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^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

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

Pursuant to the November 15, 2017 Law on Forestry;

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

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

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

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 37/NQ-CP of March 17, 2023, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of June 16, 2022, of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on further reform and improvement of institutions and policies, improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the land management and use, thereby creating a driving force to turn ours into a high-income developed country;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 523/QD-TTg of April 1, 2021, approving the Strategy for Vietnam’s forestry development for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 150/QD-TTg of January 28, 2022, approving the Strategy for sustainable agricultural and rural development for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 149/QD-TTg of January 28, 2022, approving the National Biodiversity Strategy through 2030, with a vision toward 2050;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 326/QD-TTg of March 9, 2022, on the allocation of national land-use planning targets for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, and the national land-use plan for the 2021-2025 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 809/QD-TTg of 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 of July 25, 2022, approving the Scheme on tasks and solutions to implement the outcomes of the 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26);

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

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

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the National Plan on the implementation of the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use through 2030 (below 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 (below referred to as the Glasgow Declaration) in accordance with the Party’s and the State’s viewpoints, guidelines and policies on forest protection and development, biodiversity conversation, sustainable land use, climate change response and green growth.

2. To improve the land use efficiency; to bring into full play the role of forests and achievements of agriculture, forestry and biodiversity protection in order to create a foundation for the country’s sustainable development. The Plan aims to fundamentally address the causes of forest loss and degradation, and land degradation, while promoting sustainable forest management.

3. The Plan requires responsible and effective participation of the entire political system, ministries, sectors and localities; mobilizes all lawful resources from domestic and international economic sectors, in which the State shall allocate resources from the state budget and mobilize resources from the private sector and international community.

4. The State adopts mechanisms and policies on enjoyment of forest benefits in order to attract domestic and international economic sectors to participate and promote the initiative of ministries, sectors, localities and related organizations in the implementation of the Plan.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. Overall objectives

To directly contribute to realizing the goals of sustainable agricultural and rural development, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management, and transition to green economy and circular economy; to promote sustainable livelihoods for the people and local communities, thereby ensuring food security and environmental protection, and contributing to the realization of the Glasgow Declaration’s commitments.

2. Specific targets

a/ By 2025, to strictly manage the existing natural forest areas, minimize the repurposing of natural forest areas, and gradually mitigate the forest and land degradation; by 2030, to basically reverse forest loss, forest-resource degradation, land degradation and desertification, thus ensuring the harmony between sustainable agricultural and forestry production development and agricultural and rural development, effectively contributing to the realization of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

b/ To strive for the target that the area of restored and upgraded poor natural forests will account for 10% and 20% of the total forest area by 2025 and 2030, respectively, thus contributing to reducing the ratio of poor natural forest areas and increasing the ratio of medium and rich natural forest areas; to improve biodiversity conservation efficiency and protection capacity; to improve productivity, economic efficiency and sustainability of planted forests and agricultural crops; the forest area eligible for sustainable forest management certification will reach 0.5 million hectares by 2025, and 1 million hectares by 2030.

c/ To improve legal institutions and policies to promote sustainable agro-forestry production and product consumption, and prevent forest loss, land degradation and desertification; to increase the resilience and reduce vulnerability of forests to climate change; to develop the agricultural and forestry economy toward multi-purposes, low emissions, circular economy and green economy.

III. MAJOR TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. To conserve, and step up the restoration of, forests and terrestrial ecosystems

a/ Formulating and implementing strategies, programs, schemes and projects on conservation and restoration of forests, restoration of degraded ecosystems, prevention of conversion and destruction of important ecosystems and natural landscapes, thus contributing to the realization of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).

b/ Managing conflicts and disputes over forests and land use; assessing the current state of forests and forest land areas which are subject matters of disputes and overlaps between the forestry and other sectors; formulating and implementing plans to resolve forest- and land-related disputes; planting boundary makers of forests, ensuring the consistency of boundaries of forests on maps and in the field, giving priority to areas with high risk of encroachment and prone to disputes.

c/ Incorporating contents of forest management and protection and conservation of forest ecosystems in national overall master plans, national land use master plans, regional master plans, provincial master plans, and such national sectoral master plans as forestry master plans, overall biodiversity conservation master plans, and environmental protection master plans.

d/ Building capacity of rangers and the specialized forest protection forces, and formulating inter-sectoral coordination mechanism for implementation of the law on forestry; ensuring special regimes and policies for these forces; procuring equipment and supporting tools for, and applying advanced technologies in, law enforcement, forest protection, forest fire prevention and fighting; formulating and promulgating mechanisms for and regulations on inter-sectoral coordination.

dd/ Strictly and effectively controlling forest repurposing; limiting to the utmost the use of natural forests for non-forestry purposes in strictly protected areas.

e/ Developing the national database on forest biodiversity (at the levels of  ecosystem and species); monitoring and supervising biodiversity in forest ecosystems; procuring equipment for investigation and monitoring of forest biodiversity.

