Decree No. 75/2015/NĐ-CP On mechanisms and policies for forest protection and development, linked to rapid poverty reduction and sustainable support for ethnic minority groups during the period from 2015 to 2020

DECREE

ON MECHANISMS AND POLICIES FOR THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF FORESTS,

IN CONNECTION WITH POLICIES TO QUICKLY REDUCE POVERTY, SUSTAINABLY AND TO SUPPORT ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS DURING THE PERIOD 2015-2020

On the basis of the Forest Protection and Development Law dated December 3, 2004;

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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.

At the request of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

Article 1. Subjects eligible for support:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. Ethnic minority households and poor Han households permanently residing in communes with difficult socio-economic conditions (areas II and III) within ethnic minority and mountainous regions according to criteria set by the Prime Minister, who carry out one of the following activities related to forest protection and development: protecting natural forests, encircling and regenerating natural forests, planting trees, growing non-timber forest products on land allocated for forest development by the State; receiving contracts to protect forests.

Article 2. Applicability

2. Village communities assigned forests in accordance with Article 29 of the Forest Protection and Development Law and Article 54 of the Land Law, located in communes with difficult socio-economic conditions (areas II and III) within ethnic minority and mountainous regions according to criteria set by the Prime Minister, who carry out the protection of assigned forests or forests under contract.

Article 3. Support for contracted forest protection

3. Organizations and individuals related to the matter.

1. Forest areas eligible for contracted protection support:

a) Areas of forest allocated to Specialized Forest Management Boards and Protective Forest Management Boards;

b) Specialized forests and protective forests which are natural forests allocated to forestry companies for management;

c) Areas of forest not yet allocated or leased, managed by People's Committees at commune, ward, town level (hereinafter referred to as People's Committee at commune level).

2. Eligible subjects and maximum area limit for contracted forest protection support:

a) Subjects: Households and village community members as stipulated in Clause 1 and 2, Article 2 of this Decree;

b) Maximum area limit for contracted forest protection support is 30 hectares per household as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. Rights and responsibilities of contracted recipients:

a) Receive contracted forest protection support at a rate of 400,000 VND/hectare/year;

b) Enjoy benefits from the forest and fulfill the responsibility of protecting the forest in accordance with current laws of the State.

4. Responsibilities and authorities of contracting parties:

a) Specialized Forest Management Boards, Protective Forest Management Boards, Forestry Companies, and People's Committees at commune level managing the forest areas as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall fulfill the responsibilities and authorities of forest owners in accordance with laws on forest protection and development;

b) Prepare budgets, organize inspections, supervision, and timely payment of support funds as stipulated in Point a, Clause 3 of this Article to contracted recipients.

Article 4. Support for forest protection and encirclement with supplementary afforestation

1. Subject forests: Protective forests and production forests which are natural forests.

a) Households as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree carry out protection and encirclement of assigned forests with supplementary afforestation;

2. Recipients of support:

b) Village communities as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decree carry out protection of assigned forests.

a) Forest protection support at a rate of 400,000 VND/hectare/year;

3. Level of support:

b) Afforestation support for supplementary planting, the support level according to design-budget, maximum not exceeding 1,600,000 VND/hectare/year for the first three years and 600,000 VND/hectare/year for the next three years. The Chairman of the People's Committee at provincial level decides the specific support level suitable to the actual conditions of the locality.

4. Responsibilities and rights of households and village communities benefiting from forest protection and encirclement policies for forest regeneration as stipulated by laws on forest protection and development.

4. The responsibilities and benefits of household families and village community members entitled to forest protection policies and forest enclosure for regeneration in accordance with the laws on forest protection and development.

Article 5. Support for planting production forests and developing non-timber forest products

1. The area of forestry land planned for developing production forests that has been stably allocated to households for a long-term period shall be supported once for the first cycle to plant production forests with timber trees and non-timber forest products.

2. The level of support ranges from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 per hectare to purchase seedlings, fertilizers, and part of labor costs for planting timber trees and non-timber forest products according to the business cycle of the planted species based on the design-budget. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides the specific level of support suitable for local conditions and the design-budget.

3. Households benefiting from policies on protecting and developing forests shall enjoy rights and responsibilities as prescribed by current laws.

Article 6. Support for planting protective forests

The area of forestry land planned for planting protective forests that has been allocated to households shall be provided state funds according to the design-budget to plant, care for, and protect forests, and benefit from forests as prescribed by laws on protecting and developing forests.

Article 7. Rice Subsidy for Planting Forests Instead of Shifting Cultivation Land

Poor households participating in planting forests as stipulated in Articles 5 and 6 of this Decree shall be subsidized with 15 kilograms of rice per person per month or an equivalent amount of money corresponding to the value of 15 kilograms of rice per person per month at the time of subsidy until they can self-sustain food. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides the level and duration of the subsidy, but it shall not exceed seven years.

