical solutions include: fully utilizing the natural regeneration and succession capabilities to restore the forest through measures to prevent forest fire, pest, animal damage, and human deforestation.

There must be an approved enclosure design, clearly defining the boundaries of small zones, enclosures, plots: establish management files; construct and organize forest protection management.

Article 10: Planting forests on bare hills and sparse grassland (State Ia). If conditions permit, planting can also be done on shrub and scattered tree states (State Ib) according to vegetation state classification. Priority should be given to areas with low canopy cover, where natural and socio-economic conditions are favorable.

Forest planting must have annual planning and design approved.

Technical solutions include:

- Planting trees must be suitable for the site; focusing on native species, trees with dense foliage, long economic cycles combined with fast-growing species, good soil improvement, and specialty crops.

- Must plant using mixed species band or cluster methods.

- In sparse understory areas, digging planting holes without treating the understory is allowed. In dense understory areas, strip cutting but not burning and piling along contour lines is permitted.

Must utilize green belts left at hilltops, stream banks, and lake shores.

Dig planting holes in a fishbone pattern.

- Techniques regarding seedlings, planting, care, nurturing, and protection shall be applied according to regulations and procedures issued by the Ministry of Forestry.

- For easily flammable forests, preventive measures against fires must be implemented, but it is essential to build green bands to block fires while preventing erosion.

Article 11: The use of special protective forests in extremely vulnerable areas must comply with the following regulations:

- Permission to gather seeds, harvest forest products, and firewood is granted, but it must not adversely affect the protective function of the forest.

- For mature natural forests, harvesting of forest products according to approved designs by competent authorities is permitted, and regeneration after harvesting must be ensured.

- For planted forests, once the entire planned area has been planted, harvesting of mature forests in patches or bands according to approved designs is allowed, and replanting must immediately follow harvesting.

Chapter 4:
CONSTRUCTING HEADWATER PROTECTIVE FORESTS IN VULNERABLE AREAS

Article 12: Headwater protective forests in vulnerable areas (Region II) are a system of protective forests combined with production, aimed at regulating water sources, preventing soil erosion, protecting land, and producing timber and other forest products.

Protective forests combined with production should have a mixed structure with tree species that have both protective and economic value, with a minimum forest cover of 50%, evenly distributed throughout the region.

Article 13: Encirclement and protection for natural recovery shall apply to vegetation states from scattered tree stands with canopy density below 0.3 and more than 1,000 regenerating trees per hectare (State Ic) to unharvested mature forests (State IV) and bamboo forests, based on vegetation state classification, but in places with less favorable natural and socio-economic conditions.

Technical solutions for encirclement and protection of forests shall be applied as stipulated in Article 9 of this regulation.

Article 14: Enrichment and nurturing of forests shall apply to vegetation states as stipulated in Article 13 of this regulation, but in places with favorable natural and socio-economic conditions.

Technical solutions include:

- Using tree species for canopy coverage and soil improvement; native species and those with strong natural regeneration capacity.

- Removing vines and not allowing fresh herbaceous growth.

- For the upper canopy layer, cutting down trees that do not meet protective and economic standards, but not reducing canopy density below 0.6.

- In sparse areas and unevenly distributed forests, promoting regeneration through strips or patches, but without burning when dealing with understory vegetation.

An approved design for enrichment and nurturing of forests must be implemented.

Article 15: Planting forests on bare hills, sparse grasslands, reed fields, or scattered tree stands (States Ia, Ib) based on vegetation state classification.

Forest planting must have annual planning and design approved.

Technical solutions include:

- Planted trees must be suitable for the site, prioritizing species with both protective and economic value.

- Methods of planting and understory management shall be applied as stipulated in Article 10 of this regulation.

- Terracing must be done where necessary on steep slopes.

- Seedling techniques, planting, care, and protection shall be carried out according to regulations and procedures issued by the Ministry of Forestry.

- For flammable forests, preventive measures against fires must be applied, including the establishment of green firebreaks combined with erosion control.

Article 16: The use of protective forests combined with production in vulnerable areas must comply with the following regulations:

- Thinning and intermediate product utilization, as well as the use of other forest products, is permitted, but the structural layers of the canopy must not be destroyed, and the fresh herbaceous layer must be maintained to promote the achievement of protective and productive goals.

- Harvesting of main forest products is permitted for mature forests, specifically:

Natural forests shall apply selective cutting methods according to approved designs by competent authorities, without damaging regenerating trees; post-harvest forest sanitation must be conducted.

For planted forests, once the entire planned area has been planted, clear-cutting methods in strips or patches according to approved designs shall be applied. Replanting must immediately follow harvesting.

Chapter 5:
CONSTRUCTING HEADWATER PROTECTIVE FORESTS IN LESS VULNERABLE AREAS

Article 17: Building forests in less critical areas (Zone III) involves establishing a production forest system combined with protective functions, primarily aimed at supplying timber and other forest products, while simultaneously regulating water sources and preventing soil erosion to protect land.

The production forest combined with protective functions must achieve a mixed species structure with economically valuable tree species as the main component and with protective effects; it must have a minimum forest coverage rate of 30%, evenly distributed throughout the entire area.

Article 18: Enclosure, protection, nurturing, enrichment of forests; planting and harvesting of forests according to the objects and technical solutions of the temporary regulations on technical forestry measures applicable to production forests, issued by the Ministry of Forestry, attached to Decision No. 02-QĐ/KT dated January 2, 1988.

Chapter 6:
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 19: All organizations and individuals related to the upstream protective zone must strictly comply with this regulation.

Based on this regulation and the specific conditions of each place, localities must develop specific procedures but must not contravene the provisions set forth in this regulation. Drafts of specific procedures of localities before issuance must be reviewed by the Ministry of Forestry and registered with the Ministry of Forestry after issuance.

Article 20: Any provisions in guiding documents regarding the construction of upstream protective zones that were issued previously and contradict this regulation shall be abolished.

Article 21: Units and individuals who implement this regulation well shall be appropriately rewarded. Units and individuals violating the provisions stipulated in this regulation shall be held accountable and dealt with according to current laws depending on the extent of damage caused.

Article 22: The People's Forest Inspection Bureau, the Science and Technology Department, and the Forest Industry and Forestry Science Department of the Ministry of Forestry are responsible for guiding, directing, inspecting the implementation, and gradually perfecting this regulation.