Forestry policies of the State in Vietnam

Forestry policies of the State in Vietnam (Internet image)

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

1. Forestry policies of the State in Vietnam

- The State shall develop investment policies and mobilized private sectors to involve in forestry operations in compliance with socio-economic development and national security policies.

- The State shall ensure resources for management, protection and development of reserve forests and protection forests.

- The State shall protect legitimate rights and interests of organizations, households, individuals and communities involving in forestry operations.

- The State shall organize and assist the management, protection and development of production forests; forestry varieties, forest restoration and forestation; research and apply science, high and state-of-the-art technology; provide training for personnel; provide forest environmental services; large-scale timber forestation, conversion from small-scale timber to large-scale timber forestation; infrastructure; sustainable forest management; forest products processing and trade; international cooperation in forestry.

- The State shall encourage combined forestry-agricultural-fishery production; organic forestry production; and provide planted production forest insurance.

- The State shall allocate forest and land to ethnic minority people and communities whose income mainly comes from forests for combined forestry-agricultural-fishery production; facilitate cooperation in forest protection and development with forest owners and benefit sharing arising from forests; facilitate practice in culture and beliefs associated with forests according to the Government’ regulations.

(Article 4 of Law on Forestry 2017)

2. Prohibited acts in forestry activities in Vietnam

Prohibited acts in forestry activities in Vietnam specified in Article 9 of the Law on Forestry 2017 include:

- Illegally felling, deforesting, exploiting or encroaching forests.

- Illegally discharging sewage or bringing toxic chemicals, explosives, flammable substances, tools or vehicles into forests; grazing cattle or livestock in strictly protected sub-zones of reserve forests or newly planted forests.

- Illegally hunting, shooting, catching, caging, slaughtering, transporting or trading in forest animals; illegally collecting specimens of forest plant or animal species.

- Destroying forest resources, ecosystems or works used for forest protection and development.

- Violating regulations on fire safety in forests; prevention and elimination of organisms harmful to forests; management of harmful allochthonous species; provision of forest environmental services.

- Storing, trading in, transporting, processing, advertising, displaying, exporting, importing, temporarily importing, temporarily exporting or transiting forest products against regulations of Vietnam law and international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

- Exploiting natural resources, mineral resources or forest environment; building, digging, damming, stopping natural flows or other activities against regulations of law that lead to change in the natural landscape structure of forest ecosystems.

- Illegally allocating, leasing out or appropriating forests, converting types of forests, repurposing of forests; illegally exploiting or transporting forest products; illegally changing forest area, transferring, inheriting, gifting, mortgaging or contributing capital with the value of forest use rights or planted production forest ownership; discriminating against religions, beliefs or genders when allocating or leasing out forests.

- Illegally using materials for forest products processing.

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE