Decree No. 83/2020/ND-CP amending the Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Forestry^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 15, 2017 Law on Forestry;

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

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Forestry.

Article 1.To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Forestry

1. To amend Article 41 as follows:

“Article 41. Competence, order and procedures for deciding on forest conversion

1. The National Assembly’s competence, order and procedures for deciding on the policy of forest conversion

a/ The National Assembly shall decide on the policy of forest conversion in accordance with Clause 1, Article 20 of the Law on Forestry.

b/ A written request for decision on the policy of forest conversion is a part of the dossier for approval of investment policy in accordance with the law on public investment or the law on investment, comprising: an explanatory report, a map of the current status of the forest area requested for conversion (of a scale 1:2,000 for forest areas of less than 500 hectares or of a scale 1: 5,000 for forest areas of 500 hectares or more), a report on the project’s conformity with the land use master plan and plan and national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law.

c/ For projects already accompanied by a dossier specified at Point b of this Clause for which investment policy has been approved by the National Assembly, they are not required to follow the order and procedures for forest conversion; if not accompanied by the dossier specified at Point b of this Clause, such projects must comply with the provisions of Point b, Clause 5 of this Article.

2. The Prime Minister’s competence, order and procedures for deciding on the policy of forest conversion

a/ The Prime Minister shall decide on the policy of forest conversion in accordance with Clause 2, Article 20 of the Law on Forestry.

b/ Organizations or individuals requesting forest conversion shall send directly or by post 1 set of dossier to the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the locality where the forest area requested for conversion is located. Such dossier must comprise:

- A written request for forest conversion, made by the requesting organization or individual;

- An investment project proposal report or a prefeasibility study report together with a written appraisal of a competent state agency (for projects for which investment policy has been approved or in which investment has been decided by a competent state agency: investment policy approval or investment registration certificate issued by a competent state agency according to the Law on Investment; investment policy approval or investment decision issued by a competent state agency according to the Law on Public Investment; or investment license or investment certificate issued by a competent state agency and remaining valid);

- Documents on the project’s environmental impact assessment in accordance with the laws on environmental protection, investment, and public investment;

- An explanatory report, a map of the current forest status (of a scale of 1: 2,000 for forest areas of less than 500 hectares requested for conversion or of a scale 1: 5,000 for forest areas of 500 hectares or more requested for conversion), and inventory results of the forest area requested for decision on the policy of forest conversion (forest area, forest reserve).

In case the dossier is incomplete, within 3 working days after receiving it, the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue a written reply to the organization or individual requesting forest conversion.

Within 5 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Director of the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall report it to the provincial-level People’s Committee.

c/ Within 20 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall appraise the contents submitted for approval of the policy of forest conversion. The contents of appraisal include:

- Legal grounds;

- Composition and content of the dossier;

- Necessity of project investment;

- Location (plot, sub-compartment, compartment, administrative place), forest inventory results (forest area, forest reserve); area by forest type (special-use forest, protection forest, production forest), origin (natural forest, planted forest), site conditions, reserve (for natural forests), species of trees (for planted forests);

- Compliance with relevant laws;

- Conformity with the land use master plan and plan, and national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law;

- Socio-economic benefits;

- Documents on the project’s environmental impact assessment in accordance with the laws on environmental protection, investment, and public investment;

- For projects involving conversion of natural forests: appraisal of the content stating that the project has to be implemented on an area with natural forests because other land areas cannot be allocated.

In case the appraisal result shows that the conditions for forest conversion are not fully satisfied, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason to the organization or individual requesting the forest conversion.

d/ Within 5 working days after the appraisal is completed, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall send a dossier to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which must comprise a report of the provincial-level People’s Committee, the documents specified at Points b and c of this Clause, and other relevant documents (if any).

The report of the provincial-level People’s Committee must have the following principal contents:

- General information about the project;

- Necessity of investment in the project;

- Location (plot, sub-compartment, compartment, administrative place), forest inventory results (forest area, forest reserve); area by forest type (special-use forest, protection forest, production forest), origin (natural forest, planted forest), site conditions, reserve (for natural forests), species of trees (for planted forests);

- Compliance with relevant laws;

- Compliance with the land use master plan and national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law;

- Socio-economic benefits;

- Results of the project’s environmental impact assessment in accordance with the laws on environmental protection, investment, and public investment;

- For projects involving conversion of natural forests: certification by the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee that the project has to be implemented on an area with ​​natural forests because other land areas cannot be allocated.

The chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall be held responsible before law for the completeness, comprehensiveness and accuracy of the dossier.

dd/ If the dossier is incomplete, within 3 working days after receiving it, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue a written reply to the provincial-level People’s Committee.

