Decision 993/QD-TTg 2023 National Plan to implement Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use

DECISION

Approving the National Plan on the implementation of

the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use through 2030

____________

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Forestry dated November 15, 2017;

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated November 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the National Assembly's Resolution No. 39/2021/QH15 dated November 13, 2021, on national land use master plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, and national 5-year land use plan for the 2021 - 2025 period;

Pursuant to the Government's Resolution No. 26/NQ-CP dated February 27, 2023, promulgating the Government's Action Plan to implement Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2022, of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on agriculture, farmers, and rural areas through 2030, with a vision toward 2045;

Pursuant to the Government's Resolution No. 37/NQ-CP dated March 17, 2023, promulgating the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2022, of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on continuing to innovate and complete institutions and policies, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of land management and use, creating motivation to turn Vietnam into a high-income developed country;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 523/QD-TTg dated April 1, 2021, approving the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision toward 2050;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 150/QD-TTg dated January 28, 2022, approving the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision toward 2050;

Pursuant to the Decision No. 149/QD-TTg dated January 28, 2022, approving the National Strategy on Biodiversity through 2030, with a vision toward 2050:

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 326/QD-TTg dated March 9, 2022, on the allocation of land use planning targets for the 2021 - 2030 period, and the national 5-year land use plan for the 2021 - 2025 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 809/QD-TTg dated July 12, 2022, approving the Program on sustainable forestry development for the 2021 - 2025 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 888/QD-TTg dated July 25, 2022, approving the Project on tasks and solutions to implement the results of the 26^th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 896/QD-TTg dated July 27, 2022, approving the National Strategy on Climate Change through 2050;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

HEREBY DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the National Plan on the implementation of the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use through 2030 (hereinafter referred to as the Plan), with the following principal contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. To concretize the contents of the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use through 2030 (hereinafter referred to as the Glasgow Declaration), in accordance with the viewpoints, guidelines and policies of the Party and State on forest protection and development, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use, climate change response and green growth.

2. To enhance land use efficiency; to promote the role of forests and agricultural and forestry achievements, protect biodiversity, create a foundation for the country's sustainable development. The Plan aims to fundamentally address the causes of deforestation, forest degradation, and land degradation, while promoting sustainable forest management.

3. The plan requires the responsible and effective participation of the whole political system, ministries, branches and localities; mobilizes all legal resources of domestic and international economic sectors, in which the State allocates resources from the budget and mobilizes resources from the private and international sectors.

4. The State has mechanisms and policies to benefit from forests to attract domestic and international economic sectors to participate, promote the initiative of ministries, branches, localities and related organizations in the implementation of the Plan.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. Overall objectives

To directly contribute to the goals of sustainable agricultural and rural development, the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change, biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management, and transition to a green economy and circular economy; to promote sustainable livelihoods for local people and communities, ensure food security and protect the environment, thereby delivering on the commitments of the Glasgow Declaration.

2. Specific objectives

a) By 2025, to strictly manage the existing natural forest area, minimize the conversion of natural forest use purposes to other purposes, and gradually limit forest and land degradation; By 2030, to basically reverse deforestation, forest resource degradation, land degradation and desertification, ensuring the harmonious development of sustainable agricultural and forestry production associated with agricultural and rural development, effectively contributing to the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) on greenhouse gas emission reduction.

b) To strive for the area of poor natural forests to be restored and upgraded in quality up to 10% by 2025, and 20% by 2030, contributing to reducing the rate of poor natural forest area, increasing the rate of medium and rich natural forest area; to improve biodiversity conservation efficiency and protection capacity; to improve productivity, economic efficiency and sustainability of planted forests and agricultural crops; to strive for the area of forests certified for sustainable forest management up to 0.5 million hectares by 2025, and 1.0 million hectares by 2030.

c) To improve institutions and policies to promote the development of production and consumption of sustainable agricultural and forestry products that do not cause deforestation, land degradation and desertification; to improve resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change; to develop the agricultural and forestry economy towards multi-purpose, low emission, circular economy and green economy.

