Directive No. 43-LN/KL on the management, protection, and reasonable, thrifty use of precious and rare timber

DIRECTIVE

ON THE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND RATIONAL USE OF PRECIOUS AND RARE WOODS

Wood is a material subject to unified management by the State, prohibiting private individuals from trading (except for garden wood). For precious and rare woods such as cam lai, red wood (cate), gu, huong, sao, lat, lim, huong dan, nghieng, sen, mun (hereinafter referred to collectively as precious and rare woods), these are irreplaceable materials for certain special State projects and important production stages in various industries, small-scale industries, and construction...

Currently, these precious and rare woods have become critically scarce.

The cause of this situation is due to many localities, forestry production units, and people living near forests having exploited and used these woods indiscriminately over recent years. Management and protection of these woods have been lax for a long time. A common issue is the non-compliance with the principle that "wood should be used for its intended purpose" (Decree No. 10-CP), leading to waste and inefficiency. Additionally, these woods are now freely traded on the open market or are being used in joint ventures and cooperative relationships between state-owned economic units and between these units and social organizations.

To quickly address the above situation, the Ministry of Forestry requests localities and production units to immediately implement urgent measures regarding the management and protection of these precious and rare woods as follows:

1. Strengthening the work of managing, protecting, and planting precious and rare trees.

Upon receipt of this Directive, the Forestry Departments, Forestry-Agriculture-Industry Unions, and Forest Farms must accurately grasp the quantity and distribution of precious and rare trees within their respective jurisdictions. Specific plans and measures must be implemented to strictly manage and protect these trees, detect and severely punish illegal acts of harvesting, transporting, and trading these precious and rare woods. While strictly managing and protecting forest areas where these trees grow in clusters or scattered, localities and units need to develop plans to vigorously plant these trees in all three sectors: state-owned, collective, and household.

a) Only Forestry Departments, Forestry-Agriculture-Industry Unions, and Forest Farms assigned targets and plans by the State may harvest wood, including these precious and rare woods. From now on, without permission from the Minister of Forestry, localities and units shall not harvest these precious and rare woods beyond the assigned targets and plans. Organizing forces to enter forests to selectively harvest these precious and rare woods is prohibited. People's Forest Inspection Agencies and Forest Protection Departments, Forestry-Agriculture-Industry Unions, and Forest Farms must closely monitor, detect, and take measures to completely stop the arbitrary harvesting of these precious and rare woods by all entities within their jurisdiction.

b) All precious and rare woods harvested by Forestry Departments, Forestry-Agriculture-Industry Unions, and Forest Farms up to this point, if meeting export standards, shall be handed over to timber import-export companies for acceptance through economic contracts. The remaining portion (including reclaimed wood) shall be handed over to timber processing supply unions for processing, supply, and storage according to the State plan.

c) Precious and rare woods obtained from illegal harvesting, transportation, and trading must be confiscated by People's Forest Inspection Agencies (without allowing the violators to use them) and reported to the Provincial People's Committees and the Ministry of Forestry for further instructions on their use.

Any unit or individual contributing to the protection, detection, and apprehension of violations involving precious and rare woods shall be rewarded with 5% to 10% of the value of the confiscated timber.

Localities and units are strictly prohibited from using precious and rare woods for gifts, donations, transfers, sales, exchanges, or any other form of transfer.

2. In the immediate future, in September 1987, the Ministry requires Forestry Departments, Timber Processing Supply Unions, Forestry-Agriculture-Industry Unions, the General Company for Timber Import-Export, Special Export Timber Companies, and subordinate Forest Farms to inventory and report to the Ministry of Forestry (two copies - Planning Department and People's Forest Inspection Bureau) the total quantity of precious and rare woods (including round logs and sawn timber) currently stored in warehouses I, II, intermediate warehouses, reserve warehouses, and processing workshops. For precious and rare woods illegally harvested, transported, and purchased, People's Forest Inspection Agencies must confiscate them, and the District People's Forest Inspection Agencies must inventory them, with the Forestry Departments reporting to the Ministry of Forestry and the Provincial People's Committees.

This Directive takes effect from the date of issuance. Previous regulations of the Ministry conflicting with this Directive are hereby abolished. The Ministry assigns the People's Forest Inspection Bureau, Planning Department, Forest Industry Department, Timber Processing Supply Unions, and the General Company for Timber Import-Export to guide, inspect, and urge localities and units to strictly comply with this Directive. /