Adjustment of the policy on forest repurposing in Vietnam

Adjustment of the policy on forest repurposing in Vietnam (Image from the internet)

On July 18, 2024, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 91/2024/ND-CP amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018, of the government of Vietnam detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Forestry.

Adjustments to the policy on forest repurposing in Vietnam

According to Clause 23, Article 1, which added Article 41b after Article 41a of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP on adjusting policies on forest repurposing in Vietnam:

- For projects approved by the Provincial People's Council to change forest use purposes to other purposes:

+ Projects that change the location or forest area but do not change the type of forest and do not increase the forest area compared to the total forest area approved by the Provincial People's Council do not need to adjust the policy on forest repurposing.

+ Cases not specified in point (a) of this clause must adjust the policy on forest repurposing. The dossier, order, and procedures for approving the adjustment of the policy on forest repurposing shall follow the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3, Article 41 of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP.

- For projects approved by the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, or the Provincial People's Council regarding investment policy under the provisions of the Investment Law, Public Investment Law, Law on Investment in the form of Public-Private Partnership, Petroleum Law, if there are changes in the scale of the forest area needed to change the use purposes for project implementation, the following shall be done:

+ Projects that change the scale of the forest area but do not require adjustment of the investment policy according to the provisions of the Investment Law, Public Investment Law, Law on Investment in the form of Public-Private Partnership, Petroleum Law will have the change decided by the Provincial People's Committee or the District People's Committee; the order and procedures are carried out in accordance with Article 42 of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP.

+ Projects that change the scale of the forest area and require investment policy adjustment shall adjust the investment policy according to the provisions of the law on investment, public investment, investment in the form of public-private partnership, petroleum, and related laws.

+ For projects adjusting investment policies, including changes in the scale of the forest area needed to change the use purposes that have been decided upon, the agency in charge of appraisal shall seek the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Provincial People's Committee, or the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the District People’s Committee where the project is implemented according to point (c), Clause 4, Article 41 of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP.

Le Nguyen Anh Hao

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