JOINT CIRCULAR No. 22/2014/TTLT-BTC-BNNPTNT GUIDING THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF STATE BUDGET FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL FOREST INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT PROJECT FROM 2013 TO 2016

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the management and use of state budget funds
to implement the project "National Forest Inventory and Assessment 2013-2016"
period 2013-2016”

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds supported by the State budget for organizations assigned or authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform tasks of selecting, introducing, and managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam.

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 199/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 16, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Implementing Decision No. 594/QĐ-TTg dated April 15, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "National Forest Inventory and Assessment 2013-2016";

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issue this Joint Circular guiding the mechanism for managing and using state budget funds to implement the Project "National Forest Inventory and Assessment 2013-2016" (hereinafter referred to as the National Forest Inventory and Assessment Project).

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular guides the mechanism for managing and using state budget funds to support the implementation of the project "National Forest Inventory and Assessment 2013-2016".

Article 2. This Circular applies to agencies, units, organizations, households, and community residents involved in the management and use of funds for implementing the National Forest Inventory and Assessment Project as prescribed in Decision No. 594/QĐ-TTg dated April 15, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "National Forest Inventory and Assessment 2013-2016".

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

Point 1. Forest owners as defined in Clause 4, Article 3 of the Law on Protection and Development of Forests.

Point 2. Group I forest owners: households, individuals, and community residents (including villages, groups of households, and community organizations).

Point 3. Group II forest owners: forest protection and special-use forest management boards; state-owned forestry enterprises (limited liability companies); military units; private enterprises; foreign enterprises; and other forest owners who organize inventory according to the prescribed forms, based on technical support, guidance, and provision of information about forest survey results.

Article 3. Contents of expenses for forest survey work:

Clause 1. Expenses for preparatory work

a) Collecting and processing information on various maps serving the survey and inventory of forests;

b) Receiving and processing SPOT satellite images for forest survey purposes;

c) Preparing reports evaluating processed data to ensure accuracy and consistency of the data;

d) Developing reporting forms, field survey questionnaires, and related documents;

3. The average level of support is 100 thousand VND/hectare/year based on the total area of special-use forests assigned to ministries and localities for management.

Clause 2. Expenses for survey activities to build current forest status maps

a) Developing key image interpretation models;

b) Conducting internal image interpretation;

c) Conducting external field checks;

d) Preparing survey reports and map product histories.

3. The average level of support is 100 thousand VND/hectare/year based on the total area of special-use forests assigned to ministries and localities for management.

Clause 3. Expenses for survey activities to assess forest stock

a) Determining average stock for different forest conditions;

b) Summarizing total stock for each forest condition.

Clause 4. Developing materials to support forest inventory at provincial levels:

a) Compiling current status maps for forest inventory at commune level for Group I and Group II forest owners and commune People's Committees;

b) Inventory forms and guidance materials.

Article 4. Content of Forest Inventory Expenses

1. Preparation of materials for inventory:

a) Receiving the results of forest surveys and materials for forest inventory (including current status maps for forest inventory and lists of forest condition plots and forestry land); Forest inventory guidance materials, forms for forest inventory activities;

b) Printing, duplicating and distributing various forms, maps, and guidance materials for forest inventory to Group II forest owners and administrative units within the province.

2. Activities related to forest area inventory:

a) Inventory of Group I forest owners; People's Committee of communes

- Organizing village meetings to disseminate and guide the updating of inventory forms; determining preliminary boundaries of forests and lands of each forest owner or group of forest owners;

- Supplementing and verifying on-site characteristics of forest plots: conditions, volumes, and boundaries of groups of forest owners;

- Preparing lists of inventory plots for each forest owner; completing off-site data and maps;

- Inspecting forest inventory activities;

- Handing over inventory products.

b) Inventory of Group II forest owners

- Reviewing forest and land boundaries of forest owners;

- Adjusting boundaries of forest conditions that have changed (if applicable);

- Supplementing and correcting information for inventory plots regarding plot characteristics in their own list of forest plots;

- Checking results;

- Handing over inventory products of forest owners.

3. Activities related to forest volume inventory:

a) Comparing the volume of each forest condition plot and the volume recorded in the forest owner's inventory form with the average survey volume;

b) Supplementing the inventory of volume for forest condition plots with significant errors;

c) Calculating average volume per hectare for inventory plots and each forest owner.

4. Summarizing inventory results:

a) Commune-level inventory data and materials are compiled from forest owners according to investigation and inventory forms;

b) District-level inventory data and materials are compiled from commune-level data and Group II forest owners;

c) Provincial-level inventory data and materials are compiled from district-level data and Group II forest owners;

5. Expenses for preparing forest management files.

Article 5. General Activities Serving the Project

1. Expenses for the operations of the Steering Committee's permanent office for the National Comprehensive Survey and Inventory of Forests during the period 2013-2016:

a) Preparing software and instructional materials, installation; training and purchasing equipment for forest survey and inventory;

b) Training survey and inventory for provincial-level officials;

c) Independent project supervision consultancy expenses;

d) Project deployment and summary meetings;

đ) Compiling national forest survey and inventory results from provincial-level data;

e) Building a national forest data and map management system;

g) Other expenses (if any).

