Decision No. 147/2007/QĐ-TTg on certain policies for developing production forests for the period 2007-2015

Pursuant to …;

Policies for Developing Production Forests during the Period from 2007 to 2015

_________________________

PRIME MINISTER

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

Pursuant to the Law on Forest Protection and Development dated December 23, 2004;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 73/2006/QH11 dated November 29, 2006 of the National Assembly, tenth session, eleventh term, on adjusting targets and tasks of the Project to Plant Five Million Hectares of New Forests;

Pursuant to Decision No. 18/2007/QĐ-TTg dated February 5, 2007 of the Prime Minister approving the Strategy for Forestry Development in Vietnam until 2020;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment.

DECISION:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Guiding Principles for Developing Production Forests

1. The State encourages organizations, households, and individuals from various economic sectors to invest in afforestation and wood processing in accordance with the laws on forest protection and development.

2. Production forests are multi-purpose forests, with afforestation aimed at increasing income for those engaged in forestry work and contributing to environmental protection and ecological balance.

3. Organizations, households, individuals, and communities that invest directly and benefit from planting forests, harvesting timber, and processing forest products; the State will support part of the initial costs to encourage forest development, while also compensating for the environmental value provided by planted forests and offsetting low profits due to the specific nature of forestry work.

 4. The development of production forests must be linked with wood processing industries and the consumption of forest products to create a stable and sustainable forestry profession.

5. Priority support shall be given to economic entities investing in production forests in particularly difficult communes, serving as a driving force to promote forestry development in these communes. In particular, priority support shall be given to investments in production forests in the Northwest, Central Highlands regions, and mountain districts of central provinces.

Article 2. Objectives for Developing Production Forests

1. To plant two million hectares of production forests, averaging 250 thousand hectares annually (including replanted areas after harvesting).

2. Address employment and increase income to stabilize the livelihoods of ethnic minorities in mountainous areas.

3. Promote the formation of a stable and long-term forestry market, including seed supply markets, technical service markets, wood processing and consumption markets.

Article 3. Scope of regulation and applicable subjects

1. Domestic organizations, households, individuals, and communities operating in accordance with Vietnamese laws shall carry out planting production forests, harvesting, and processing of forest products.

2. Projects implemented according to Decree No. 151/2006/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2006 of the Government and areas supported for planting forests from ODA funds are not within the scope of adjustment and application of this Decision.

Article 4. Definitions

1. Post-investment support: This form of support involves organizations, households, individuals, and communities with land planned as production forests who organize planting themselves. After the planted forests are inspected and accepted, the State will pay the planting forest owners the portion of the support capital as stipulated in this Decision.

2. Investment support: This form of support involves providing a portion of investment capital from the State budget to organizations, households, individuals, and communities to plant forests.

Chapter II

STATE INVESTMENT SUPPORT POLICY

Article 5. Support for Planting Forests and Promoting Forestry

1. Organizations, households, individuals, and communities in particularly difficult communes (as per Decision No. 164/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 11, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the list of particularly difficult communes) planting forests on barren hills and lands planned as production forests shall receive state financial support at the following levels:

a) Planting large timber-producing species (harvested after ten years) and native species, the support level is three million VND per hectare; planting small timber-producing species (harvested before ten years), the support level is two million VND per hectare.

b) Planting forests in border communes shall receive an additional one million VND per hectare beyond the support level specified in point a, Clause 1 of this Article.

c) Planting forests in communes where residents have been resettled under hydropower projects approved by the National Assembly for investment shall receive an additional one million VND per hectare beyond the support levels specified in points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article.

2. Households, individuals, and communities belonging to ethnic minority groups but not in particularly difficult communes (as per Decision No. 164/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 11, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the list of particularly difficult communes) planting forests on vacant lands and barren hills, planned as production forests shall receive a support level of two million VND per hectare.

3. Organizations, households, individuals, and communities planting forests not falling under the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall receive support for seedlings and promotion of forestry, with a maximum support level of 1.5 million VND per hectare; if planting scattered trees, the support level is 1.5 million VND per 1,500 scattered trees (equivalent to one hectare of planted forest). The specific support level shall be based on the price of seedlings announced annually by the provincial People's Committee.

4. Organizations, households, individuals, and communities planting experimental forests (new varieties, on new land) according to approved plans shall receive funding support equal to 60% of the approved cost of planting forests. Each experimental forest planting model shall be supported up to a maximum of two hectares.