2. To formulate and improve domestic and international trade policies in order to promote sustainable commodity production and consumption for common interests while preventing forest loss and land degradation

a/ Formulating policies, programs and plans to develop sustainable agro-forestry production, develop the multi-purpose value of forest ecosystems, and sustainably use land, meeting international market requirements for production of, and trade in, agro-forestry products that do not cause forest loss and land degradation.

b/ Promoting the chain-based production of sustainable and environmentally friendly agro-forestry products with high added value; facilitating trade in, and expansion of markets for, agro-forestry products.

c/ Amending, supplementing and improving regulations on production and consumption of agro-forestry products that have lawful origins and do not cause forest loss in accordance with international commitments and in conformity with Vietnam’s practical conditions; promoting sustainable forest management and grant of forest certificates.

3. To mitigate the vulnerability of forests and land; to increase resilience of forests and land, and improve rural livelihoods through empowering communities, consolidating the land management system, developing sustainable agriculture, and raising the multi-purpose value of forests; to guarantee the rights of the people and local communities in accordance with Vietnam’s laws and international practices.

a/ Assessing the vulnerability of forest ecosystems, land and livelihoods of forest-dependent communities; synchronously taking solutions to improve forest resilience and reduce forest loss and damage caused by climate change.

b/ Building the implementation capacity and responsibility of the member states of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification; formulating and implementing a national action program to combat desertification and land degradation.

c/ Formulating and improving policies to promote the development of non-timber forest products and medicinal herbs under the forest canopy, and improving livelihood and increasing income for people in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

d/ Empowering residential communities and local people to manage, protect and develop forests through the allocation of forests associated with the allocation of land, assignment of forest protection tasks and enjoyment of benefits from forests, and completing the allocation of forest and forest land areas managed by commune-level People’s Committees to residential communities and local people; building the capacity of communities to manage land, protect and develop allocated forests; implementing the policy on assignment of forests to residential communities and forest-dependent people.

dd/ Supporting communities living in buffer zones of special-use forests and areas adjacent to protection forests and production forests being natural forests in improving their livelihood and promoting sustainable agricultural production without causing forest loss.

e/ Raising and effectively using values of forests, formulating and effectively implementing a scheme for promoting the multi-purpose value of forest ecosystems in order to develop the economy under the forest canopy after combined agro-forestry models; developing non-timber forest products under the natural forest canopy; expanding the provision of forest environment services.

g/ Formulating policies on payment for forest carbon sequestration services; implementing forest carbon credit offset and exchange mechanisms to meet requirements of domestic and international carbon markets, thus contributing to achieving the forestry sector’s and the country’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions  and creating sustainable financial sources for the forest management, protection
and development.

4. To formulate and organize the effective implementation of policies and programs to develop agriculture in the direction of ensuring sustainability, food security, and environmental protection

a/ Formulating policies to promote the development of new-style agro-forestry production in the direction of saving natural resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the resilience and adaptation to climate change, as well as smart agriculture, organic agriculture and circular agriculture to meet the market’s needs.

b/ Stepping up the pilot implementation and multiplication of new agricultural production models and specialized production areas in order to meet the market’s needs, including ecological, resource-efficient and low-emission agriculture; organic agriculture, circular agriculture, smart agriculture, hi-tech agriculture, agriculture combined with industry and services.

c/ Formulating and effectively implementing a scheme on sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice fields in the Mekong River Delta in order to increase the rice value and income for the people, thereby ensuring food security and serving rice processing and export.

d/ Building and developing brands, geographical indications and traceability of agro-forestry products that do not cause forest loss and degradation; formulating standards for, and certification systems of, agro-forestry products to meet domestic and international markets’ needs.

