Decision No. 763/QD-TTg dated May 21, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the Scheme “Overall Viet Nam elephant conservation in the phase 2013 – 2020”

THE PRIME MINISTER

Decision No.  763/QD-TTg dated May 21, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the Scheme “Overall Viet Nam elephant conservation in the phase 2013 – 2020”

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Government organization;

Pursuant to the December 03, 2004 Law on forest protection and development;

Pursuant to the November 26, 2003 Land Law;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 23/2006/ND-CP dated March 03, 2006 of the Government on the implementation of the Law on forest protection and development;

Pursuant to the Decision No. 940/QD-TTg dated July 19, 2012 of the Prime Minister approving the urgent action plan for elephant conservation in Vietnam by 2020;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development at the Report No. 1491/TTr-BNN-TCLN dated May 06, 2013 on approving the scheme "Overall Vietnam’s elephant conservation in the phase 2013-2020",

DECIDES:

Article 1.To approve the scheme on overall Vietnam’s elephant conservation in the phase 2013-2020 with the principal contents as follows:

1. Scheme’s name: Scheme “Overall Vietnam’s elephant conservation in the phase 2013-2020", (hereinafter called the Scheme)

2. Objective

a. General objective

Conserving and sustainably developing the wild and tame elephant populations existing in Vietnam; conserving, protecting genetic resources of the endangered, precious and rare animals and plants; and biodiversity in the biotopes in which elephants live. Enhancing the cooperation in exercising law, controlling activities of illegally trading and transporting Elephants tusks and derivatives, contributing in conservation of the elephant populations in region and the world.

b. Specific targets

- To prevent and stop acts of hunting, harming elephants and illegally invading in area planned for elephant conservation; to minimize human negative impacts on the natural survival of wild elephants.

- Enhancing the law execution, control, struggle against activities of illegally trading, transporting, storing Elephants tusks, parts and derivatives, including elephant specimen originated from foreign country.

- Zoning three areas prioritized for conservation and sustainable development of the wild elephant populations at areas where there is elephant’s distribution.

- Conserving, displacing and developing the tame elephant populations existing in Dak Lak province (moving the sequestered elephant herds with few elephants such as the elephant herd in Vu Quang National garden, Ha Tinh province, the alone elephants at the management board of Nam Huoai forest, Lam Dong province to the elephant conservation Center of Dak Lak province and National garden Yok Don).

- Minimizing damages due to conflict elephant/person at areas has elephants’ distribution. Combining the elephant conservation with the ecological tourism and socio-economic development.

3. Scope, subject

a. Scope: Provinces, cities that are having elephants and movement corridor of wild elephants at present.

b. Subject: The existing wild and tame elephant populations, owners of forest having elephants, the elephant conservation center of Dak Lak province and owners of tame elephants.

4. Principal content of Scheme

a. Conservation of wild elephants in natural environment

- Formulating and implementing projects on conservation of the wild elephant populations in 03 provinces: Nghe An, Dak Lak and Dong Nai.

- Strengthening capacity of law execution, forest protection, wild animal protection, preventing situation of hunting, killing elephant and endangered, precious and rare animals in accordance with current regulation.

- Connecting, coordinating synchronous implementation of action plan on elephant conservation with activities of other conservation projects in area.

- Organizing prevention of harming elephant; enhancing skills of elephant/people conflicting prevention; preventing cultivation invasion, settler invasion in areas planned for elephant conservation.

b. Conserving on the spot for the elephant populations with number of elephant herds not many.

Implementing projects on survey, assessment on situation of existing elephant conservation and distribution areas of the elephant populations which have few number, small and sequestered herd structure, risk of being threatened in natural environment; organizing the conservation measures on the spot for sustainable development.

c. Controlling the trading of Elephants tusks, parts and derivatives.

- Strengthening control of activities of domestically trading elephants’ tusks and products; import, export and transit activities of the elephant tusk specimens, focusing on sea ports, air ports and some areas of important international border-gate areas.

- Inventorying, supervising, making management record of elephant specimens captured from cases of illegal transport, trading, export and import.

- Building national archival warehouse for management of elephant s tusk and other precious and rare animal specimens.

- Strengthening the inter-sector cooperation, information share between the law enforcement agencies in struggling, handling acts of killing elephants, illegally trading elephants’ tusks as well as elephants’ parts and directives.

d. Formulating and implementing plans on zoning for elephant protection, preventing the elephant/ people conflicts, protecting the habitat and the natural elephants’ movement corridor, attaching the elephant conservation with tasks of the management board of specialized forests where elephants are living.

dd. Implementing peripheral conservation projects such as moving, rejoining herds to new habitat, ensuring sustainable development for elephants.

- Planning a natural area that is enough large to able to conserve and develop in sustainable and long-term manner for elephant herds in Vietnam.

- Making projects and organizing projects’ implementation related to moving, rejoining herds at areas where the elephant populations are not able to develop because there are only female elephants or at areas where there are only some alone elephants.

- Cooperating on inter-border conservation with neighbor countries consisting of Laos and Cambodia.

e. Developing tame elephants

- Researching fertility for tame elephants with the aim to conserve and develop the quantity of existing tame elephants nationwide.

- Developing the elephant Center of Dak Lak province so as to advise the care of health, reproduction and medical treatment for elephants.

- Researching, proposing measures taming some alone elephants in projects on moving and rejoining in herds, with the aim to promote reproduction for sustainable development of tame elephant herds.

g. Propagation and education

- Propagating law, publishing documents on elephant conservation with the aim to raise awareness on elephant conservation of community in villages, hamlets who are living near to areas where have elephants’ distribution, in master plans, projects on elephant conservation.