5. Support for promoting forestry activities: provide 200,000 VND per hectare over four years (one year for planting and three years for care) if planting forests in particularly difficult communes (as per Decision No. 164/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 11, 2006 of the Prime Minister); provide 100,000 VND per hectare over four years if planting forests in other communes.

6. Provide a one-time support of 50,000 VND per hectare for surveying, designing, and signing contracts for planting forests.

The funding support levels specified in Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article shall be calculated separately from the total support level for planting production forests as specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article.

7. Forms of support: post-investment support and investment support. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide detailed guidance on the procedures and formalities for post-investment support and investment support.

8. Conditions for receiving support:

a) The forest owner, which can be an organization, household, individual, or community, must have land planned for planting production forests assigned or leased by the competent authority and hold a certificate of land use rights. For state-owned enterprises, it must be land for production forests already allocated to households, individuals, and communities for long-term stability (50 years).

b) The source of tree seeds (seeds or seedlings) for planting forests must originate from a seed production facility certified by the competent authority in accordance with the Regulation on Management of Tree Seedlings issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 6. Rights and Obligations of Organizations, Households, Individuals, and Communities (referred to as the forest owner) when Planting Forests

1. Benefits: Enjoy all products from planted forests, freely circulate harvested products, and enjoy preferential policies on tax exemptions and reductions, and land use fees as stipulated by current laws.

2. Obligations: When exploiting planted forest products, the forest owner must pay to the communal budget an amount equivalent to VND 80 kg of rice per hectare per planting cycle, to build the Forest Development Fund of the commune and the Forest Development Fund of village and hamlet, with each fund receiving 50% of the payment.

For areas of production forests managed by households, individuals, and communities from the Management Boards of Specialized Forests, Protective Forests, or state-owned enterprises (referred to as the contracting party), the forest owner shall pay the above amount to the contracting party. In addition, the forest owner does not have to pay any additional amounts to the contracting party.

After harvesting planted forests, within 12 months, the forest owner must replant the forest according to regulations.

If the forest owner has received state support funds for afforestation and if, after four years, the forest does not meet the national standards, the forest owner must self-fund replanting or return to the state budget the support funds received plus commercial interest rates at the time of recovery.

In cases where the forest is lost due to force majeure such as natural disasters, fires, or pests, as determined according to the regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the forest grower does not have to repay the support funds received.

3. For areas of planted forests that are specialized forests or protective forests previously planted using the Program 327 funds and state budget funds under the New Plantation of Five Million Hectares of Forests project, now planned as production forests, the rights and obligations of the forest owner shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 7. Support for investment in seedling forests and seedling nurseries

1. The State supports investment in building and maintaining management and protection of seedling forests and seedling nurseries. Among them, the State (including state-owned enterprises and organizations established by the State) directly manages seedling forests and seedling nurseries of national importance with a maximum area of 30% of the total area planned for seedling forests and seedling nurseries; the remaining part is assigned, sold, or contracted out to other economic sectors for management and business operations in accordance with the law.

2. Seedling forests and seedling nurseries managed by various economic sectors must be within the planning approved by the competent authority, and they will be supported for initial construction investment according to the project approved by the competent authority. The maximum level of support from the state budget for forest reproductive materials, infrastructure construction, and equipment is specified as follows:

a) Not exceeding VND 35 million per hectare for newly planted seedling nurseries.

b) Not exceeding VND 25 million per hectare for newly planted seedling forests.

c) Not exceeding VND 10 million per hectare for converted seedling forests.

d) In addition to the aforementioned support levels, there is also support of VND 100,000 per hectare per year for managing and protecting seedling forests and seedling nurseries; the support period does not exceed five years.

Article 8. Support for investment in establishing high-quality tree seedling production centers

1. Criteria for supported seedling centers:

a) It is a tissue culture facility with a minimum capacity of one million trees per year.

b) The concentrated land area for building the seedling center must be at least 3.0 hectares (including land for building houses, workshops, and seedling gardens).

2. Conditions for receiving investment support:

a) For provinces without tissue culture facilities, they can receive support to build one seedling center according to the criteria stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

b) It is a non-state-owned enterprise or a state-owned enterprise with a seedling production facility that has been privatized, in which the State holds no more than 50% of the charter capital.

c) The enterprise's capital must participate in at least 30% of the total project investment for constructing the seedling center.

d) There must be an investment project for constructing the seedling center that has been reviewed by the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and decided upon by the project investor.