III. MAIN TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Conserving forests and other terrestrial ecosystems and accelerating their restoration

a) To develop and implement strategies, programs, schemes and projects on conservation and restoration of forests, restoration of degraded ecosystems, prevention of conversion and destruction of significant ecosystems and natural landscapes, contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).

b) To manage conflicts and disputes over forests and land use; to assess the current status of forests and forest land with disputes and overlaps between forestry and other sectors; to develop and implement plans to resolve forest and land-related disputes; to carry out boundary demarcation between forest owners, unify forest boundaries on map and in the field, with priority given to areas with high risk of encroachment and prone to disputes.

c) To integrate the contents of forest management, protection, and conservation of forest ecosystems in the national overall master plan, national land use master plan, regional master plans and provincial master plans; and national sector master plans, such as forestry master plan, overall biodiversity conservation master plan, and environmental protection master plan.

d) To strengthen capacity and inter-sectoral coordination mechanism to enforce forestry laws for rangers and specialized forest protection forces; to ensure specific regimes and policies; to invest in equipment and supporting tools, apply advanced technology in law enforcement, forest protection, fire prevention and fighting; to develop and promulgate mechanisms and regulations for inter-sectoral coordination.

dd) To strictly and effectively control the conversion of forest use purposes to other purposes; to minimize the conversion of natural forest use purposes in areas requiring strict protection to non-forestry purposes.

e) To build a national database on forest biodiversity (ecosystem and species level); to track and monitor biodiversity in forest ecosystems; to invest in equipment for forest biodiversity investigation and monitoring activities.

2. Developing and completing domestic and international trade policies, promoting the development of sustainable commodity production and consumption, that work to countries' mutual benefits, and that do not drive deforestation and land degradation

a) To develop policies, programs and plans to develop sustainable agricultural and forestry production, develop the multi-purpose value of forest ecosystems, and sustainable land use, meeting the requirements of the international market for the production and trade of agricultural and forestry products that do not cause deforestation and land degradation.

b) To promote the production of sustainable agricultural and forestry products by chains, with high added value and environmentally friendly; to facilitate commercial development and market expansion of agricultural and forestry products.

c) To amend, supplement and complete legal regulations on production and consumption of agricultural and forestry products that have legal origins and do not cause deforestation, in accordance with international commitments and conditions of Vietnam; to promote sustainable forest management and forest certification.

3. Reducing vulnerability of forests and soils; strengthening resilience and enhancing rural livelihoods through empowering communities, strengthening land management systems, developing sustainable agriculture, and enhancing the multi-purpose value of forests; while ensuring the rights of people and local communities in accordance with Vietnamese law and international practices.

a) To assess the vulnerability of forest ecosystems, land and livelihoods of forest-dependent communities; to synchronously take solutions to improve resilience and reduce loss and damage caused by climate change.

b) To enhance implementation capacity and responsibility of member countries of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification; to develop and implement the National Action Program on combating desertification and land degradation.

c) To develop and complete policies to encourage the development of non-timber forest products and medicinal herbs under the forest canopy and improve livelihoods and income for people in mountainous regions and ethnic minority areas.

d) To empower  residential communities and local people regarding forest management, protection and development through allocating forests in association with allocating land and tasks of forest protection as well as forest benefits, completing the allocation of forest area and forests managed by commune-level People's Committees for residential communities and local people; to strengthen the capacity of communities to manage land, protect and develop allocated forests; to implement forest contracting policy for residential communities and forest-dependent people.

dd) To support livelihood development and promote sustainable agricultural production, without causing deforestation for communities in buffer zones of special-use forests and areas adjacent to protective forests and natural production forests.

e) To effectively develop and use the forest values, effectively develop and implement the Scheme on multi-use value development of the forest ecosystem in order to develop the economy under the forest canopy through the agro-forestry model; to develop non-timber forest products under the natural forest canopy; to expand forest environmental services.

g) To develop policies on payment for forest carbon sequestration services; to deploy mechanisms to exchange and offset forest carbon credits to meet the requirements of the domestic and international carbon market, contributing to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the forestry industry and the country as well as creating sustainable financial sources for forest management, protection and development activities.

4. Formulating and organizing the effective implementation of policies and programs to develop sustainable agriculture, promote food security, and protect the environment

a) To formulate policies to incentivize the development of new agricultural and forestry production in the direction of saving resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing resilience and adaptation to climate change, and smart agriculture, organic agriculture, circular agriculture, meeting market requirements.

b) To promote piloting and replication of new agricultural production models and specialized production areas to meet market requirements, such as ecological agriculture, resource saving and low emissions; organic agriculture, circular agriculture, smart agriculture, high-tech agriculture, agriculture combined with industry and services.

c) To develop and effectively implement a sustainable production project of 1.0 million hectares specializing in high-quality rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta to increase the value and income of people, ensure food security, and serve processing and export.

d) To build and develop brands, geographical indications and traceability of agricultural and forestry products that do not cause deforestation and forest degradation; standards and certification systems for agricultural and forestry products, meeting the requirements of domestic and international markets.

