Providers (payees) of forest environmental services in Vietnam

Providers (payees) of forest environmental services in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Types of forest environment services in Vietnam

According to Clause 23, Article 2 of the Law on Forestry 2017, forest environment services are activities that provide value for the use of the forest environment.

Types of forest environmental services specified in Article 61 of the Law on Forestry 2017 include:

- 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. Rules for forest environmental service payment in Vietnam

Article 62 of the Law on Forestry 2017 stipulates the rules for forest environmental service payment as follows:

- Forest environmental services shall be paid when the criteria mentioned in Clause 3 Article 2 of the Law on Forestry 2017 are satisfied and one or some of the forest environmental services stated in Article 61 of the Law on Forestry 2017 are provided.

- Users of forest environmental services shall pay relevant charges to their forest environmental service providers.

- Charges for forest environmental safety services shall be paid directly or indirectly.

- Charges for forest environmental services shall be added to prime costs of goods or services of users.

- Forest environmental services shall ensure publicity, democracy, objectivity and equality; compliance with Vietnam law and international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

3. Providers (payees) of forest environmental services in Vietnam

Providers (payees) of forest environmental services according to Clause 1, Article 63 of the Law on Forestry 2017 include:

- The forest owners mentioned in Article 8 of the Law on Forestry 2017

+ Reserve forest and protection forest management units.

+ Business entities including enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions and other business entities that are established and operating in accordance with regulations of law, except for the owners stated in Clause 7 this Article.

+ Authorities that are affiliated to the People’s Armed Forces and allocated forests (hereinafter referred to as “armed force authorities”).

+ Science and technology institutions; vocational education and training centers in forestry.

+ Domestic households and individuals.

+ Communities.

+ Foreign-invested enterprises whose land is leased out by the State for forest production planting.

- 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.

4. Users (payers) of forest environmental services in Vietnam

According to Clause 2, Article 63 of the Law on Forestry 2017, users (payers) of forest environmental services include:

- Hydroelectric producers that have to pay service charges for land protection, erosion or sedimentation limit of lakebeds/river beds/stream beds, 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.

5. Options for methods of payment for forest environmental services in Vietnam

Options for methods of payment for forest environmental services are specified in Clause 3, Article 63 of the Law on Forestry 2017 as follows:

- 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 directly 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.

Van Trong

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