đ) The results of the investment in constructing the seedling center are accepted by the Provincial Project Management Board.

3. Investment support items: construction of office buildings, workshops, roads, power lines, procurement of equipment, and technology costs.

4. The maximum level of support from the state budget for one seedling center is VND 1.5 billion.

5. Implementation procedures for support: the total support amount is granted in two installments after acceptance. The first installment of 70% of the support capital is granted after the investor completes the investment projects as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article. The second installment is granted after one year when the investor has produced and marketed seedlings at the designed capacity and quality.

Article 9. Support for investment in seedling nurseries

1. Criteria for supported seedling nurseries:

a) It is a facility for growing forest trees using cutting, bud, seed, and tissue-cultured plantlet methods.

b) The minimum land area for building the nursery is 0.5 hectares.

2. Planning for seedling nurseries: on average, each commune or cluster of communes with 1,000 hectares or more of land planned for production forest planting should have one seedling nursery. When planning seedling nurseries, existing ones should be utilized primarily; new construction should only be planned when there are new forest raw material planting projects or in truly necessary locations.

3. Conditions for receiving support:

a) The nursery must be within the provincial forestry seedling production plan or belong to concentrated forest plantation projects.

b) The nursery owner must commit to using the allocated land for seedling production for at least ten years.

c) Seedling nurseries belong to the use rights of non-state-owned economic sectors. If there is state capital (state-owned enterprises, Management Boards of Protective Forests, Management Boards of Specialized Forests), the state capital ratio does not exceed 50%.

d) There must be an investment project for constructing the seedling nursery that has been reviewed by the County Project Management Board and decided upon by the project investor. For new seedling nursery construction projects in border communes, the decision is made by the People's Committee of the county.

đ) The results of the investment in constructing the seedling nursery are accepted by the County Project Management Board.

4. Investment support items: initial infrastructure construction, including: electricity, irrigation system, fence, material garden, site leveling, hardening of the foundation.

5. Level of support: on average VND 200 million for newly constructed seedling nurseries; for newly constructed seedling nurseries in border communes, support is provided according to the approved project capital; for seedling nurseries being renovated and upgraded to meet the seedling nursery standards stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the support level does not exceed VND 50 million per seedling nursery.

6. Implementation procedures for support: the total support amount is granted in two installments after acceptance. The first installment of 70% of the support capital is granted after the investor completes the investment projects as stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article. The second installment is granted after one year of construction.

Article 10. Support for investment in forestry roads

1. Fire Prevention Forest Boundary Roads (Fire Barrier Roads)

a) Support criteria: fire prevention and control roads combined with transportation roads for seedlings and materials within the project area are planned at a rate of 15-20 meters of road per hectare. When planning the support investment project for production forest planting, a fire prevention and control road system must be planned, and it must involve all forest owners (including those who have contracted 50-year forest planting land) in the project area. For previous production forest planting projects that were not supported for fire prevention and control roads, supplementary planning and support are allowed according to this Decision.

b) The level of investment support is VND 20 million per kilometer, of which VND 15 million per kilometer is for constructing the road components; the remainder is used for maintenance and upkeep throughout the planting cycle.

c) Investment procedure and acceptance for settlement and final payment: After receiving the provincial People's Committee's budget allocation for the planning year, the County Project Management Board is authorized to design the technical specifications and cost estimate for the fire prevention boundary according to the standards issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The design must be submitted to the County People's Committee for approval. Once approved, the County Project Management Board may organize construction independently. Upon completion, the County People's Committee is responsible for organizing the acceptance of the fire prevention boundary as the basis for settlement and final payment with the State Treasury. The County Project Management Board is responsible for managing and maintaining the entire boundary throughout the forest planting cycle.

2. Forest roads: For concentrated industrial timber plantation projects serving specific processing plants with an area of at least 1,000 hectares in regions without motorable roads for transporting products during the rainy season, investment support for forest roads up to 300 million VND per kilometer will be provided. The project investor for the forest plantation is also the investor for the forest road project. The management and construction of forest roads shall comply with current regulations.

Construction of forest roads can only commence when the planted forests begin to be harvested.

