Decree No. 32/2006/NĐ-CP On the management of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals

DECREE

On the management of endangered and precious forest plants and animals

THE GOVERNMENT

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

The Government issues this Decree on mechanisms and policies to encourage forest protection, encirclement and regeneration of forests, afforestation, development of non-timber forest products, and increased income in connection with policies to quickly reduce poverty, sustainably and to support ethnic minority groups during the period 2015-2020.

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

DECREE:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability:

1. Scope of regulation: This Decree stipulates the management and List of endangered and precious forest plants and animals from Vietnam's forests.

2. Applicability: state agencies, organizations, households, individuals within the country, overseas Vietnamese, foreign organizations, and individuals involved in the management of endangered and precious forest plants and animals on the territory of Vietnam as prescribed in this Decree.

In cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide different provisions than those set forth in this Decree, such treaties shall be applied according to their provisions.

Article 2. Classification of endangered and precious forest plants and animals:

1. Explanation of terms:

Endangered and precious forest plants and animals are plant and animal species with special value for economics, science, and the environment, with small numbers remaining in nature or at risk of extinction, included in the list of endangered and precious forest plant and animal species prescribed by the Government.

2. Endangered and precious forest plants and animals are divided into two groups (with accompanying lists) as follows:

a) Group I: strictly prohibited from exploitation and use for commercial purposes, including forest plant and animal species with special value for science and the environment or high economic value, with very few population numbers remaining in nature or at high risk of extinction.

Forest plants and animals in Group I are classified as:

Group IA, comprising forest plant species.

Group IB, comprising forest animal species.

b) Group II: restricted from exploitation and use for commercial purposes, including forest plant and animal species with value for science and the environment or high economic value, with few population numbers remaining in nature or at risk of extinction.

Forest plants and animals in Group II are classified as:

Group IIA, comprising forest plant species.

Group IIB, comprising forest animal species.

Article 3. State policy on the management of endangered and precious forest plants and animals:

1. The State invests in managing and protecting endangered and precious forest plants and animals in special-use forests, and rescue activities for endangered and precious forest plants and animals that have been confiscated.

2. Support for compensation for damage caused by endangered and precious forest animals from the wild to organizations, households, and individuals outside special-use forests, and to households and individuals legally residing within special-use forests (confirmed by the local commune authority where the special-use forest is located) in accordance with the law.

3. The State encourages, supports, and ensures the rights and legitimate interests of organizations, households, and individuals investing in the management, protection, and development of endangered and precious forest plants and animals.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF ENDANGERED AND PRECIOUS FOREST PLANTS AND ANIMALS

DANGEROUS, PRECIOUS, RARE

Article 4. Monitoring the status of endangered and precious forest plants and animals:

1. People's Committees at all levels are responsible for directing and organizing the assessment of the status of endangered and precious forest plants and animals in their locality; compiling statistics together with forest inventory and monitoring changes in forest resources as prescribed in Article 32 of the Forest Protection and Development Law 2004 and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, directs and guides research and assessment of the status of endangered and precious forest plants and animals; compiling nationwide statistics together with forest inventory and monitoring changes in forest resources as prescribed in Article 32 of the Forest Protection and Development Law 2004.

Article 5. Protection of plants and endangered, precious, rare animals in forests:

1. Forest areas where endangered, precious, rare forest plants and animals are concentrated shall be considered for establishment as special-use forests in accordance with the provisions of the law.

For forest plants and endangered, precious, rare animals living outside special-use forests, protection must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Decree and current laws.

2. Organizations, households, individuals conducting production activities, construction of works, investigation, exploration, research, sightseeing, tourism, and other activities within forests containing endangered, precious, rare forest plants and animals must comply with the provisions of this Decree and laws on forest protection and development, and environmental protection laws.

3. The following acts are strictly prohibited:

a) Exploitation of endangered, precious, rare forest plants; hunting, shooting, trapping, capturing, keeping in captivity, slaughtering endangered, precious, rare forest animals contrary to the provisions of this Decree and current laws.

b) Transporting, processing, advertising, trading, using, storing, exporting, importing endangered, precious, rare forest plants and animals contrary to the provisions of this Decree and current laws.

Article 6. Exploitation of endangered, precious, rare forest plants and animals from:

1. Exploitation of forest plants and animals in Group I:

Forest plants and animals in Group I can only be exploited for scientific research purposes (including to create initial seed sources for artificial breeding and cultivation), international cooperation relations.