5. Enhancing the ability to access, mobilizing and effectively using domestic and international financial resources, and promoting public-private cooperation to develop agricultural and forestry production and sustainable forest management, conserve and restore ecosystems, and support local communities and ethnic minorities.

a) To enhance accessibility, promote international cooperation and improve mechanisms and policies to mobilize financial resources from the private sector, public-private cooperation for agricultural and forestry production development, sustainable forest management, natural forest restoration associated with biodiversity conservation, and support for local communities and ethnic minorities.

b) To promote the implementation of new initiatives and financial mechanisms on climate finance, green credit, expansion of forest environmental services, and forest carbon markets, aiming to create sustainable financial sources for management sustainable forests, forest conservation and restoration, and support for local communities and ethnic minorities.

6. Integrating financial sources to limit deforestation and forest degradation, and ensuring effective and efficient mechanisms and policies are in place to accelerate the transition to an economy that is resilient and achieve international goals on forest management, sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation and response to climate change

a) To develop mechanisms and policies to effectively allocate, manage and use investment resources through programs, projects and schemes to develop agricultural and forestry production and sustainable land use.

b) To enhance investment efficiency through integrating international support programs, national target programs, and programs, projects, and schemes for agricultural and forestry development to improve investment efficiency in sustainable forest management and land use, biodiversity conservation and response to climate change.

c) To boost up coordination and inter-sectoral cooperation in the process of developing and implementing programs, projects, and agricultural and forestry development to transition to an economy that is resilient and achieves international goals on limiting deforestation and forest degradation.

(Detailed list of tasks in the Appendix attached to this Decision).

IV.  FUNDING

1. Funding sources for implementing the Plan include (central and local) state budget; other sources of funding, aid, and legal mobilization from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in accordance with the law provisions.

2. Based on the assigned tasks in the Plan, relevant ministries and branches shall develop plans and make estimates of funding needs, submit them to competent authorities for approval and implementation in accordance with the law provisions on state budget, public investment and other relevant laws.

3. Localities shall allocate local budgets and mobilize other lawful capital sources for the implementation of the Plan in their localities in accordance with the law provisions; and the central budget allocated for supporting difficult localities that cannot balance their budgets according to current laws.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

a) Acting as a standing agency to assist the Prime Minister in urging, organizing the implementation, guiding and inspecting the implementation of the Plan, handling problems arising during the implementation of the Plan; making annual or ad-hoc (if required) reports to the Prime Minister on the implementation of the Plan, carrying out (3-year or 5-year) review on the implementation of the Plan and synthesize the implementation.

b) Implementing and guiding the implementation of the assigned tasks in the Government's Resolution No. 26/NQ-CP dated February 27, 2023, promulgating the Government's Action Plan to implement Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2022, of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on agriculture, farmers, and rural areas through 2030, with a vision toward 2045; the Prime Minister's Decision No. 523/QD-TTg dated April 1, 2021, approving the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; the Prime Minister's Decision No. 150/QD-TTg dated January 28, 2022, approving the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; the Prime Minister's Decision No. 809/QD-TTg dated July 12, 2022, approving the Program on sustainable forestry development for the 2021 - 2025 period, and other related programs, schemes, plans and projects.

c) Developing and implementing mechanisms and policies on investment in forestry, production and trade of agricultural and forestry products that do not cause deforestation and forest degradation, and forest carbon sequestration and storage services, economic development under the forest canopy, encouraging the development of new agricultural and forestry production in the direction of saving resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing resilience and adapting to climate change, agriculture smart agriculture, organic agriculture, circular agriculture and other related mechanisms and policies.

d) Directing and guiding the implementation of tasks of managing, protecting and restoring forest ecosystems; conserving nature and biodiversity in forest ecosystems; limiting deforestation and forest degradation; controlling the conversion of forest use purposes to other purposes; promoting the development of sustainable production and consumption of agricultural and forestry products; allocating forests, leasing forests, protecting forests and developing livelihoods for forest-dependent people and local communities in association with the tasks of protecting and developing forests; using agricultural and forestry land in a sustainable and multi-purpose manner and in accordance with master plans and plans on land use or combat against desertification and land degradation, and exchange and offset mechanisms for forest carbon credits in accordance with the law provisions on environmental protection and other related tasks.

dd) Coordinating with ministries, branches and localities to research and propose coordination mechanisms and integrate resources from international cooperation programs, private sectors, public-private cooperation and legal sources other to implement the Plan.