Article 11. Support for transportation costs of processed products in the Northwest region

1. Wood processing plants located in the Northwest provinces (as defined in Resolution 37/NQ-TW dated April 1, 2004) will receive state support for transportation costs for the first five years from the start of production. The level of support, as stipulated in Decision No. 210/2006/QD-TTg dated September 12, 2006, is 1,000 VND per ton per kilometer.

2. Form of support: post-investment support. Transportation costs are calculated based on the distance from the plant to the main consumption center, Hanoi, via the nearest motorable route, and according to the actual capacity of the plant.

3. Procedure for support, acceptance, settlement and final payment:

a) The Provincial People's Committee Chairman approves the investment project for constructing the plant. After the investment and commencement of operations, the plant investor reports to the Provincial People's Committee Chairman on the investment results. Within twenty working days, the Provincial People's Committee Chairman establishes an Acceptance Board to verify the actual capacity of the plant as the basis for settling the capital support to the investor.

b) The initial direct transportation cost support is seventy percent of the total support funding, with the remainder deducted from the annual taxes payable by the plant to the state budget. The state will record the direct support funds for the plant in the next fiscal year following the plant's operation. Each county can receive transportation cost support for one plant, with pilot implementation of transportation cost support for one to two plants per province from now until 2010 if they meet the conditions set forth in Clause 4 of this Article.

4. Conditions for receiving support:

- The state will only provide support for plants producing composite panels combined with particleboard or composite panels combined with MDF to fully utilize raw materials. The plant must not relocate its registered production site within twenty years.

- The plant must have a minimum actual capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per year. All equipment must be new.³per year. New equipment 100%.

- The enterprise must have an area of planted industrial timber sufficient to supply raw material to the plant, ensuring a minimum of fifty percent of the designed capacity, or the location of the plant must have a raw material area that guarantees full supply to the plant's capacity (the productivity of planted timber used as the basis for calculating support for the plant is 100 cubic meters per hectare).³per hectare).

- It must be a non-state-owned enterprise. If it is a state-owned enterprise, support will only be provided for wood processing facilities that have been privatized, with state ownership not exceeding fifty percent.

5. Encouragement and priority are given to households and individuals with planted forest areas to contribute capital and forests to establish joint-stock companies and cooperatives and to receive state support in accordance with the conditions specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

Article 12. Sources of investment support

1. Central government budget.

2. Local budget: Based on the provisions of this Decision, the provincial People's Committee is responsible for using revenues from standing tree sales, forest resource taxes, fines for violations of the Law on Protection and Development of Forests, environmental protection fees, retained revenues from hydropower plants, and other sources as prescribed by law to ensure local funding for implementation.

3. The total investment required to implement this Decision is approximately 40 trillion VND, of which economic sectors will contribute about 31 trillion VND, and the state budget will contribute about 9 trillion VND (central budget 8 trillion VND, local budget 1 trillion VND).

Article 13. Mechanism for investment support

1. From now until 2010: the central government will provide targeted support to local budgets for implementation.

2. After 2010: the central government will focus on providing targeted support to provincial budgets that still receive subsidies from the central budget; other provinces are responsible for allocating local budgets to implement as stipulated in this Decision.

3. Allocation plan: The Ministry of Planning and Investment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance, will compile and allocate a three-year stable forest planting plan for the provinces. The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee will allocate a three-year stable forest planting plan to the project investors.

Chapter III

SOLUTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

Article 14. Land issues

1. Planning land for industrial timber plantations: Provinces with large areas of unused forest land should proactively plan land for industrial timber plantations after reviewing the three types of forest plans according to Directive No. 38/2005/CT-TTg dated December 5, 2005, of the Prime Minister, and publicly announce to attract various economic sectors to invest in forest planting.

2. Allocation of land and issuance of land use rights certificates:

a) The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee directs to accelerate the progress of land allocation and issuance of certificates of land use rights for organizations, households, and individuals according to the Land Law. For areas of land leased to households and individuals for afforestation where, within three consecutive years, the lessees have not been supported with seedlings, materials, and techniques, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall consider and decide on the recovery of the leased land, transferring it to land allocation or leasing, and issuing certificates of land use rights to the lessees.

b) For land planned for commercial forest planting currently managed by state organizations that do not yet meet the conditions for allocation to households and individuals and communities, before implementing this Decision, state organizations must implement long-term stable forestry leases (50 years) for households, individuals, and communities to plant commercial forests.

