Joint Circular No. 07/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BTNMT dated January 29, 2011 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding forest allocation and lease in association with forestland allocation and lease

MAPS USED FOR FOREST ALLOCATION OR LEASE BELONG TO THE VN-2000 SYSTEM

On January 29, 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued the Joint Circular No. 07/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BTNMT guiding forest allocation and lease in association with forestland allocation and lease.

This Circular guides coordination between natural resources and environment agencies and ranger agencies under agriculture and rural development agencies (below referred to ranger agencies) in allocating or leasing forests in association with allocating or leasing forestland for the fir time; completing forest allocation or lea dossiers, completing cadastral dossiers in case forests have been allocated or leased but forestland has not yet been allocated or leased or certificates have not yet been granted.

In case land without forest is allocated or leased for forestry purposes or land use rights are recognized for current users of land with forests planted by themselves with non-state budget funds, the land allocation and lease and grant of certificates comply with the land law.

Maps used for forest allocation or lease and forestland allocation or lease   belong to the VN-2000 system of reference of a 1:10,000 or 1:5,000 scale. When cadastral maps are available in localities, these maps must be used for forest allocation or lease and forestland allocation or lease.When cadastral maps are unavailable in localities, existing topographical maps of the largest scale will be for forest allocation or lease and forestland allocation or lease. In case existing maps do not belong to the VN-2000 system of reference, they must be converted into those belonging to such system before use.

After receiving dossiers of request for forest allocation or lease in association with forestland allocation or lease or dossiers o application for certificates, natural resources an environment agencies shall examine the dossier in terms of land allocation or lease condition and grant certificates under the land law; and concurrently send 1 set of such dossiers to rang-agencies of the same level for appraisal of fore allocation or lease conditions.

This Circular takes effect on March 25, 2011. For forestland areas which were allocated or leased or for which land use rights were recognized and forests were allocated or leased under state regulations before March 25, 2011, their forest allocation or lease dossiers, land allocation or lease dossiers, cadastral dossiers and certificates remain valid while procedures are not required to be carried out under this Circular.