Decision No. 5345/QD-BNN-TCLN on issuing the plan and guiding the implementation of Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg dated October 28, 2014 of the Prime Minister approving the project to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity for the period 2014-2020.

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the plan and guidance for implementing Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg dated October 28, 2014 of the Prime Minister approving “the Project to Enhance Forest Fire Prevention and Control Capacity during the 2014-2020 period”

________________________________

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Based on Decree No. 199/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 26, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

On the basis of Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg dated October 28, 2014 of the Prime Minister approving the Project to Enhance Forest Fire Prevention and Control Capacity during the 2014-2020 period;

Considering the proposal of the Forestry General Department,

DECISION:

Article 1. This Decision promulgates the Plan and Guidance for Implementing Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg dated October 28, 2014 of the Prime Minister approving the "Project to Enhance Forest Fire Prevention and Control Capacity during the 2014-2020 period."

Article 2.The Forestry General Department shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant units to regularly review the implementation of the Plan; compile the situation and report periodically to the Minister on the progress and results of the Project implementation by units and localities.

Article 3. This Decision shall take effect from the date of signing.

Article 4. The Heads of the Ministry's Office, the Forestry General Department, the Heads of units under the Ministry, related agencies and organizations, People's Committees, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces having projects to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity during the 2014-2020 period are responsible for enforcing this Decision./.

PLAN AND GUIDANCE

FOR IMPLEMENTING DECISION NO. 1938/QD-TTg OF THE PRIME MINISTER APPROVING THE PROJECT TO ENHANCE FOREST FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL CAPACITY DURING THE 2014-2020 PERIOD
(Issued together with Decision No. 5345/QD-BNN-TCLN dated December 15, 2014 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development)

_____________________________

To implement Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg dated October 28, 2014 of the Prime Minister approving the Project to Enhance Forest Fire Prevention and Control Capacity during the 2014-2020 period (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg), the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has developed the Plan and Guidance for Implementing the Project with the following main contents:

I. OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

1. Objective

Effectively implement the Project to Enhance Forest Fire Prevention and Control Capacity during the 2014-2020 period based on clearly defining tasks; plans, contents of implementation, and specific division of responsibilities among units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities in implementing the Project.

2. Requirements

a) Organizing the implementation of the Project from central to local levels must be carried out through building projects of each locality, ensuring consistency and uniformity according to the objectives, contents, and schedule of the Project and the unified model. In particular, the Forest Protection Department will build the project to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity during the 2014-2020 period for units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; the Forest Protection Sub-department will build the project to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity during the 2014-2020 period for localities, in accordance with the guidance provided in this Decision.

b) Contents of implementing the Project must be specific, clear, and simple, easy to implement; at the same time, they must be suitable to the practical conditions of each locality in the current stage.

c) Projects to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity funded from the central budget must ensure the objectives, requirements, contents, and investment structure approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg.

In cases where localities have already approved projects and are currently implementing them, and the project contents are consistent with Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg, they should continue to implement and enjoy financial support from the central budget as stipulated in Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg. Projects with contents inconsistent with Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg should be adjusted and supplemented accordingly.

During the process of building investment projects to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity by central and local units, it is necessary to ensure economy, effectiveness, and prevent waste and corruption. All resources should be mobilized to serve forest fire prevention and control work and maximize the use of funds, equipment, and technical infrastructure that have been and are being invested in recent years.

II. CONTENTS AND PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

1. Building the project to enhance forest fire prevention and control capacity during the 2014-2020 period

1.1. Objectives

Strengthening organization and enhancing capacity for forest fire prevention and control forces from central to local levels, especially specialized forces, to have sufficient ability to control forest fires, reduce the risk of forest fires, extinguish forest fires promptly and effectively, and minimize losses caused by forest fires.

1.2. Main investment contents in the project

a) Upgrading the national forest fire risk prediction and warning system located at the Forest Protection Department (Forestry General Department) and connecting it to form a system at each locality. Localities may establish forest fire risk prediction and warning systems at sub-regional levels depending on their conditions, but they must be compatible with the system at the Forest Protection Department.

b) Upgrading the early fire detection system in forests, including wide-area fire location (by remote sensing images) at the Forest Protection Department and at key areas with high fire risks (by optical observation systems).

c) Renovating and upgrading material facilities at regional Forest Protection Sub-departments to serve training, enhancement, and firefighting skills and techniques.

d) Investing in equipment and tools to serve forest fire prevention and control work.

đ) Training, instructing, and educating firefighting skills and techniques, enhancing professional knowledge and skills for managers and technicians; officials responsible for forest fire prevention and control work at all levels of government and related sectors; forest owners; mass forest protection teams; volunteers; and specialized forces about forest fire prevention and control from central to local levels.

e) Establishing a unified and effective forest fire management model.

g) Organizing regional, provincial, and grassroots-level forest fire prevention and control drills.

h) Propaganda and education to raise awareness about forest fire prevention and firefighting: develop programs and contents for propaganda on forest fire prevention and firefighting through mass media; establish internal regulations for forest protection and fire prevention and firefighting; no-smoking signs and forest fire warning signs; print and distribute materials on forest fire prevention and firefighting and legal provisions related to forest protection.

i) Based on the investment contents from point a to point g, each locality shall adjust the investment content in the project according to its actual conditions.

