What types of forest environmental services in Vietnam are there? What are the criteria for the forest eligible for forest environmental service payment?
What types of forest environmental services in Vietnam are there?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 61 of the 2017 Law on Forestry in Vietnam stipulating the following types of forest environmental services:
Forest environmental services
1. Land protection, erosion and sedimentation limit of lakebeds, river beds and stream beds.
2. Regulating and maintaining water resources for production and social life.
3. Absorbing and storing carbon of forests; reducing greenhouse gas emission by limiting forest loss and degradation; sustainable forest management and green growth.
4. Protecting and maintaining natural landscape beauty, conserving biodiversity of forest ecosystems for trading in tourism services.
5. Providing spawning grounds, food sources, natural breeding stock, water resources from forests and environmental elements and forest ecosystems for aquaculture.
Thus, there are a total of five types of forest environmental services as prescribed above.
What types of forest environmental services in Vietnam are there? What are the criteria for the forest eligible for forest environmental service payment?
When are forest environmental services paid?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 62 of the 2017 Law on Forestry in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Rules for forest environmental service payment
1. Forest environmental services shall be paid when the criteria mentioned in Clause 3 Article 2 herein are satisfied and one or some of the forest environmental services stated in Article 61 herein are provided.
2. Users of forest environmental services shall pay relevant charges to their forest environmental service providers.
3. Charges for forest environmental safety services shall be paid directly or indirectly.
4. Charges for forest environmental services shall be added to prime costs of goods or services of users.
5. Forest environmental services shall ensure publicity, democracy, objectivity and equality; compliance with Vietnam law and international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.
According to the above regulations, forest is paid for forest environmental services when it meets the following criteria: “forest” is an ecosystem including forest flora and fauna, fungi, microorganisms, forestland and other environmental factors in which the main component is one or some species of trees, bamboo or arecaceae whose height is determined according to the flora of the soil or rocky mountain, submerged land, sandy land or other typical flora; with inter-regional area of at least 0.3 ha; canopy of at least 0.1.
At the same time, in order to receive payment for forest environmental services, the forest must provide one or several forest environmental services in Article 61 of the 2017 Law on Forestry in Vietnam.
Who are payers of forest environment services in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 63 of the 2017 Law on Forestry in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Providers, users, options for methods of payment and management of forest environmental services
1. Providers (payees) of forest environmental services include:
a) The forest owners mentioned in Article 8 herein;
b) Organizations, households, individuals and communities that have been hired to protect and develop forests under agreements concluded with forest owners that are organizations established by the State;
c) People’s Committees of communes and other organizations that the State assigns to manage forests.
2. Users (payers) of forest environmental services include:
a) Hydroelectric producers that have to pay service charges for land protection, erosion or sedimentation limit of lakebeds/river beds/stream beds, regulating and maintaining water resources used for hydroelectric production;
b) Clean water suppliers that have to pay service charges for regulating and maintaining water resources used for clean water production;
c) Industrial producers that have to pay service charges for regulating and maintaining water resources used for industrial production;
d) Entities trading in ecotourism, hospitality or entertainment services that have to pay services charges for protecting and maintaining natural landscape beauty and conserving biodiversity of forest ecosystems;
dd) Producers or traders causing massive green gas emission that have to pay service charges for absorbing and storing carbon in forests;
e) Producers of aquatic products that have to pay service charges for providing spawning grounds, food sources, natural breeding stock, water resources, environmental elements and forest ecosystems for aquaculture.
g) Other payers prescribed in regulations of law.
3. Options for methods of payment for forest environmental services:
a) The user of forest environmental services shall make payment directly to the provider;
b) The user of forest environmental services shall make payment to the provider by transferring the payment amount to the forest protection and development fund;
c) The State encourages making directly payment in all cases if both the provider and the user of forest environmental services reach an agreement on the basis of the payment amount regulated by the Government.
…
Thus, users (payers) of forest environmental services include:
- Hydroelectric producers that have to pay service charges for land protection, erosion or sedimentation limit of lakebeds/river beds/stream beds, regulating and maintaining water resources used for hydroelectric production;
- Clean water suppliers that have to pay service charges for regulating and maintaining water resources used for clean water production;
- Industrial producers that have to pay service charges for regulating and maintaining water resources used for industrial production;
- Entities trading in ecotourism, hospitality or entertainment services that have to pay services charges for protecting and maintaining natural landscape beauty and conserving biodiversity of forest ecosystems;
- Producers or traders causing massive green gas emission that have to pay service charges for absorbing and storing carbon in forests;
- Producers of aquatic products that have to pay service charges for providing spawning grounds, food sources, natural breeding stock, water resources, environmental elements and forest ecosystems for aquaculture.
- Other payers prescribed in regulations of law.
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