Within 25 working days after receiving a complete dossier as specified at Point d of this Clause, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and related ministries and sectors in, appraising the dossier; and summarize appraisal opinions and report them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on the policy of forest conversion.

The contents of appraisal of the dossier include:

- Compliance with law;

- Conformity with the land use master plan and plan, and national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law;

- Necessity of investment in the project according to the criteria specified in this Decree.

- Documents on the project’s environmental impact assessment in accordance with the laws on environmental protection, investment, and public investment;

In case the appraisal result shows that the conditions for submission of the policy of forest conversion to the Prime Minister for decision are not fully satisfied, within 5 working days after completing the appraisal of the dossier, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue a written reply to the provincial-level People’s Committee.

A dossier submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Prime Minister must comprise: a written request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, written appraisal (minutes of the meeting of the Appraisal Council or summary report on appraisal opinions of related ministries, sectors and localities), the documents specified at Point d of this Clause; and documents of related ministries, sectors and localities (if any).

In case of appraisal through soliciting written opinions, the consulted ministries, sectors and localities shall send written opinions to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within 10 working days.

3. Provincial-level People’s Councils’ competence, order and procedures for deciding on the policy of forest conversion

a/ Provincial-level People’s Councils shall decide on the policy of forest conversion for the forest areas other than those specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

b/ Organizations or individuals requesting forest conversion shall send directly or by post 1 set of dossier to the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Such dossier must comprise:

- A written request for forest conversion, made by the requesting organization or individual;

- An investment project proposal report or a prefeasibility study report together with a written appraisal of a competent state agency (for projects for which investment policy has been approved or in which investment has been decided by a competent state agency: investment policy approval or investment registration certificate issued by a competent state agency according to the Law on Investment; investment policy approval or investment decision issued by a competent state agency according to the Law on Public Investment; or investment license or investment certificate issued by a competent state agency and remaining valid);

- Documents on the project’s environmental impact assessment in accordance with the laws on environmental protection, investment, and public investment;

- An explanatory report, a map of the current forest status (of a scale of 1:2,000), inventory results of the forest area requested for decision on the policy of forest conversion (forest area, forest reserve).

In case the dossier is invalid, within 3 working days after receiving it, the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue a written reply to the organization or individual requesting forest conversion.

Within 5 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Director of the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall report it to the provincial-level People’s Committee.

c/ Within 30 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall appraise the contents submitted for approval of the policy of forest conversion. The contents of appraisal include:

- Legal grounds;

- Composition and content of the dossier;

- Necessity of investment in the project;

- Location (plot, sub-compartment, compartment, administrative place), forest inventory results (forest area, forest reserve); area by forest type (special-use forest, protection forest, production forest), origin (natural forest, planted forest), site conditions, reserve (for natural forests), species of trees (for planted forests);

- Compliance with relevant laws;

- Conformity with the land use master plan and plan, and national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law;

- Socio-economic benefits; the project’s environmental impact assessment in accordance with the laws on environmental protection, investment, and public investment;

In case the appraisal result shows that the conditions for forest conversion are not fully satisfied, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason to the organization or individual requesting the forest conversion.

d/ Within 10 working days after completing the appraisal, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall send a dossier to the provincial-level People’s Council for consideration and decision on the policy of forest conversion. Such dossier must comprise a report of the provincial-level People’s Committee, the documents specified at Points b and c of this Clause, and other relevant documents (if any).

The report of the provincial-level People’s Committee must have the following principal contents:

- General information about the project;

- Necessity of investment in the project;

- Location (plot, sub-compartment, compartment, administrative place), forest inventory results (forest area, forest reserve); area by forest type (special-use forest, protection forest, production forest), origin (natural forest, planted forest), site conditions, reserve (for natural forests), species of trees (for planted forests);

- Compliance with relevant laws;

- Compliance with the land use master plan and plan, and national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law;

- Socio-economic benefits; level of the project’s environmental impact in accordance with the law on environmental protection, investment, and public investment.

4. For an investment project involving forest conversion, the policy of forest conversion is part of the project investment policy approval.

5. For projects for which investment policy has been approved but the area of ​​the to-be-converted forest is not yet determined in the approval decision:

a/ If the project falls within the National Assembly’s competence to decide on the policy of forest conversion, the order and procedures specified at Points b, c, d, and Point dd, Clause 2 of this Article shall apply.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall draft a report and summarize the project’s dossier and report them to the Government for consideration and submission to the National Assembly for decision on the policy of forest conversion.

b/ If the project falls within the Prime Minister’s competence to decide on the policy of forest conversion, the order and procedures specified at Points b, c, d and dd, Clause 2 of this Article shall apply.

c/ If the project falls within the provincial-level People’s Councils’ competence to decide on the policy of forest conversion, the order and procedures specified at Points b, c and d, Clause 3 of this Article shall apply.”

