Joint Circular No. 70/2009/TTLT-BNN-KHĐT-TC amends and supplements certain points of Joint Circular No. 58/2008/TTLT-BNN-KHĐT-TC on guiding the implementation of Decision No. 100/2007/QĐ-TTg and Joint Circular No. 02/2008/TTLT-KH-NN-TC on guiding the implementation of Decision No. 147/QĐ-TTg dated September 10, 2007.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some points of Circular Joint No. 58/2008/TTLT-BNN-KHĐT-TC guiding the implementation of Decision No. 100/2007/QD-TTg dated July 6, 2007 and Circular Joint No. 02/2008/TTLT-KH-NN-TC guiding the implementation of Decision No. 147/QD-TTg dated September 10, 2007 of the Prime Minister.

____________________________

Pursuant to Decision No. 164/2008/QD-TTg dated December 11, 2008 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing Article 1 of Decision No. 100/2007/QD-TTg dated July 6, 2007 of the Prime Minister on amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 661/QD-TTg dated July 29, 1998 of the Prime Minister on objectives, tasks, policies, and organization of implementation of the Project to plant five million hectares of new forests.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – Ministry of Planning and Investment – Ministry of Finance jointly issue the following guidance for amendment and supplementation:

1. Regarding Circular Joint No. 58/2008/TTLT-BNN-KHĐT-TC dated May 2, 2008:

1.1. Amend paragraph e of item 2, part I as follows:

e) Planting new protective forests shall only be carried out in areas that cannot naturally regenerate such as barren hills and mountains (status Ia, Ib), desertified sandy land, saline and alkaline land. Priority should be given to planting forests for projects in coastal windbreak zones, beach protection zones, reservoirs, major hydropower projects, and border protective forest projects;

1.2. Amend and supplement item 4, part II as follows:

4. Forest planting:

a) For special-use forests:

- The average investment level for planting new forests for planning purposes is 10 million VND/ha (including both planting and subsequent care years); The structure of tree species, density, method, approach, time of planting, care, and specific investment levels for each area are calculated based on the economic and technical norms of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and according to the design budget approved by the investment decision-making authority. The investment decision-making authority may delegate its specialized agency to approve the technical design and project budget.

- Permitting the forest management units to organize the implementation themselves or contract with households, individuals, community groups, and non-state organizations to carry out the planting and caring for the forest until it becomes a mature forest (seedlings can be produced or purchased but must comply with quality seed management procedures). The investment level for planting and caring for the forest in the first year is approximately 60-70% of the total investment, with the remaining 30-40% allocated over subsequent years. Specific levels are determined by the investment decision-making authority. For infrastructure construction projects serving forestry activities, the bidding regulations still apply.

b) For protective forests:

- Areas of concentrated protective forest land directly managed by state forest managers: implemented as stipulated for special-use forests (point a, item 4, part II above).

- Areas of forest land planned for protective forests that have been permanently assigned to households, individuals, village communities, and non-state organizations: if they voluntarily participate in planting forests, they will receive maximum support of 10 million VND/ha for both planting and subsequent care years and benefit from the forest according to current regulations (specific support levels are determined by the provincial People's Committee). The grassroots project management board organizes the technical design and approves it according to the forest planting standards of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, then signs a contract to support protective forest planting with households, individuals, community groups, and non-state organizations (according to the attached model) to implement.

- Indirect costs in protective and special-use forest planting (including design, budget preparation, review, and assignment of contracts) shall not exceed 5% of the total budget for planting 1 hectare of forest. Specific levels are determined by the provincial People's Committee.

1.3. Amend paragraph b of item 8, part II as follows:

b) The investment decision-making authority allocates the remaining funds for training, promoting forestry, disseminating information about forestry promotion, building recognized new forest planting models, and organizing visits to domestic new forest planting models. The expenditure level follows the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on agricultural and fishery extension work currently in effect. The entities eligible to build new forest planting models are both state and non-state organizations, and households. The models are planted on land with usage rights certificates of these entities.

1.4. Supplement Clause 9 of Item II as follows:

9. Project management fees are calculated as 10% of the total state budget investment for the project, allocated to central ministries and sectors 0.7%, provinces 1.3%, and grassroots project owners 8%. The expenses include: reviewing and approving projects, conference fees for mid-term and final reviews, awards, office supplies for management activities, necessary equipment (such as transportation means, office equipment... serving management and direction of the Project), expenses for management and operation, salaries and allowances for project management boards, travel expenses, annual financial settlement, and completion project settlement.

Specifically, for the 0.7% central budget: In addition to the aforementioned tasks, it can also be used for building some urgent mechanisms and policies to serve the project to plant five million hectares of new forests and some tasks proposed by the Central Project Management Board for implementation of the project. The spending policy is approved by the Central Project Management Board and the expenditure level is approved by the investment decision-making authority.

2. Regarding Circular Joint No. 02/2008/TTLT-KH-NN-TC dated June 23, 2008:

2.1. Repeal paragraph a, point 3.1, clause 3, Item II.

2.2. Repeal paragraph h, point 7.1, clause 7, Item II:

2.3. Amend paragraph b, point 7.2, clause 7, Item II as follows:

b) Pre-support: seedlings for scattered planting provided to organizations and households are supported at 100% of the seedling price, but not exceeding the post-investment support amount.

2.4. Amend and supplement Clause 9, Item II, as follows:

- Amend the last sentence of Clause 9:

For the cost support for forest promotion work at 100,000 VND - 200,000 VND/ha/4 years: mainly used to pay salaries, training, and working expenses for staff.

- Supplement the following content:

Using the survey and design support level of 50,000 VND/ha:

+ For areas where land has been allocated, leased, and land use rights certificates issued: Only a simple design description is required, specifying which tree species will be planted and providing planting technical guidance (with a copy of the land use rights certificate and a plot map).

During the process of preparing the design file, the design support funding (50,000 VND/ha) can be combined with the funding for creating the final completion digital map (30,000 VND/ha) from the outset, and this map can be used for reporting and monitoring final evaluation as stipulated in Clause 6, Section II.

+ For areas where land has not yet been allocated, leased, and land use rights certificates not yet issued: Combine the land allocation and lease support funding (200,000 VND/ha) with the survey and design support funding (50,000 VND/ha) to carry out: measuring and determining area and location of the forest plot, drawing a map according to the specified scale; then prepare a design description similar to the above case (including the plot map after determining the area and location).

The acceptance costs are taken from the annual management fees of the Project.

3. Other provisions of Circular Joint Circular No. 58/2008/TTLT-BNN-KHĐT-TC dated May 2, 2008, and Joint Circular No. 02/2008/TTLT-KH-NN-TC remain valid and enforceable.

4. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, localities and units must promptly submit reports in writing to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consideration and resolution./.