Circular No. 37/LN-KL guiding the implementation of the division and decentralization of forest and forestry land management to unify management and enhance forest protection work throughout the country.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the implementation of the delegation and decentralization of forest and forestry land management to ensure unified management and strengthen forest management throughout the country.

The Ordinance on Forest Protection was approved by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on September 6, 1972, and Decision No. 201-CP dated July 1, 1980 of the Council of Ministers regarding the unification of agricultural land management and strengthening of agricultural land management throughout the country have addressed some major principles concerning forest management. Based on the overall national labor distribution plan and the proposals from the People's Committees of the provinces, the Ministry of Forestry has successively delegated forest and forestry land management responsibilities to localities. With its role in sectoral management, the Ministry of Forestry provides specific guidance on the unification of forest and forestry land management and the strengthening of such management throughout the country as follows:

1. ON THE DELEGATION AND DECENTRALIZATION OF MANAGEMENT.

In light of the unreasonable organization of forests and forest management, the state management of forests has been stagnant and lax, leading to severe degradation of forests. The most critical issue is to reorganize all forests and forestry lands assigned to the Forestry Sector for business operations, thereby clearly defining the specific management responsibilities of the four levels of state management: central, provincial, district, and commune.

Based on the forest resource survey data published in 1983, the Ministry will transfer the entire area of various types of forests and forestry lands, along with their respective stock volumes and current status maps, to the People's Committees of the provinces to organize forest management at the local level according to the state’s policies, plans, regulations, and laws.

- The Provincial Forestry Departments will base on the aforementioned materials to expedite procedures to assist the People's Committees of the provinces in delegating authority to the People's Committees of the districts and further assist the People's Committees of the districts in delegating authority to the People's Committees of the communes where there are forests, to implement forest and forestry land management as prescribed by the state, guided by the Ministry of Forestry, and directed by the People's Committees of the provinces.

- Proceed with the allocation of land and forests to forestry-industrial-agricultural unions, forest farms, cooperatives, and other organizations for management and business operations. By 1990, all forests must be managed and operated based on specific utilization plans, with clear management files, ensuring comprehensive stability in production.

- For forests and forestry lands allocated to forestry-industrial-agricultural unions, forest farms, special-use forests, protective forests, seedling forests, and research stations under the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry will assign these units to manage and operate them. Local authorities shall perform state management functions (supervision, inspection, assistance, etc.) as they would for centrally-affiliated economic units located in their jurisdictions, in accordance with the Council of Ministers' regulations on this matter.

2. ON MANAGEMENT BASED ON THREE TYPES OF FORESTS.

Prior to the delegation and allocation of forests and forestry lands to the aforementioned organizational units for management and business operations, the Provincial Forestry Departments will advise the provinces to categorize forests into three types based on their intended use, to implement management according to the regulations governing each type of forest.

a) Special-purpose forests: Including areas designated for:

- Conservation of forest flora and fauna genetic resources.

- Preservation of scenic, cultural, historical, and health-promoting forest areas.

- Conservation of pristine ecosystems and unique habitats.

- Scientific research, education, and training.

b) Protective forests: Including areas designated for:

- Watershed protection,

- Flood control,

- Windbreaks and coastal erosion prevention,

- Environmental protection.

Specifically:

- Headwater protective forests,

- Coastal sand dune stabilization forests,

- Wave barrier and coastal dike protection forests.

c) Production forests: Including all forests and forest lands dedicated to producing timber and specialty products, specifically:

- Large timber production forests,

- Small timber production forests (paper pulp, firewood, etc.),

- Bamboo and rattan production forests,

- Specialty product and medicinal plant production forests.

On the basis of the above three types of forests, management will be conducted according to the regulations issued by the Ministry of Forestry:

- Regulations on the establishment and management of special-purpose forests.

- Regulations on the establishment and management of protective forests.

- Regulations on the establishment and management of production forests.

3. ON FOREST ORGANIZATION CONSTRUCTION.

Given the wide scope of forestry production, to facilitate the management and protection of forest resources, the entire forest area must be divided into compartments:

A compartment is the basic unit for managing and protecting forests, with an average area of 1,000 hectares, designed to facilitate technical management, production processes, harvesting, afforestation, and forest improvement.

The division of compartments will cover all forest and forestry lands within the jurisdiction of counties and provinces. Compartment numbering will be continuous within counties and contiguous across counties within a province, following the principle of numbering from top to bottom and left to right.

Within a forest farm, multiple compartments will form a sub-farm with an area of 4,000 to 5,000 hectares. A sub-farm serves as a level of forest management and is directly subordinate to the forest farm for production planning.

In summary, a forest farm with an average area of 20,000 hectares must be organized into sub-farms, compartments, plots, and lots.

By 1988, all forest farms nationwide must complete the construction of forest organization for management purposes.

4. ON MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION.

The forest management system in forest farms is structured into three levels:

From 1987 onwards, logging shall only be permitted in forest compartments where a compartment head has been appointed. Forest rangers from forestry units and People's Forest Ranger Districts have the authority to issue field records and orders to halt logging in areas without a compartment head, even if those areas have approved logging designs.

5. MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL FORESTS AND PROTECTED FORESTS:

Depending on the scale and importance of special forests and protected forests, management boards or teams shall be established to directly manage these two types of forests strictly.

Management boards or teams shall be subordinate to the Ministry of Forestry, Provincial Forestry Departments (People's Forest Ranger Districts), or forestry units - People's Forest Rangers, depending on the scale and importance of each special forest or protected forest. If the forest area is within a forestry cooperative or forest farm, it shall be managed by that entity.

6. ISSUES REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF FOREST CAPITAL.

Upon completion of the allocation of forest land to forestry cooperatives, forest farms, cooperatives, and other agencies and units for business management, the State has assigned specific forest capital as production materials for forest business operations.

Forestry cooperatives, forest farms, cooperatives, and other agencies and units mentioned above are responsible for managing, protecting, developing, and expanding the forest capital according to planning, plans, and national laws on forestry.

Therefore, heads of units allocated forest land must:

- Be thoroughly familiar with the location, scope, and area of each type of forest and forestry land.

- Determine the total volume of timber by wood group, by diameter class, and the volume of some major forest products.

- Annual forest management and business plan of forest farms, cooperatives, agencies, and units.

- Register forest capital and report annual changes in forest capital to higher-level management authorities. People's Committees at the district level, Provincial Forestry Departments, and the Ministry of Forestry.

After identifying specific forest capital of their own units such as forest farms, agencies, units, cooperatives, and registering them according to prescribed regulations, it is necessary to open management ledgers to closely monitor the process of using forest capital and other changes in forest capital from compartments, sub-farms, forest farms. In cases of change in unit heads, the main content of handover will be the area and volume of forest under their responsibility to the new incoming personnel.

Thus, from now on, forestry-agricultural-industrial cooperatives, forest farms, cooperatives, and grassroots economic units have the right to independently operate and produce. People's Committees at all levels and higher-level forestry agencies will supervise and evaluate business efficiency on three fronts:

- The volume of forest, agricultural, and soil products generated per hectare of commercial forest;

- The number of workers attracted per hectare of commercial forest;

- Accumulated funds for the budget per hectare.

Implementing the division of responsibilities and levels of management to unify forest and forestry land management and strengthen forest management tasks is an urgent task for the forestry sector in the new phase. It determines the survival of forests and the forestry industry and is particularly important for national economic development.

During the implementation of this Circular, if difficulties arise, they should be reported promptly so that the Ministry can study and resolve them.