5. To facilitate access to, and mobilization and efficient use of, domestic and international financial resources, promote investment in the public-private partnership form in agro-forestry production and sustainable forest management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, and provide support to local resident communities and ethnic minorities.

a/ Facilitating access to, and international cooperation in, and improve mechanisms and policies on, mobilization of financial resources from the private sector, implementation of public-private partnership in agro-forestry production and sustainable forest management, restoration of natural forests associated with biodiversity conservation, and provision of support to local residential communities and ethnic minorities.

b/ Stepping up the implementation of initiatives and new financial mechanisms for climate financing, green credit, and expansion of forest environment services and forest carbon markets in order to create sustainable financial sources for sustainable forest management, forest conservation and restoration, and provision of support to local residential communities and ethnic minorities.

6. To incorporate financial sources to mitigate forest loss and degradation, and adopt effective and efficient mechanisms and policies to accelerate the transition to a resilient economy and achieve international goals of forest management, sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation and climate change response

a/ Formulating mechanisms and policies on allocation, management and efficient use of investment resources through programs, projects and schemes to develop agro-forestry production and sustainably use land.

b/ Improving investment efficiency through incorporation of international support programs, national target programs, and programs, projects and schemes on agro-forestry development to improve investment efficiency in sustainable forest management and land use, biodiversity conservation and climate change response.

c/ Intensifying coordination and inter-sectoral cooperation in the course of formulating and implementing programs, projects and schemes on agro-forestry development to make transition to a resilient economy and achieve international goals of mitigation of forest loss and degradation.

(The List of tasks is provided in the Appendix to this Decision).

IV. FUNDS

1. Funds for the implementation of the Plan include central and local state budget allocations; assistance, aid and other lawful sources mobilized from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in accordance with law.

2. Based on the tasks assigned under the Plan, related ministries and sectors shall formulate funding plans and funding estimates, then submit them to competent authorities for approval, and implement them in accordance with the laws on the state budget, public investment and other relevant laws.

3. Localities shall allocate local budgets and mobilize other lawful funding sources for the implementation of the Plan in their localities in accordance with law; and the central budget shall provide support to localities that have difficulties in self-balancing their budgets under current regulations.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall

a/ Act as a standing agency to assist the Prime Minister in urging, organizing, guiding and inspecting the implementation of the Plan, address problems arising in the course of the implementation of the Plan; send annual or extraordinary (upon requests) reports to the Prime Minister on the implementation of the Plan, conduct 3-year or 5-year preliminary reviews and final review of the implementation of the Plan.

b/ Organize and guide the performance of the tasks assigned to the ministry under the Government’s Resolution No. 26/NQ-CP of February 27, 2023, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW of June 16, 2022, of the XIII^th Party Central Committee on agriculture, peasants and countryside through 2030, with a vision toward 2045; the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 523/QD-TTg of April 1, 2021, approving the Strategy for Vietnam’s forestry development for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 150/QD-TTg of January 28, 2022, approving the Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 809/QD-TTg of July 12, 2022, approving the Program on sustainable forestry development for the 2021-2025 period, and other related programs, schemes, plans and projects.

c/ Formulate and implement mechanisms and policies on investment in forestry, agro-forestry production and trade in agro-forestry products that do not cause forest loss or degradation, and forest carbon sequestration and storage services, economic development under the forest canopy, promotion of new agro-forestry production in the direction of saving natural resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving resilience and adaptation to climate change, and develop smart agriculture, organic agriculture and circular agriculture, and other relevant mechanisms and policies.

d/ Direct and guide the management, protection and restoration of forest ecosystems; conservation of nature and biodiversity in forest ecosystems; mitigation of forest loss and degradation; control of the forest repurposing; promotion of sustainable agro-forestry production and product consumption; forest allocation, lease and protection, and development of the livelihood of forest-dependent people and local resident communities in association with the forest protection and development; sustainable and multi-purpose use of agricultural and forest land under land-use master plans and plans, prevention of desertification and land degradation and forest carbon credit offset and exchange mechanisms in accordance with the law on environmental protection, and other related tasks.

dd/ Coordinate with other ministries, sectors and localities in studying and proposing mechanisms for coordination and integration of resources under international cooperation programs, from the private sector, in the form of public-private partnership, and other lawful funding sources for the implementation of the Plan.

