Duties and powers of the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund

Duties and powers of the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

What is the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund?

Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Fund) is an extra-budget State financial fund; organized and operated as a public service unit established and managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; has the function of mobilizing, receiving, managing, and using financial resources for forest protection and development activities according to the provisions of law.

(Article 1 of Decision 3618/QD-BNN-TCCB 2023)

Duties and powers of the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund

The Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund has the following tasks and powers:

- Review, sign contracts, receive, and manage funds entrusted to pay for forest environmental services.

- Mobilize, receive, and manage entrusted financial resources; sources of aid, sponsorship, voluntary contributions, and entrustment from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals; Legal financial sources other than the state budget.

- Receive and pay for replacement forest planting when changing the forest use purpose to another purpose when assigned according to the provisions of the law.

- Organize appraisals and submit them to competent authorities for approval of programs, projects, and non-project activities supported by the Fund.

- Organize inspection and supervision of management and use of forest environmental service fees of the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund; check payment by users of forest environmental services.

- Direct, guide, inspect, and supervise beneficiaries of financial resources supported by the Fund.

- Implement legal regulations on finance, statistics, accounting, and auditing; report the management and use of the Fund's financial resources to competent authorities according to regulations.

- Propose to competent state management agencies to promulgate, supplement, and amend regulations on subjects and activities supported by the Fund.

- Synthesize and report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the country's annual collection and expenditure of forest environmental services.

- Carry out communication and dissemination of policies on payments for forest environmental services at central and local levels.

- Submit to competent authorities to suspend and recover supported funds when detecting that organizations, households, individuals, and communities violate commitments on the use of funds or violate regulations of relevant laws on forest environmental services.

- Carry out the task of cooperating, developing, and expanding various types of forest environmental services; international cooperation on contents related to forest environmental services and the Fund's activities according to the provisions of law and assignments of the Minister.

- Organize and implement mechanisms, policies, programs, schemes, projects, and plans on forest environmental services according to the provisions of the law and the assignment of the Minister.

- Synthesize, evaluate, propose, and recommend to competent state management agencies to promulgate, amend, and supplement regulations related to forest environmental service policies and the Fund's operations according to the provisions of law.

- Organize training, coaching, guidance, and the exchange of professional experience for the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund.

- Manage organizational structure, payroll, job positions, number of officials, and labor contracts; Implement salary, reward, discipline, training, fostering, and other remuneration regimes and policies according to the Ministry's decentralization and provisions of law.

- Manage and use finances, assets, and other assigned resources according to the provisions of the law.

- Perform other tasks as prescribed by law and assigned by the Ministry.

(Article 2 of Decision 3618/QD-BNN-TCCB 2023)

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