e) Assuming the prime responsibility for developing and implementing communication activities, building capacity and awareness for relevant parties to implement the Plan.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

a) Assuming the prime responsibility for performing tasks related to land use master plans and plans, conversion of land use purposes; multi-purpose land use; strictly managing and effectively using land; organizing the implementation of the national biodiversity conservation master plan; managing biodiversity; developing mechanisms and policies on carbon credit management and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

b) Directing and guiding provincial-level People's Committees to review land use master plans and plans to ensure targets for use of protective forest land, special-use forest land and production forest land in accordance with the National Assembly's Resolution No. 39/2021/QH15 dated November 13, 2021, on  national land use master plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, and national 5-year land use plan for the 2021 - 2025 period, the Prime Minister's Decision No. 326/QD-TTg dated March 9, 2022, on the allocation of land use planning targets for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, and the national 5-year land use plan for the 2021 - 2025 period; implementing the Government's Resolution No. 37/NQ-CP dated March 17, 2023, promulgating the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2022, of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on continuing to innovate and complete institutions and policies, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of land management and use, creating motivation to turn Vietnam into a high-income developed country; reviewing land use master plans and plans, and settling disputes related to agricultural and forestry land. Researching and proposing to supplement regulations on land management and use and land policies for ethnic minorities, in order to resolve residential land and production land for ethnic minorities; decentralizing power to localities and strengthening the personal responsibility of leaders, while having tools to inspect and supervise law enforcement and develop mechanisms and policies, contributing to terminating the situation of ethnic minorities losing their land again.

c) Directing and guiding provincial-level People's Committees to review and complete land allocation separate from forest allocation, management, protection, development of forests, issuance of certificates of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets; promulgating within their competence or proposing competent authorities to promulgate mechanisms and policies on forest land allocation and lease related to the implementation of the Plan. Promoting digital transformation in the field of land management and use; building and completing the land information system and database.

d) Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities in, reviewing and evaluating land use management of agricultural and forestry companies, status of management and use of land funds originating from agricultural and forestry farms that have been handed over to the localities; advising and proposing to competent authorities solutions to improve the efficiency of land use originating from agricultural and forestry farms, effectively preventing acts of encroachment and deforestation to use land for agricultural production and other purposes.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a) Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with relevant ministries and branches in, developing and completing policies to attract investment from international resources, private sectors and other legal sources.

b) Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies in, consolidating, arranging and integrating development investment capital in national target programs or relevant programs and projects in accordance with the law provisions on public investment to implement the Plan.

4. The Ministry of Finance

a) Based on the central budget's capacity to balance, on the basis of proposals from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant ministries and branches, consolidating and arranging in annual recurrent expenditure estimates, submitting to competent authorities for approval in accordance with the Law on State Budget and relevant law provisions to implement the Plan.

b) Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in, formulating a project to develop the carbon market in Vietnam in accordance with the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, submitting to competent authorities for approval in August 2023.

5. The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs

a) Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health and relevant agencies in, guiding and organizing the implementation of programs and projects for developing sustainable agricultural and forestry economy in association with protecting forests, developing medicinal herbs by value chains, improving livelihoods and increasing income in ethnic minority and mountainous regions.

b) Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and relevant agencies in, reviewing, summarizing, evaluating implementation results and proposing solutions to handle residential land and production land for ethnic minorities and mountainous regions according to the National Target Program for socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous regions in the 2021 - 2030 period.

6. People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities

a) Assuming the prime responsibility for organizing the implementation of contents and tasks in the Plan in the localities; allocating funds, mobilizing and integrating resources to implement the Plan in accordance with the law provisions.

b) Resolving problems related to land originating from state-owned agricultural and forestry farms in the localities; resolving residential land and production land for ethnic minorities and mountainous regions in accordance with the law provisions, realizing the goals of resolving residential land and production land according to the National Assembly's Resolution No. 88/2019/QH14, approving the overall scheme on socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous regions in the 2021 - 2030 period.

c) Integrating targets on forests and forestry land into provincial-level master plans; continuing to complete forest management records; accelerating the allocation and lease of forests in association with the issuance of forest land use right certificates according to regulations, unifying forest boundaries on the map and in the field.

d) Evaluating the results of the implementation of the Plan on an annual basis; carry outing a preliminary review of the 2023 - 2025 period, summarizing after the end of the Plan, and reporting it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to summarize and report to the Prime Minister.

7. Relevant ministries and agencies

Proactively deploying the Plan according to functions and tasks within the assigned state management scope; developing and integrating with programs, projects, schemes and allocating funds to implement the Plan.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, heads of relevant agencies and units shall implement this Decision./.

For the Prime Minister

The Deputy Prime Minister

TRAN LUU QUANG
 

* All Appendices are not translated herein.