3. Permitting forest owners to use up to 30% of the area of land allocated but without existing forests to invest in serving eco-tourism, rest and recuperation, combined agricultural and fishery production, wherein the area of land reserved for infrastructure construction (roads, permanent structures, factories) is a maximum of 20%.

4. Implementation funds

a) Funds for land use planning, land allocation, forest allocation, land leasing, leasing of land for commercial forest planting, and project establishment to support commercial forest planting shall be sourced from the state budget as stipulated in Article 12 of this Decision.

b) Permitting organizations, individuals, and households to advance their own funds according to regulations to carry out tasks specified in point a, Clause 4, Article 4 of this Decision; the State will arrange for repayment of these funds in the following fiscal year.

Article 15. Support investment projects and decision-making agencies for investment

1. Investors and establishment of support investment projects for commercial forest planting

a) Support investment projects for commercial forest planting by households, individuals, and communities on areas of land planned for commercial forest planting in buffer zones of special-use and protective forests shall be established by the Management Board of Special-Use and Protective Forests and they shall act as the main investors.

b) Support investment projects for commercial forest planting for households, individuals, and communities on areas of land planned for raw material supply regions of state-owned enterprises shall be established and led by the enterprise.

c) Support investment projects for commercial forest planting by non-state enterprises and cooperatives shall be established based on the actual area of land allocated or leased and the enterprises or cooperatives shall act as the main investors.

Remaining areas of land suitable for afforestation in the district, one or two support investment projects for commercial forest planting for households, individuals, and communities shall be established and the Forestry Inspection Station of the District or the Border Guard Post shall act as the main investors.

d) Support investment projects for commercial forest planting for households, individuals, and communities shall be established simply as a production plan, primarily ensuring the principle of not overlapping with other commercial forest planting projects; clearly defining the area of forest planting on each plot, compartment, sub-forest management unit, whether the land is vacant or already planted with forests, and aligning with the three types of forest planning as per Directive No. 38/2005/CT-TTg dated December 5, 2005 of the Prime Minister.

The implementation period of support investment projects for commercial forest planting shall follow the cycle of planted forests.

2. Investment decision-making agencies:

a) The Provincial People's Committee is the agency deciding on investment in support investment projects for commercial forest planting as stipulated in point c, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decision.

b) The District People's Committee is the agency deciding on investment in support investment projects for commercial forest planting as stipulated in points a, b, and d, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decision.

3. Support investment projects for commercial forest planting of tree species as prescribed in Decision No. 16/2005/QĐ-BNN dated March 15, 2005 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the approval of the list of major tree species for commercial forest planting shall be exempted from environmental impact assessment.

Article 16. Establishing Project Management Boards for support investment in commercial forest planting at various levels (referred to as Project Management Boards); Village Forest Development Boards; Commune Forest Development Boards, hamlet, village, ward, etc. Forest Development Boards (referred to as Hamlet Forest Development Boards).

1. Provincial-level Project Management Boards shall continue to operate the existing Provincial-level Project Management Board for the New 5 Million Hectares of Forests, decided upon by the Provincial People's Committee.

2. District-level Project Management Boards: investors of support investment projects for commercial forest planting as stipulated in points a, b, and d, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decision may establish District-level Project Management Boards for support investment in commercial forest planting, decided upon by the District People's Committee, based on the existing District-level Project Management Board for the New 5 Million Hectares of Forests.

For support investment projects for commercial forest planting by non-state enterprises and cooperatives as stipulated in point c, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decision, the organization itself shall decide to establish the Project Management Board and notify the provincial-level investment decision-making agency for support investment in commercial forest planting and relevant agencies.

3. Village Forest Development Boards: villages with 500 hectares or more of forest land shall establish Village Forest Development Boards. These boards shall be established by the Chairman of the Village People's Committee; members include a Deputy Chairman of the Village People's Committee as the Head, a forest ranger from the village, a village agriculture and forestry officer, and representatives of some mass organizations in the village, with no more than five members from the village. In addition to village members, each Hamlet Forest Development Board shall have one member participating in the Village Forest Development Board.

For villages that already have Village Forest Management Boards, these can be used as Village Forest Development Boards.

4. Hamlet Forest Development Boards: hamlets with 100 hectares or more of forest land shall establish Hamlet Forest Development Boards, approved by the Chairman of the Village People's Committee. Members include the hamlet head, village elders, and representatives of mass organizations; the total number of members ranges from seven to nine. The Hamlet Forest Development Board has the responsibility to assist forest owners in managing and protecting forests and supervising the implementation of afforestation by households, individuals, and communities in the hamlet.

