What are procedures for deciding to change the forest use purpose to another purpose by the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province as authorized by the Prime Minister in Vietnam?

What are procedures for deciding to change the forest use purpose to another purpose by the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province as authorized by the Prime Minister in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 3 of Decision 23/2022/QD-TTg stipulating procedures for deciding to change the forest use purpose to another purpose by the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province as authorized by the Prime Minister as follows:

1. Organizations and individuals requesting the change of forest use purposes to other purposes shall send 01 set of documents directly or via postal service or via electronic environment to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Profile include:

a) The original of the written request to change the forest use purpose to another purpose;

b) The original report on the investment project proposal or the pre-feasibility study report together with the written appraisal of the competent state agency (for the project already approved by the competent state agency); Investment policy or investment decision: Approval of investment policy or investment registration certificate issued by a competent state agency in accordance with the Law on Investment; decide on investment policy or decide on investment issued by a competent state agency in accordance with the Law on Public Investment; the investment license or investment certificate issued by a competent state agency is still valid;

c) The project's environmental impact assessment document is one of the following: The original of the preliminary environmental impact assessment or the report on the environmental impact assessment or a copy of the environmental permit or registration form according to the provisions of the law on environmental protection, the law on investment;

d) The original of the explanation report, the map of the current status of the forest (the scale of the map is 1:2,000 for the proposed change of forest use purpose of less than 500 ha, the scale is 1/5000, for the area proposed to be changed forest use purpose of 500 ha or more), the results of the forest survey in the area request a decision on the policy of changing the forest use purpose (forest area, forest reserve), plant species.

For the case of submission of documents through the electronic environment, the form of the application shall comply with the provisions of law on implementation of administrative procedures in the electronic environment.

2. In case the dossier is invalid, within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall have to provide direct instructions or reply in writing to the organization, individuals propose to change the forest use purpose.

Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid dossiers, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with organizations and individuals wishing to change forest use purposes, district-level People's Committees, at the commune level where the forest is located:

a) Publicly post up the change of forest use purpose at the headquarters of the People's Committee of the commune where the proposed forest is located , the posting time is at least 15 working days;

b) Collect opinions of forest owners and communities where the forest is located. Contents of opinion: the impact of changing the forest use purpose on the life of forest owners, the impact on the community. Forms of collecting opinions directly or through a meeting.

c) Within 05 working days from the end of collecting comments from forest owners and residential communities, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall report to the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province.

3. Within 30 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid dossiers, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province shall appraise the contents and submit for approval the policy of changing the forest use purpose to another purpose. The content of the assessment includes:

a) Legal basis;

b) Composition and content of the dossier;

c) The necessity of project investment;

d) Location (plots, plots, sub-zones, administrative landmarks), forest survey results (forest area, forest reserve), plant species;

dd) Compliance with relevant laws;

e) Conformity with master plans, plans on land use and national forestry planning as prescribed by law;

g) Socio-economic efficiency; assess the environmental impact of the project in accordance with the law on environmental protection, investment and public investment; results of consultation with forest owners and communities where forests are located.

4. Within 10 working days from the date of the appraisal result, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province shall summarize and submit it to the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province for consideration and decision on the policy of changing the forest use purpose to another purpose. The dossier includes: The report of the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province, the dossier specified in Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article and other relevant documents (if any).

The report of the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province includes the following basic contents:

a) General information about the project;

b) The necessity of project investment;

c) Location (plots, plots, sub-zones, administrative landmarks), forest survey results (forest area, forest reserve); plant species;

d) Compliance with relevant laws;

dd) Conformity with master plans, plans on land use and national forestry planning as prescribed by law;

e) Socio-economic efficiency; the degree of environmental impact of the project in accordance with the law on environmental protection, investment and public investment; results of consultation with forest owners and communities where the forest is located

In case the appraisal results are not eligible to submit to the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province for a decision on the policy of changing the forest use purpose to another purpose, within 5 working days from the date of appraisal of the dossier, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province People of Khanh Hoa province reply in writing to organizations and individuals requesting to change the forest use purpose to another purpose.

5. The People's Council of Khanh Hoa province considers and decides on the policy of changing the forest use purpose to another purpose according to the provisions of law and the working regulations of the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province.

What are responsibilities of the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province in changing the forest use purpose to another purpose under the authority of the Prime Minister to authorize the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam?

According to Clause 2, Article 4 of Decision 23/2022/QD-TTg stipulating responsibilities of the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province in changing the forest use purpose to another purpose under the authority of the Prime Minister to authorize the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province are as follows:

2. Responsibilities of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee

a) After 05 working days from the date the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province approves the policy of changing the forest use purpose to another purpose, send the Resolution to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and notify the organization, the individual who proposes to change the forest use purpose to another purpose knows.

b) Report the results of the implementation of this Decision annually, make a preliminary review of the 03 years before July 31, 2025 and summarize before March 15, 2027 to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to summarize and report to the Prime Minister. 

c) Report to the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province on the appraisal of the contents specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decision.

d) Publicly announce the project that is decided to change the forest use purpose to another purpose on the electronic information portal of Khanh Hoa province for relevant agencies and organizations to monitor and supervise. Monitor the project approval and implementation process.

What are responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in changing the forest use purpose to another purpose under the authority of the Prime Minister authorized to the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam?

In Clause 3, Article 4 of Decision 23/2022/QD-TTg, stipulating responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in changing the forest use purpose to another purpose under the authority of the Prime Minister authorized to the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province as follows:

3. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

a) Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and relevant agencies in, guiding, inspecting and inspecting the implementation of this Decision, and promptly reporting difficulties and problems to the Prime Minister.

b) Report to the Prime Minister the results of implementation of this Decision annually; three-year preliminary review, report to the Prime Minister in August 2025; To conclude the implementation of this Decision, report to the Prime Minister in April 2027.

Best Regards!