Vietnam: Providers (payees) of forest environmental services

According to the Law on Forestry 2017 of Vietnam, types of forest environmental services and providers (payees) of forest environmental services are specified as follows:

1. Forest environmental services

- Land protection, erosion and sedimentation limit of lakebeds, river beds and stream beds.

- Regulating and maintaining water resources for production and social life.

- Absorbing and storing carbon of forests; reducing greenhouse gas emission by limiting forest loss and degradation; sustainable forest management and green growth.

- Protecting and maintaining natural landscape beauty, conserving biodiversity of forest ecosystems for trading in tourism services.

- Providing spawning grounds, food sources, natural breeding stock, water resources from forests and environmental elements and forest ecosystems for aquaculture.

2. Providers, users, options for methods of payment of forest environmental services

According to the Law on Forestry 2017 of Vietnam, providers (payees) of forest environmental services include:

- The forest owners mentioned in Article 8 herein;

- Organizations, households, individuals and communities that have been hired to protect and develop forests under agreements concluded with forest owners that are organizations established by the State;

- People’s Committees of communes and other organizations that the State assigns to manage forests.

Users (payers) of forest environmental services include:

- Hydroelectric producers that have to pay service charges for land protection, erosion or sedimentation limit of lakebeds/riverbeds/streambeds, regulating and maintaining water resources used for hydroelectric production;

- Clean water suppliers that have to pay service charges for regulating and maintaining water resources used for clean water production;

- Industrial producers that have to pay service charges for regulating and maintaining water resources used for industrial production;

- Entities trading in ecotourism, hospitality or entertainment services that have to pay services charges for protecting and maintaining natural landscape beauty and conserving biodiversity of forest ecosystems;

- Producers or traders causing massive green gas emission that have to pay service charges for absorbing and storing carbon in forests;

- Producers of aquatic products that have to pay service charges for providing spawning grounds, food sources, natural breeding stock, water resources, environmental elements and forest ecosystems for aquaculture.

- Other payers prescribed in regulations of law.

Options for methods of payment for forest environmental services:

- The user of forest environmental services shall make payment directly to the provider;

- The user of forest environmental services shall make payment to the provider by transferring the payment amount to the forest protection and development fund;

- The State encourages making direct payment in all cases if both the provider and the user of forest environmental services reach an agreement on the basis of the payment amount regulated by the Government.

The Law on Forestry 2017 of Vietnam officially came into force from January 01, 2019.

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