Article 17. Powers and responsibilities of Project Management Boards for support in forest planting at various levels

1. Provincial-level Project Management Boards:

a) The provincial project management board is the agency responsible for managing and supervising projects, but does not act as the project investor. The provincial project management board is tasked with using the allocated management funds to disseminate information about policies, provide training, and instruct county and commune-level officials on specialized knowledge and skills.

b) Organize inspections and oversight of the implementation of this Decision within the province.

c) Directly inspect planted forests, seedling forests, seedling gardens, and seedling centers of non-state-owned enterprises and cooperatives. Upon receiving a request from the investor, within twenty working days, the provincial project management board shall organize an inspection for the investor.

2. The county-level project management board:

a) The county-level project management board is the direct investor responsible for managing and implementing the project.

b) Draft investment support projects for productive forest planting, and submit them to the competent authority for approval.

c) Is permitted to adjust the capital of assigned forestry items but must not exceed the total project capital, and can only adjust capital from infrastructure investment items to forestry items to ensure the progress of the project implementation.

d) Lead and coordinate with village forest development boards and communal forest development boards to disseminate and promote policies stipulated in this Decision to each household, individual, and community within the project area.

đ) Based on the price and seedling standards announced by the provincial People's Committee and the technical procedures for forest planting prescribed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the county-level project management board shall develop and approve the annual technical design for forest planting.

e) The county-level project management board (except for the non-state-owned enterprise forest planting project management board) is responsible for signing forest planting contracts (according to the model attached to this Decision) with households, individuals, and communities. Forest planting contracts must be confirmed by the commune People's Committee and the village head.

g) Assign forestry extension officers to guide and supervise forest planting for households, individuals, and communities. Forestry extension officers must be responsible for the area and quality of planted forests of households, individuals, and communities under their jurisdiction from the start of planting until the end of forest care (one year of planting and three years of care). In areas where there are forest rangers, priority should be given to assigning forest rangers to perform the duties of forestry extension officers.

h) Organize the inspection of planted forests, seedling forests, and seedling gardens of households, individuals, and communities within the project, including: inspecting the area of planted forests supported by investment and post-investment support as the basis for settlement and final payment with the State Treasury. The area of planted forests under post-investment support is paid once in the second year after planting.

Annually, at the time of forest planting inspection, the county-level project management board shall prepare an inspection plan and notify in writing each village forest development board and communal forest development board to cooperate in the inspection.

i) The basis for the county-level project management board to pay forest planting support to the forest owner includes: the forest planting contract, the invoice for purchasing seeds (seedlings), accompanied by a copy of the seed source certificate according to the Seed Management Regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the inspection report of the planted forest (confirmed by the forest owner, village head, forestry extension officer, and the county-level project management board).

3. The project management fee for supporting investment in productive forest planting is calculated at 10% of the total forestry investment support amount on the local level: central level 0.5%, provincial level 0.7%, county-level steering committee 0.8%, project investor at the county level 8% (of which the investor allocates 1% to the village forest development board and 1% to the communal forest development board). Management costs shall be used in accordance with current regulations.

Article 18. Responsibilities of Ministries, sectors, and localities

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

a) Lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to develop and promulgate procedures and cost norms for drafting support investment projects for productive forest planting, land use planning for forestry, allocation of forestry land, allocation of forests, leasing of forestry land, and contracting out forestry land to implement this Decision.

b) Guide localities in developing and promulgating: operational regulations for project management boards at all levels, county-level steering committees for project implementation, village-level forest development boards, and communal forest development boards; management and usage regulations for village-level forest protection and development funds, and communal forest protection and development funds.

c) Issue criteria for national-level important seedling forests and seedling gardens directly managed by the state; draft plans for the system of seedling forests and seedling gardens; guide the transfer, sale, and contracting out of seedling forests and seedling gardens currently directly managed by the state to other economic sectors according to the law. Specify specific criteria for tissue culture bases of seedling centers and seedling nurseries.

d) Organize support for registering trademarks for seedling centers and seedling nurseries. Post all seed sources and seed production facilities that have been certified by authorized agencies on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's seed management website. Establish a management information system to track and compile results.