1.3. Determination of the Project Investor

In accordance with the Government's regulations on project management, the determination of the investment decision-making body and the investor of the forest fire prevention and firefighting capacity enhancement project for the period of 2014-2020 is as follows:

a) The forest fire prevention and firefighting capacity enhancement project for the period of 2014-2020 at the central level:

- The forest fire prevention and firefighting capacity enhancement project for the period of 2014-2020 for units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

+ Investment decision-making body: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

+ Investor: Forest Protection Department.

- The forest fire prevention and firefighting capacity enhancement project for the period of 2014-2020 of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense, submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

b) The forest fire prevention and firefighting capacity enhancement project for the period of 2014-2020 at provincial levels:

- Investment decision-making body: Provincial People's Committee;

- Investor: Provincial Forest Protection Service.

1.4. Sources of Investment in the Project

a) Sources of investment in the project:

- Central budget funds pursuant to Decision No. 1938/QD-TTg;

- Local budget funds;

- Other sources of funds (if any).

b) Allocation of investment sources in the project

The allocation of investment sources in the project must be clearly defined for each source of investment to ensure that there is no overlap in investment, specifically:

- For projects prioritized for provinces with large concentrated forest areas; provinces with large forest areas, forests of high value, and forests with high risk of forest fires (provinces with forest areas of 60,000 hectares or more), the entire investment capital will come from the central budget.

- For projects in provinces that only use investment support from the central budget, the investment content must be focused and ensure compliance with the project proposal;

- For projects combining central, local, and other organization funds, the specific allocation of investment sources in the project must be clearly defined to suit the purpose of each source of funding.

2. On Project Construction, Review, and Approval

a) The preparation of the project shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Construction Law and the Government's Decree on project management for construction works and other current State documents.

b) The Provincial People's Committee assigns tasks to the Provincial Forest Protection Services to implement the project development and complete the approval before May 31, 2015;

c) The Provincial People's Committee is responsible for allocating local budget funds to prepare for the project development.

d) Regarding project approval and review

- The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee reviews and organizes the examination and approval of the provincial project. Before approving the project, the Provincial People's Committee sends the project documents to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for written agreement on the technical content. For priority projects, the Provincial People's Committee sends the project documents to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for review of the project investment capital.

- After approving the project, the Provincial Forest Protection Services send the project documents, the project approval decision, and related documents to the Forest Protection Department for monitoring and management.

3. On Plan Preparation and Annual Plan Allocation

a) Annually, based on the approved project, the Provincial Forest Protection Services and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development prepare the implementation plan for submission to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and decision, and send the document to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consolidation and coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to include it in the state budget plan;

b) Conditions for annual capital plan allocation for provincial projects include: the project approval decision of the Provincial People's Committee; the request for the annual capital plan sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development before August 15 according to the annual planning period; reports on project supervision and evaluation according to the format prescribed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment from the start of implementation until the date of sending the annual capital plan request.

c) The Ministry of Planning and Investment allocates funds to localities for implementation when the National Assembly and the Government approve the annual state budget estimate.

4. Implementation and Management of the Project

a) The implementation of the project and procurement of machinery, equipment, infrastructure construction, training, instruction, propaganda, and other investment contents shall be carried out in accordance with the bidding regulations and other current State documents;

b) Investors have duties and rights as stipulated by laws on project management for construction works from the project preparation stage, implementation, and acceptance for operation. Investors must bear full responsibility for all tasks within their duties and rights as prescribed by law;

c) For tasks and rights delegated by investors to the Project Management Board, investors are responsible for directing, supervising, urging, and inspecting the performance of those tasks and rights to ensure the project is implemented in accordance with the approved content and schedule.

5. Reporting System

Every six months and annually, the Provincial People's Committees are responsible for reporting the implementation status of the assigned Program (including the volume, tasks, and funds implemented during the period) to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Finance for monitoring and supervision.

6. Inspection and Supervision of Project Implementation

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the lead agency responsible before the Prime Minister to periodically organize inspection teams to monitor and urge the implementation of projects in provinces in accordance with the objectives, contents, schedules, ensuring effectiveness, and in compliance with state regulations;

b) Units organizing project activities are responsible for coordinating the provision of all relevant documents and information on the implementation of project activities and creating favorable conditions for inspection and monitoring;

7. Implementation Schedule

From 2014 to 2020: implementing the Project according to the plan and projects of each locality, divided into two phases. Specifically:

a) Phase 2014 - 2015:

- Promoting, disseminating, and guiding localities to implement and complete certain related guidance documents.

- Establishing, approving, and implementing priority projects from central to local levels.

b) Phase 2016 - 2020

- Investing in projects that have been approved.

- Organizing inspections, urging, and guiding the implementation of projects.

Based on this guidance, the People's Committees of provinces direct relevant agencies to implement the project in accordance with the contents stipulated in Decision 1938/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and resolution./.