e/ Assume the prime responsibility for planning and organizing the public communication to improve the capacity and awareness of related parties in the implementation of the Plan.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for the performance of tasks related to land-use master plans and plans, land repurposing; multi-purpose use of land; strict management and efficient use of land; organization of the implementation of the national biodiversity conservation master plan; management of biodiversity; formulation of mechanisms and policies on carbon credit management and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

b/ Direct and guide provincial-level People’s Committees in reviewing land-use master plans and plans, ensuring land-use quotas of protection forests, special-use forests and production forests in accordance with the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 39/2021/QH15 of November 13, 2021, on the national land-use master plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, and the national land-use plan for the 2021-2025 period, the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 326/QD-TTg of March 9, 2022, on the allocation of national land-use planning targets for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, and the national land-use plan for the 2021-2025 period; organize the implementation of the Government’s Resolution No. 37/NQ-CP of March 17, 2023, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of June 16, 2022, of the 5^th plenum of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on further renovation and improvement of legal institutions and policies, raising the effectiveness and efficiency of the land management and use, thereby creating a driving force to turn ours into a high-income developed country; review land-use master plans and plans, and settling disputes over agricultural and forest land; study and propose additional promulgation of regulations on land management and use and land policies applicable to ethnic minorities in order to allocate residential and production land for ethnic minorities; delegate and decentralize powers to localities and uphold the personal responsibility of leaders, and use tools to inspect and supervise the law implementation, and formulate mechanisms and policies to put an end to the situation that ethnic minority people have their land areas illegally recovered again.

c/ Direct and guide provincial-level People’s Committees in reviewing and completing the allocation of land in association with the allocation of forests, forest management, protection and development, and grant of certificates of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets; promulgate according to their competence or submit to competent authorities for promulgation mechanisms and policies on allocation and lease of forest land in relation to the implementation of the Plan; step up the digital transformation in the field of land administration and use; build and improve the land information system and databases.

d/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and provincial-level People’s Committees in, reviewing and evaluating the land management and use by agricultural and forestry companies, practical management and use of land areas previously managed by agricultural and forest farms and transferred to their localities; propose to competent authorities solutions to improve the efficiency of the use of land areas previously managed by agricultural and forestry farms, thereby effectively preventing acts of forest encroachment and deforestation for the purpose of using forest land areas for agricultural production and other purposes.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sector in, formulating and improving policies to attract investment from international resources, the private sector and other lawful funding sources.

b/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and related agencies in, summing up demands for, allocating and integrating, development investment funds under national target programs and relevant programs and projects in accordance with the law on public investment in order to implement the Plan.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall:

a/ Based on the central budget’s balancing capacity and proposals of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and related ministries and sectors, sum up demands for, and include funds in annual recurrent expenditure estimates and submit them to competent authorities for approval in accordance with the Law on the State Budget and relevant regulations in order to implement the Plan.

b/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in, formulating a scheme on development of the carbon market in Vietnam in accordance with the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, and submitting it to a competent authority for approval in August 2023.

5. The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and related agencies in, guiding and organizing the implementation of programs and projects on sustainable development of agricultural and forestry economy in association with forest protection, chain-based development of medicinal herbs, improvement of livelihood and income for people in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

b/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and related agencies in, reviewing and evaluating implementation results and proposing solutions to allocate residential and production land areas to people in ethnic minority and mountainous areas under the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2021-2030 period.

6. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for organizing the implementation of contents and tasks set forth in the Plan in their localities; allocate funds, mobilize and integrate resources for the implementation of the Plan in accordance with law.

b/ Solve problems related to land areas previously managed by state-owned agricultural and forestry farms in their localities; allocate residential and production land to people in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in accordance with law, achieve the goals of allocation of residential and production land areas set in the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 88/2019/QH14, approving the Overall Scheme on the socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2021-2030 period.

c/ Incorporate forest and forest land targets in provincial-level master plans; continue to complete forest management records; accelerate the allocation and lease of forests in association with the grant of forest land use rights certificates under regulations, and ensure the consistency of forest boundaries on maps and in the field.

d/ Carry out the annual review of the implementation of the Plan; preliminary review of the implementation of the Plan in the 2023-2025 period, and final review of the implementation of the Plan by the completion of the Plan, and report it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.

7. Related ministries and agencies shall:

Take the initiative in implementing the Plan according to their functions and tasks; formulate and integrate programs, projects and schemes, and allocate funds for the implementation of 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 provincial-level People’s Committees, and heads of related agencies and units shall implement this Decision.-

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
TRAN LUU QUANG

* The Appendix to this Decision is not translated.