đ) Develop Fire Prevention and Control Forest Boundary Standards and establish Procedures for Determining and Liquidating Forests Damaged by Natural Disasters and Unavoidable Fires.

e) Coordinate with the Ministries of Planning and Investment, and Finance to compile annual, three-year, and five-year plans for state investment support according to this Decision.

g) Mobilize financial and technical sponsors to support. Utilize ODA funds to support productive forest planting, construction of forestry infrastructure, and training of cadres at all levels to effectively implement this Decision.

h) Promote and disseminate the main contents of policies stipulated in this Decision and related policies to the relevant subjects. Direct, inspect, and supervise during the implementation of this Decision.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment:

a) Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to balance annual, three-year, and five-year funding, and submit to the Prime Minister for decision-making. Guide the process of preparing and allocating plans to localities.

b) Be responsible for state management of investment; coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, and the provincial People's Committees to inspect and oversee the organization and implementation of this Decision.

c) Chair and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to periodically prepare comprehensive reports on the economic and social impacts of implementing this Decision every three and five years for adjustment and supplementation as necessary, to be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision.

3. Ministry of Finance

a) Take the lead in guiding the State Treasury to settle accounts and payments from the budget to implement this Decision.

b) Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in compiling plans and preparing annual, three-year, and five-year budget estimates to implement this Decision.

4. Provincial People's Committees:

a) Plan and announce the plan for land use to attract various economic components to invest in planting productive forests.

b) Draft and approve the Master Plan for nursery systems until 2020 (seeking comments from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development before approval). Direct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to urgently issue certificates for seed sources that meet standards according to the Forestry Seed Management Regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Publicize in mass media the facilities that meet conditions for producing seeds.

c) Based on proposals from the Department of Finance and Price Control and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the provincial People's Committee shall announce the prices and technical standards of seedlings for forest tree species in the locality each January as a basis for investors to settle accounts; do not approve seedling prices for individual projects.

d) Allocate state budget support funds for projects. Direct project management boards at all levels to ensure funding for areas of planted forests under post-investment support; approve investment projects in accordance with regulations.

đ) Strengthen propaganda and dissemination of the main contents of policies stipulated in this Decision and related policies to all levels, sectors, enterprises belonging to various economic components, households, individuals, and communities within the province to be aware and comply.

e) Approve investment support projects for commercial forest planting as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 15 of this Decision and approve investment projects in accordance with regulations.

g) Direct, organize implementation, inspect, and supervise the process of implementing this Decision.

5. The People's Committee of the district:

a) Establish a Steering Committee for implementing district-level projects consisting of the Deputy Chairman of the District People's Committee as the Head and other members representing several departments and organizations of the district, some mass organizations, totaling about seven members; the operational rules of the Steering Committee shall be issued by the District People's Committee. Districts currently having a Steering Committee for the New Forest Planting Project of 5 million hectares shall not establish a new committee but use the existing one.

Issue decisions on establishing district-level project management boards for household, individual, and community participants in commercial forest planting projects.

b) Transfer land, lease land, and issue land use right certificates to households and individuals participating in the project.

c) Approve investment support projects within the authority prescribed in Clause 2, Article 15 of this Decision and approve investment projects in accordance with regulations.

d) Direct the Forest Rangers Station and the People's Committee of the commune to develop annual, three-year, and five-year forest planting plans in the locality in line with national forest development policies.

đ) Propagate and disseminate the contents of this Decision to communes with forests.

6. The People's Committee of the commune:

a) Decide on the establishment of the Commune Forest Development Board and the Village Forest Development Board. Coordinate with the district-level project management board in completing land transfer, land allocation, and long-term stable forest land leasing procedures for organizations, households, and individuals.

b) Supervise all forest planting activities in the locality; publicly list at the Commune People's Committee the households and individuals participating in forest planting regarding area planted, tree species, and amount received during the implementation year of the project.

c) Propagate and disseminate the contents of this Decision within the commune.

7. Responsibilities of the Village Chief

a) Coordinate with the district-level project management board and the Commune Forest Development Board to disseminate the contents of this Decision to households, individuals, and communities in the village.

b) Supervise forest planting activities of households and individuals in the village; publicly list at the village the households and individuals participating in forest planting regarding area planted, tree species, and amount received during the implementation year of the project.

Article 19. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. All previous provisions contrary to this Decision are hereby abolished.

Article 20The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairmen of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees, and Heads of relevant agencies are responsible for implementing this Decision./.