The exploitation of forest plants and animals in Group I must not have negative impacts on their conservation in nature and must have a plan approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Exploitation of forest plants and animals in Group II:

a) Exploitation of forest plants and animals in Group II in special-use forests:

- Can only be exploited for scientific research purposes (including to create initial seed sources for artificial breeding and cultivation), international cooperation relations.

- The exploitation of forest plants and animals in Group II in special-use forests must not have negative impacts on their conservation and must have a plan approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

b) Exploitation of forest plants and animals in Group II outside special-use forests:

- Forest plants in Group II A outside special-use forests can only be exploited in accordance with the regulations on wood and other forest product exploitation issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Forest animals in Group II B outside special-use forests can only be exploited for scientific research purposes (including to create initial seed sources for artificial breeding), international cooperation relations.

The exploitation of forest animals in Group II B outside special-use forests must not have negative impacts on their conservation in nature and must have a plan approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for forests managed by central-level organizations, or approved by the People's Committee of the province for forests managed by local organizations and individuals.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to guide procedures and steps for approving plans to exploit endangered, precious, rare forest plants and animals from natural sources.

Article 7. Transporting and storing endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and their products:

Endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and their products extracted from nature must comply with the following regulations when transported or stored:

1. Possess all necessary documents proving legal extraction according to Article 6 of this Decree, and other documents as prescribed by current laws on handling evidence of administrative violations or criminal cases (for cases where such forest plants, animals, and their products have been confiscated).

2. When transporting endangered, precious, and rare forest animals and their products out of provincial or centrally-administered city boundaries, a special transportation permit issued by the provincial forestry inspection authority must be obtained.

3. Transportation of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and their products must comply with state regulations on forest product inspection and control. Specifically, for Group I A and Group II A timber harvested from natural forests within the country, in addition to the procedures stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, there must also be a forestry inspector's hammer stamp as prescribed by the regulations on forestry inspector's hammer management.

Article 8. Development of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals:

1. Artificial planting activities of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and breeding and growing activities of endangered, precious, and rare forest animals shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on managing export, import, re-export, import from sea, transshipment, artificial planting, and breeding of endangered wild plant and animal species.

2. Extraction, transportation, and storage of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals bred artificially or planted artificially and their products must be accompanied by documents proving origin as prescribed by the law on export, import, re-export, transshipment, import from sea, artificial planting, and breeding of endangered wild plant and animal species.

Article 9. Processing and trading of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and their products:

1. Strictly prohibited is the processing and trading for commercial purposes of Group I A endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and Group I B and Group II B endangered, precious, and rare forest animals from nature and their products (except for cases stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article).

2. Permission is granted for processing and trading for commercial purposes for the following objects:

- Endangered, precious, and rare forest animals and their products of breeding origin; Group II B endangered, precious, and rare forest animals that are evidence items confiscated according to current state regulations and are no longer capable of being rescued and released back into the environment.

- Group I A endangered, precious, and rare forest plants that are evidence items confiscated according to current state regulations; Group II A endangered, precious, and rare forest plants from nature and those of artificial planting origin.

Organizations and individuals engaged in processing and trading of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals for commercial purposes must ensure the following requirements:

a) Registration for processing and trading of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and their products, issued by competent state authorities.

b) Endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and their products must have a legal origin as stipulated in Articles 6, 7, and 8 of this Decree.

c) Maintain records of entry and exit of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and their products according to unified regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and be subject to supervision and inspection by forestry inspection authorities as prescribed by current laws.

Article 10. Handling of violations:

1. Organizations and individuals who commit acts violating the regulations on management of forest plants and rare, precious endangered forest animals as stipulated in this Decree shall be subject to administrative sanctions based on the nature and degree of violation, and individuals may also be criminally prosecuted according to current laws.

2. Violation objects and evidence, which are rare, precious endangered forest plants and animals and their products, shall be managed and handled in accordance with the provisions of the law on handling administrative violations, criminal procedure law, and the following provisions:

a) Living plants and animals temporarily held during the handling process must be cared for, rescued appropriately, and ensure safety conditions.

b) Living plants and animals temporarily held that are confirmed by quarantine authorities to be diseased and pose a risk of causing epidemics must be immediately destroyed in accordance with current legal provisions.

Article 11. Handling cases where rare, precious endangered forest animals harm or threaten the lives or property of people:

1. In all cases where forest animals threaten to harm property or lives of people, organizations, households, and individuals must first apply measures to drive them away without causing harm to the forest animals.

