The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam's request for updates on forest changes and the publication of the forest status in 2023

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam's request for updates on forest changes and the publication of the forest status in 2023 (Internet image)

On January 17, 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam issued Official Dispatch 525/BNN-KL regarding the update of forest changes and the publication of the forest status in 2023.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's request for updates on forest changes and the publication of the forest status in 2023

Specifically, in accordance with Article 35 of the Law on Forestry 2017, localities have actively implemented the task of updating forest changes, publishing the forest status, and reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for national synthesis and publication. However, there are still some localities that have been slow in publishing or have not published the forest status as required, which has affected the progress of nationwide publication. This issue has been pointed out by functional agencies and the Central Inspection Committee's Supervisory Delegation in Conclusion notice 575-TB/UBKTTW dated November 27, 2023, and requires measures to overcome this delay.

To ensure the publication of the forest status in 2023 in accordance with regulations and to address the limitations as requested, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposes the following contents to the Chairperson of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-run cities:

- Continue to pay strong attention to directing the monitoring of forest changes in accordance with regulations and Official Dispatch 4392/BNN-KL dated July 5, 2023, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the implementation of forest change monitoring and publication of the forest status; strictly enforce the regulations regarding the deadline for updating and submitting publications; and report the results of forest change monitoring in 2023 as stipulated in Clause 3 and Clause 4 of Article 33 of Circular 33/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 16, 2018, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the investigation, inventory, and monitoring of forest changes.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will only synthesize and publish the national forest status report for 2023 for localities that have published the report by February 28, 2024; for localities that are late in publishing, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will use data from 2022 to synthesize and publish the national forest status report for 2023. The provincial People's Committees are responsible for the delay in publishing the forest status of the province, which has affected the publication of the national forest status, and it is requested to handle the responsibilities of organizations and individuals for the delay in publishing the forest status at the local level as stipulated.

- Review planted forest areas and areas of regenerated forests that meet the criteria to update and calculate the forest coverage rate, while serving as a basis for implementing the provisions of Point c, Clause 1 of Article 10 of the Law on Forestry 2017.

- Direct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the forest inspection agencies to enhance the application of science and technology in monitoring forest changes; use the FRMS 4.0 software to update forest changes; and regularly monitor forest change alert information at http://canhbaomatrung.kiemlam.org.vn to timely detect and organize inspections and updates of changes as required. Ensure that the results of forest change monitoring are built, managed, and stored in accordance with regulations in Article 38 of Circular 33/2018/TT-BNNPTNT.

In the implementation process, if any difficulties arise, please contact the Forestry Inspection Department (Forest Inspection Sub-Departments of Regions I, II, III, and IV) for a timely resolution.

More details can be found in Official Dispatch 525/BNN-KL, dated January 17, 2024.

Ho Quoc Tuan

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