Can individuals do business in recreation services in the protected area's mangroves in Vietnam?

Can individuals do business in recreation services in the protected area's mangroves in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 122 of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP stipulating on organizations and individuals providing and entitled to be paid for their ecosystem services as follows:

1. Wildlife sanctuary management boards.

2. Organizations and individuals assigned to manage, protect, maintain and develop the ecosystems specified in clause 2 Article 121 of this Decree.

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 121 of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP, which regulates ecosystem services for which payments are made are as follows:

2. The ecosystem services for which payments are made as prescribed in points b, c and d clause 2 Article 138 of the LEP consist of:

a) Wetland ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business, leisure and aquaculture provided by significant wetlands and mixed ecological regions in accordance with regulations of law on biodiversity;

b) Marine ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business, leisure and aquaculture provided by marine protected areas and aquatic resource protection areas;

c) Rocky mountain and cave ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business and leisure; geopark ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business and leisure; except for the cases where payments for forest environmental services provided by a forest ecosystem specified in clause 1 of this Article have been paid.

According to this Article, individuals can provide wetland ecosystem services for tourism and entertainment purposes but must be assigned to manage, protect, maintain and develop natural ecosystems in Vietnam. Thus, in order to be able to do business in entertainment services in mangrove areas, you need to be assigned to manage, protect, maintain and develop the ecosystems.

How can individuals be entitled to be paid for their ecosystem services in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 123 of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP stipulating that organizations and individuals using and paying for ecosystem services as follows:

1. Users of ecosystem services in the areas providing ecosystem services are provided specified in clause 6 Article 124 of this Decree shall make PES when carrying out the following activities:

a) Extracting and using surface water and sea surface of the ecosystems for aquaculture and water recreation services;

b) Using landscapes of ecosystems for tourism and recreation services.

2. Cases of exemption from PES:

a) Organizations and individuals in disadvantaged areas, poor households, near-poor households certified by local authorities;

b) Individuals conducting production and business activities who are incapacitated, dead or declared dead or missing who have no property to make payment or their guardian or inheritor incapable to repay their debts;

c) Organizations conducting production and business activities that receive dissolution or bankruptcy decisions from competent authorities under regulations of law and have neither capital nor assets to make PES to ecosystem service providers;

d) Ecosystem service users that are also ecosystem service providers. They are obliged to record the costs of protecting, maintaining and developing ecosystems.

According to this Article, if you are allowed to do business in recreation services in a wetland conservation area in Vietnam, you will have to pay for natural ecosystem services, except for the case of exemption from fees for using natural ecosystem services. 

Best Regards!