2. In cases where rare, precious endangered forest animals directly attack and threaten the lives of people outside special-use forests, after applying driving-away measures but with no effect, report to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the district, town, or provincial city directly under the province (referred to as the People's Committee at the district level) for consideration and decision to allow trapping or shooting in self-defense to protect human lives.

The Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level directly directs the organization of trapping or shooting of rare, precious endangered forest animals when they directly attack and threaten human lives.

For particularly rare and precious animals such as: Elephant (Elephas maximus), Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), Tiger (Panthera tigris), Leopard (Panthera pardus), Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Bear (Ursus Helarctos malayanus; Ursus Selenarctos thibetanus), Gaur (Bos gaurus), Banteng (Bos sauveli), Javanese Wild Cattle (Bos javanicus), Wild Water Buffalo (Bubalus arnee), report to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province for consideration; if other measures (driving away, relocating to another forest area...) cannot be applied to protect human lives, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province decides to allow the application of trapping or shooting in self-defense after obtaining the agreement of the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment.Elephas maximus), RHINOCEROS SONDAEICUSRhinoceros sondaicus), PANTHERA TIGRISPanthera tigris), PANTHERA PARDUSPanthera pardus), NEOFELIS NEBULOSANeofelis nebulosa), URSUSUrsus (HELARCTOS) malayanus; URSUS (SELENARCTOS) thibetanus), BOGAURASBos gaurus), BOSSAUVELIBos sauveli), BOJAVANICUSBos javanicus), BUBALUSARNEEBubalus arnee), MUST BE REPORTED TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PROVINCE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE FOR CONSIDERATION; IF OTHER MEASURES (DRIVING AWAY, MOVING TO ANOTHER FOREST AREA...) ARE NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO PROTECT HUMAN LIVES, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PROVINCE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE SHALL DECIDE TO PERMIT THE USE OF TRAPS AND SELF-DEFENSE SHOOTING AFTER OBTAINING THE AGREEMENT OF THE MINISTERS OF THE MINISTRIES OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT.

Organizations assigned the task of trapping or shooting rare, precious endangered forest animals in self-defense when they directly attack and threaten human lives have the responsibility to maintain the original scene, prepare a record for handling, and report to the immediate superior within no more than five working days:

a) If the trapped or shot forest animal has died or been injured beyond recovery, prepare a record to hand over to scientific research institutions for processing into specimens for training and research purposes or organize destruction to ensure environmental cleanliness.

b) If the trapped or shot forest animal has been injured but can be treated, transfer it to a wildlife rescue facility or forestry authority managing the area for rehabilitation and release back into the forest.

c) If the trapped or captured forest animal is healthy, organize its immediate release back into designated special-use forests (nature reserves, national parks) suitable for its habitat.

All cases of trapping or shooting rare, precious endangered forest animals not in compliance with the provisions of this Article shall be considered as violations of state regulations on managing rare, precious endangered forest animals and shall be handled according to current legal provisions.

Article 12. Rights and obligations of forest owners:

Forest owners have rights and obligations as prescribed by current laws. In addition, forest owners have the following rights and obligations with respect to rare and precious forest plants and animals:

1. To exploit species of rare and precious forest plants and animals as stipulated in Article 6 of this Decree.

2. To receive state support and protection for legitimate rights and interests related to investment management, protection, and development of rare and precious forest plants and animals.

3. To develop and implement plans for managing, protecting, and developing rare and precious forest plants and animals on the assigned forest land area.

4. To monitor and report to competent state agencies on the status of rare and precious forest plants and animals according to point a and b, Clause 2, Article 32 of the Law on Protection and Development of Forests on the assigned forest land area as provided by the State.

5. To establish internal regulations and post notices for protection for each forest area containing rare and precious forest plants and animals.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 13. Responsibilities for guidance and implementation:

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall be responsible for:

a) Providing guidance, organizing implementation, and inspecting compliance with this Decree.

b) Reporting annually to the Government on the management situation of rare and precious forest plants and animals.

2. Ministers, heads of agencies at the ministerial level, heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees, and Chairmen of municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government are responsible for enforcing this Decree.

Article 14. Effective Date:

1. This Decree shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. This Decree replaces Decree No. 18/HĐBT dated January 17, 1992 of the Council of Ministers on the List of Rare and Precious Forest Plants and Animals and Management Regulations, and Decree No. 48/2002/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2002 of the Government amending and supplementing the List of Wild Rare and Precious Animals and Plants issued together with Decree No. 18/HĐBT dated January 17, 1992 of the Council of Ministers on the List of Rare and Precious Forest Plants and Animals and Management Regulations./.