- Popularizing the experiences in preventing elephant/ people conflicts, skills to evict elephants turning back forest, for peoples living near areas having elephant’s distribution.

- Training, educating to raise awareness on forest protection, elephant protection and biological conservation, improving the skills in preventing the elephant/ people conflicts, protecting assets and crops of local people.

h. International cooperation

- Building and implementing minutes of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the aim to strictly supervise the control of elephant trading and elephant products across the border.

- Setting up the system of information and database provision, exchanging professional experiences, managing the inter-border elephant conservation.

- Formulating the coordination regulation in elephant conservation and forest protection between owners managing forests of bordering countries with the aim to protect the corridor for moving, traveling of elephant herds.

- Coordinating, sharing experiences and information with countries in region, countries having the elephant distribution, countries consuming elephant specimens and international organizations so as to control trading across the border of elephant specimens.

5. Solutions to implement project

a. Planning

Planning the zones prioritized for elephant conservation including: Pu Mat national garden (Nghe An province); Cat Tien national garden at area bordering with the Dong Nai cultural and natural conservation zone, La Nga forestry limited liability company (Dong Nai province); Yok Don national garden (Dak Lak and Dak Nong province), Ea H Mơ and La Lop forestry limited liability company in Dak Lak province and areas implementing content of elephant conservation operation in natural environment; conserving on the spot the elephant populations with quantity not many, sequestered habitat at zones: Pu Hoat national garden, Pu Huong national garden (Nghe An province), Bu Gia Map national garden (Binh Phuoc province), Song Thanh natural conservation zone (Quang Nam province). Combining elephant conservation with the ecology conservation and conservation of the endangered, precious and rare animals and plants in habitat areas of Pu Mat national garden (Nghe An province);

b. Mechanisms, policies

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with Ministries, relevant sectors and local authorities in formulating and submitting to the Prime Minister for approval of policies:

+ Policy on reproductive assistance for tame elephant with the aim to conserve and develop the number of existing tame elephants at localities;

+ Issuing regulation on tame elephant management and supervision.

- The People’s Committees of : Nghe An, Dak Lak and Dong Nai provinces shall formulate and submit to competent authorities for approval of investment projects on elephant conservation and attaching responsibility of conserving elephants and wild animals to the management boards of specialized forests, in accordance with the existing regulations.

- Policies on compensation, assistance and resettlement for persons who are recovered land, must move out areas having elephant distribution; assistance for damages due to elephant/people conflicts: complying with current regulations.

c. Solutions on human resources

- The management boards of specialized forests having elephant distribution, ranger forces and authorities at all levels in localities shall allocate human resource for implementing content of Scheme on elephant conservation in their localities.

- People’s Committee of Dak Lak province shall recruit and train human resource for the elephant conservation Center in accordance with regulation.

d. Science solutions and international cooperation

- Researching and carrying out methods to manage and supervise wild elephants through attaching electronic chips and monitoring via satellite images.

- Researching reproductive assistance and health care for tame elephants.

- Building and developing the elephant conservation Center in Dak Lak province.

- Building national archival warehouse for storing specimens of elephants and endangered, precious and rare species that are seized serving purpose of conservation, science research, collection and organization of displays, sightseeing, education, and training and information propagation.

- Strengthening international cooperation with countries having the elephant distribution and international organizations of elephant conservation; attracting aid sources, financial and technical assistance in elephant conservation; bilateral and multilateral cooperation with countries, with the aim to strictly prescribe control of trading the specimens such as elephants’ tusk and parts crossing borders.

e. Solution on capital and investment mechanism

- Demand on investment capital

+ Total estimated investment capital in the phase 2013 – 2020 about VND 278 billion;

+ Capital sources: From the State budget and mobilized from funding of foreign organizations and individuals.

- Investment mechanism: Elaboration and approval of investment projects in Scheme shall comply with current regulation.

Mechanism of allocating investment capital: Implementing in the principle: Projects in which the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is investor, the investment capital shall be assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for implementation; Projects in which the provincial People’s Committees are investors, the investment capital shall be assigned directly to localities for implementation.

6. Implementation organization:

a. Ministries and central sectors:

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with Ministries, relevant sectors and localities in: directing, implementing Scheme; elaborating and approving, implementing projects on moving, rejoining alone herds, elephants to habitat ensuring for sustainable development of elephants.

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Natural Resources and Environment in: guiding localities to elaborate, organize appraisal and approval for projects in accordance with regulations, including: Nghe An, Dak Lak and Dong Nai; projects on conserving on the spot the elephant populations with quantity of herd is few, being sequestered with the aim of conservation and sustainable development; projects on attaching chips, monitoring elephants and researching for solving reproduction matter of tame elephants.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, in allocating, balancing investment fund for implementing projects in Scheme according to annual plans, submit to the Prime Minister for approval.

- The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with Ministries of Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development in allocating the economic and non-business capital sources to investors performing projects to submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision; guiding the mechanism of allocation, management, user, payment and finalization of funding used for implementing the projects as prescribed by the Law on State budget.

- Ministries of: Finance, Public Security, National Defense shall direct their relevant agencies in closely coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to implement the inventory, management, supervision of elephant’s specimens; enhancing law execution, control of hunting, killing the elephants, illegally trading elephant’s tusks and products, derivatives of elephants in domestic area and international border-gates.

b. The provincial People’s Committees where have elephant distribution.

Elaborating projects on elephant conservation and submitting them to competent authorities for approval; propagating, popularizing, educating elephant conservation; enhancing examination, control of law execution in field of biodiversity conservation and elephant conservation.

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

Article 3.Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, National Defense, Public Security, Industry and Trade, heads of relevant agencies and the Presidents of People’s Committees of central-affiliated cities and provinces shall implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

Hoang Trung Hai