Article 8. Credit Policy

1. Based on the design-budget for planting forests, in addition to the amount of support prescribed in Article 5 of this Decree for planting production forests to develop non-timber forest products, households shall be eligible for loans without collateral from the Social Policy Bank or the Vietnam Agriculture and Rural Development Bank for the remaining investment value as follows:

- Loan limit: Up to VND 15,000,000 per hectare.

- Loan term: From planting to main harvesting according to the business cycle of the planted species, but not exceeding twenty years.

The specific loan amount and term shall be agreed upon between the bank and the customer in accordance with this Decree. The principal and interest shall be repaid in full at the time of main harvesting.

2. Loans for livestock development:

Households as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree shall be eligible for loans without collateral from the Social Policy Bank or the Vietnam Agriculture and Rural Development Bank for raising cattle, buffalo, and other livestock as follows:

- Loan limit: Up to VND 50,000,000.

- Loan term: Up to ten years.

The specific loan amount and term shall be agreed upon between the bank and the customer in accordance with this Decree.

3. Interest rates and interest rate support for loans:

a) Households borrowing under Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall have an interest rate of 1.2% per year;

b) The state budget shall support the remaining portion of the loan interest.

4. Debt restructuring and risk management: Implemented in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015 on credit policies serving agricultural and rural development.

Article 9. Sources of Funds for Implementing Policies

1. The state budget shall ensure the expenditures prescribed in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Decree and be allocated annually in the Plan for Protecting and Developing Forests, distributed as follows:

a) The central budget shall provide 100% funding for localities that cannot balance their budgets independently and the province of Quang Ngai.

b) The central budget shall provide 50% funding for localities with a revenue distribution ratio to the central government below 50%, the local budget shall ensure the remaining 50% funding needs.

c) The remaining localities shall use their local budgets to implement.

2. The central budget shall provide interest rate support to banks as prescribed in Article 8 of this Decree.

Article 10. Responsibilities of Ministries and Sectors

1. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

a) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to inspect and supervise the implementation of the provisions of this Decree, propose measures to handle and resolve difficulties and obstacles arising during the implementation, and report.

b) Guide the implementation of this Decree within their functions, tasks, and authority;

c) Periodically review and summarize annual reports to the Government.

2. The National Ethnic Minorities Committee shall decide on recognizing particularly difficult communes, villages in areas II and III of ethnic minority and mountainous regions for the period 2016-2020 according to the current regulations of the Prime Minister.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture and Rural Development to aggregate needs, balance, and allocate investment capital for development according to the five-year plan and annually to implement this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Finance

a) Allocate the budget to implement policies stipulated in this Decree;

b) Guide, inspect the issuance, management, and settlement of support funds specified in this Decree;

c) Guide the interest subsidy mechanism to implement credit policies as prescribed in Article 8 of this Decree.

5. The State Bank of Vietnam

a) Direct and guide the Social Policy Bank system and the Vietnam Agricultural and Rural Development Bank to provide loans for planting production forests and raising livestock as prescribed in Article 8 of this Decree;

b) Inspect, supervise, handle, and resolve difficulties and obstacles during the implementation process.

6. Relevant ministries and sectors within their functions and tasks shall direct the implementation of the provisions of this Decree.

Article 11. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the Province

1. Direct and organize the implementation; inspect, supervise, evaluate, and periodically report on the results of implementing mechanisms and policies stipulated in this Decree at the local level.

2. Direct the People's Committees of districts and communes to conduct actual investigations, identify communes with difficult socio-economic conditions (areas II and III) in ethnic minority and mountainous regions according to the current regulations of the Prime Minister, aggregate and report to the National Ethnic Minorities Committee for consideration and decision on recognition; review and recognize poor households according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

3. Guide the identification of crop varieties and livestock suitable for local conditions as a basis for support and loans; direct the establishment and issuance of specific standards for seeds, fertilizers, and labor for each type of crop in the area; guide the preparation of designs and budgets for forest regeneration with additional planting.

Article 12. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from November 2, 2015.

2. In cases where there are multiple support mechanisms and policies for the same content, they shall be applied according to the provisions of this Decree.

3. After 2020, rice subsidies under Article 7 of this Decree will continue to be implemented and not exceed seven years as stipulated; loan contracts between banks and households for planting forests and raising livestock as prescribed in Article 8 of this Decree will continue to be implemented until the contract ends.

Article 13. Responsibility for Implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees within their functions and tasks shall be responsible for guiding and implementing this Decree./.