2. Expenses for the Provincial Steering Committee for Forest Inventory:

a) Deployment and acceptance meetings for local forest inventory;

b) Training forest inventory for district-level officials and Group II forest owners;

c) Compiling provincial-level forest inventory results;

d) Preparing local forest management files;

3. The average level of support is 100 thousand VND/hectare/year based on the total area of special-use forests assigned to ministries and localities for management.

The level of expenses serving the project shall be in accordance with current regulations for state agencies and public institutions.

Article 6. Results of the Project

As stipulated in Section IV, Article 1 of Decision No. 594/QĐ-TTg, including:

1. Inventory products of each level are accepted by administrative authorities;

2. Survey and inventory results are accepted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, summarized, and reported to the Prime Minister for publication of results;

3. Forest management files by forest owners and administrative levels (commune level, district level, provincial level).

Article 7. Economic and technical standards for forest inventory and census

1. The economic and technical standards for national forest inventory and census during the period from 2012 to 2015 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development pursuant to Decision No. 690/QĐ-BNN-TCCB dated April 1, 2013, and other current regulations of the State shall be the basis for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide detailed guidance on economic and technical standards for forest inventory and census applicable to each province, in accordance with the scale of forest area, the number of Forest Owners Group I, People's Committee of communes, Forest Owners Group II, and the contents specified in this Circular, to serve as the basis for determining the budget for forest inventory and census.

2. For the areas of forests where tasks have been carried out to serve payment for forest environmental services in provinces and cities according to Decision No. 380/QĐ-TTg dated April 10, 2008 of the Prime Minister on pilot policies for payment for forest environmental services; Decree No. 99/2010/NĐ-CP dated September 24, 2010 of the Government on policies for payment for forest environmental services, if these tasks meet the requirements of the forest inventory and census project, they will not be included in the cost calculation for the census.

Article 8. Sources of funding for the project

1. The central government budget shall fund tasks implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Defense.

2. The local government budget shall fund forest census tasks implemented by localities.

For localities that have not yet achieved fiscal balance and Quảng Ngãi Province: Based on their annual fiscal balancing capacity, the central government budget shall support localities up to a maximum of 70% of the approved budget for implementing the forest census, reviewed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Other localities shall ensure their own local budgets.

3. Funding for the forest census by Forest Owners Group II is as follows:

a) Special-use forest management boards, protective forest management boards, and public institutions shall be allocated within the annual budget assigned to the units.

b) Limited liability companies/forest farms; enterprises; joint ventures shall bear the costs themselves and record them as unit expenses.

4. Other sources of funding (if any).

Article 9. Preparation, implementation, and settlement of state budget

The preparation of the budget estimate, payment, and settlement of public expenditure shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 26, 2003, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget; Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BTC dated January 2, 2007, guiding the examination and review of final accounts for administrative agencies, public institutions, organizations supported by the state budget, and budgets at all levels. This Circular supplements the following contents:

1. On Budget Preparation:

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: annually, based on the progress of the Project implementation; the total budget for implementing the Project decided by the Prime Minister and guided in this Circular, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security shall prepare the budget estimate for forest inventory and census. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall compile the Project implementation budget and submit it to the Ministry of Finance for consideration, consolidation, and submission to the competent authority for decision in accordance with the State Budget Law.

b) Annually, based on the progress of the forest census implementation as guided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and this Circular, the Provincial People's Committees shall approve and allocate funds from the local budget for implementation.

For localities facing difficulties in the budget for implementing the census task, the locality shall prepare a budget estimate for the census (including the amount of funding from the local budget and the amount requested from the central government budget support), report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for approval, submit to the Ministry of Finance for review, and request the Prime Minister to decide on targeted support for localities.

2. Treasury control: the treasury control system shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations; the basis for the Treasury to make payments is as follows:

a) For forest inventory:

- The budget estimate for forest inventory approved by the competent authority;

- The acceptance certificate of the results of forest inventory by the competent authority;

- Approval by the head of the agency or unit conducting the inventory or the authorized person.

b) For forest census:

- The budget estimate for the census approved by the competent authority;

- The results of the census at each level accepted by administrative agencies; forest management files confirmed by forest owners and administrative levels;

- Approval by the head of the agency or unit conducting the census or the authorized person.

c) During the implementation of forest inventory and census, and the establishment of forest management files, agencies and units may temporarily receive 70% of the budget according to the approved estimate, the remaining amount will be paid after the tasks are accepted.

Article 10. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from March 20, 2014.

In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, please reflect them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for research and appropriate amendments./.