2. To add the following Article 41a:

“Article 41a. Criteria for identifying projects allowed for conversion of natural forests

1. Projects of national importance as specified in Article 7 of the 2019 Law on Public Investment, and projects for which investment policy has been approved by the National Assembly in accordance with Article 30 of the 2014 Law on Investment.

2. Projects serving national defense or security as certified in writing by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security; those conformable with the land use master plan and plan approved by a competent state agency; and those conformable with the national forestry master plan as prescribed by the planning law.

3. Urgent projects in need of conversion of natural forests

a/ Urgent projects as prescribed in the law on the state of emergency; unexpected and urgent projects in the prevention and control of natural disasters, epidemics, fires or explosions; and urgent projects to solve problems arising in reality under decisions of the National Assembly, the Government or the Prime Minister.

b/ Urgent projects on construction of essential socio-economic infrastructure (transport, irrigation, forest protection and development), projects to create power sources and electricity transmission systems to ensure national energy security, construction and embellishment of revolutionary relics and national-level historical-cultural sites. Mineral exploration and exploitation projects and ecotourism projects approved by the Prime Minister.

When seeking approval of the policy of conversion of natural forests, projects must satisfy the following criteria:

- Having an investment project proposal in accordance with the laws on investment and public investment;

- Conforming with the national forestry master plan and land use master plan and plan approved by competent state agencies in accordance with the planning law;

- Being certified by the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee (in the report specified at Point d, Clause 2, Article 41) that the project has to be implemented on an area with ​​natural forests because other land areas cannot be allocated. The chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall be answerable to the Government and the Prime Minister and before law for the above certification. The provincial-level People’s Council shall closely monitor the proposal of the policy of forest conversion and organization of the conversion of natural forests in their respective localities;

- Being located outside strictly protected sub-zones of special-use forests; natural forests under the master plan on special-use forests and protection forests may not be converted for the implementation of mineral activities;

- Having a plan on planting of replacement forests in accordance with the law on forestry.

4. Projects for which investment policy has been approved or in which investment has been decided by competent authorities in accordance with law, but which are suspended from implementation for review under the Government’s Resolution No. 71/NQ-CP of August 8, 2017, promulgating the Government’s action program to implement Directive No. 13-CT/TW of January 12, 2017, of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, on strengthening the Party’s leadership over the forest management, protection and development, which must satisfy the following criteria:

- Being conformable with the national forestry master plan and land use master plan and plan approved by competent authorities in accordance with the planning law;

- Being certified by the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee (in the report specified at Point d, Clause 2, Article 41) that the project has to be implemented on an area with ​​natural forests because other land areas cannot be allocated. The chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall be answerable to the Government and the Prime Minister and before law for the above certification. The provincial-level People’s Council shall closely monitor the proposal of the policy of forest conversion and organization of the conversion of natural forests in their respective localities;

- Being located outside strictly protected sub-zones of special-use forests; natural forests under the master plan on special-use forests and protection forests may not be converted for the implementation of mineral activities;

In case of necessity, the Appraisal Council (formed under Point dd, Clause 2, Article 41 of this Decree) shall organize a field inspection and survey of the natural forest area planned for conversion to implement the projects referred to in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article.

5. The Government shall assign the Prime Minister to decide on the policy of conversion of natural forests for projects serving national defense or security; and other urgent projects specified in Clause 2, Article 14 of the Law on Forestry, except projects falling within the competence of the National Assembly; the composition of dossiers, order and procedures are specified in Clause 2 of the amended and supplemented Article 41 (Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decree).”

3. To add the following Article 41b:

“Article 41b. Provisions on forest areas that have been planned for non-forestry use purposes

For forest areas that have been planned for non-forestry use purposes but of which the conversion has not yet been decided by a competent authority, the provisions on conversion applicable to the corresponding type of forest prior to approval of the master plan to use such forest area for non-forestry purposes shall apply.”

Article 2.Implementation provision

This Decree takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3.Transition provisions

1. For projects involving forest areas the conversion of which is decided by competent state agencies before January 1, 2019, in accordance with the Law on Forest Protection and Development and the Government’s Resolution No. 71/NQ-CP of August 8, 2017, promulgating the Government’s action program to implement Directive No. 13-CT/TW of January 12, 2017, of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, on strengthening the Party’s leadership over the forest management, protection and development, but which have not been completed, they may continue to be implemented; the planting of replacement forests for the forest areas not yet converted by December 31, 2018, must comply with Article 21 of the Law on Forestry.

2. The procedures and dossiers specified in this Decree are not required for projects on which opinions are given by ministries and sectors and summarized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and reported to the Government for consideration and decision on the policy of forest conversion (according to the order and procedures specified in Article 41 of the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018) before the effective date of this Decree.

Article 4.Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and related agencies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC