Proposing the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council to allow the development of a Resolution to support funding for forest protection and management

On the morning of December 8, continuing the program of the 11th session of the 18th Provincial People's Council, term 2021-2026, the Provincial People's Council delegates discussed in the hall.

Overview of the discussion session in the hall on the morning of December 8. Photo: Thanh Cuong

PROPOSAL FOR THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL TO ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT FUNDING FOR FOREST PROTECTION MANAGEMENT

At the discussion session, delegate Tran Ngoc Son (Tan Ky unit) raised the issue that, as of September 2022, the whole province has 299/411 communes meeting new rural standards, while Resolution No. 18 of the Provincial People's Council sets the target that by 2025, 82% of communes will meet new rural standards, about 340 communes. Thus, in 3 years (2023-2025), the province must have 40 more communes meeting new rural standards.

Delegate Son suggested that the target should be completed soon in accordance with the spirit of the Resolution, and that the number of communes meeting the new rural standards should be increased. However, whether the number increases or decreases, two tendencies should be avoided: Debt of targets and impatience, chasing after achievements leading to violations and loss of officials.

Delegate Tran Ngoc Son (Tan Ky unit) raised the issue at the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Responding to the opinion of delegate Tran Ngoc Son (Tan Ky), Mr. Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that in the period of 2021-2025, the province set a target of having 40 communes meeting new rural standards, bringing the number of communes meeting new rural standards in the province to 340 communes.

"By the end of 2022, the whole province will have 309/411 communes meeting new rural standards. Thus, in the period of 2023-2025, the province strives to have 31 more communes meeting new rural standards to achieve the assigned plan, an average of 10 communes/year," Mr. Nguyen Van De said, emphasizing that this is a sure, sustainable step, suitable to local reality. The remaining 61 communes will meet new rural standards after 2025.

Mr. Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee discussed and answered issues of concern to delegates. Photo: Thanh Cuong

According to Mr. De, currently, communes that have met the new rural standards will continue to strive to improve to the level of advanced new rural areas and model new rural areas. Therefore, the criteria will continue to be supplemented and sustainable. Every year, the Steering Committee for New Rural Construction of the province as well as localities will continue to review and boldly remove from the list communes that no longer meet the criteria. In addition, the province is directing strongly, assigning localities to strictly evaluate the criteria when building new rural areas to avoid defaulting on the criteria.

Delegate Phan Thi Minh Ly (Yen Thanh unit) said that Nghe An is a province with a large forest area and the highest forest cover in the country. This is an advantage and great potential for the province to take the lead in the carbon credit market according to Decree No. 06/2022 dated January 7, 2022 of the Government on regulations on greenhouse gas emission reduction and ozone layer protection.

"However, in the socio-economic report of the Provincial People's Committee and on forums, this issue has not been mentioned. So, how is the province preparing to anticipate this policy and promote Nghe An's advantages?", delegate Phan Minh Ly asked.

Delegate Phan Thi Minh Ly asked a question at the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the opinion of delegate Phan Thi Minh Ly, Mr. Nguyen Van De said that Nghe An has a total area of ​​forest and forestry land planned to be up to more than 1.16 million hectares, accounting for 71.6% of the total natural area. The province's forest area is nearly 1 million hectares, of which the majority is natural forest. Therefore, the potential for forestry development in our province is very large, including the development of a market for buying and selling carbon sequestration credits from forests.

Implementing the Government's policy, Nghe An province has promptly issued an action plan on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through forestry development (REDD). Currently, the Forest Protection and Development Fund ofThe province is advising the Department of Agriculture to actively contribute ideas to perfect this policy for implementation. Initially, the Central Government provided 10.5 billion VND to build the project.

At the discussion session, the provincial People's Council delegates also suggested that the province pay attention to policies for forest protection forces because forest protection work is difficult and arduous, and the low policies are not enough to pay, treat, and attract human resources to participate in forest protection work.

Specialized force patrolling to protect the forest. Photo: Nhat Lan

Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that the province's forest area is nearly 1 million hectares, of which the majority is natural forest, which needs to be strictly protected because according to regulations it cannot be exploited.

Regarding the regime and policies for specialized forest protection forces, the unit price for forest protection management according to regulations has long been low. Specifically, the highest is 400,000 VND/ha, the lowest is 100,000 VND/ha.

During the 2016-2020 period, due to the lack of policies for this force, the Provincial People's Committee requested a special mechanism for Nghe An and was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to apply a forest protection budget for the specialized forest protection force of VND 100,000/ha/year. However, this budget still does not meet the demand and is often provided slowly, so it cannot ensure the livelihood of this force.

To ensure the regime for this force, thereby improving the effectiveness of forest management and protection, the Provincial People's Committee is preparing a dossier to request the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council to allow the development of a Resolution to support funding for forest management and protection for specialized forest protection forces, hoping that the Provincial People's Council will consider it.

ATTRACT BUSINESSES, INCREASE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION VALUE

Delegate Ha Thi Phuong Thao (Nghia Dan unit) assessed that agriculture, rural areas, and farmers in the province have developed and changed in appearance in recent times, but there are still many limitations. So, what solutions do the Provincial People's Committee and the sectors have to solve the difficulties in "agriculture" and the implementation of the province's projects on expanding and developing fruit trees and livestock development projects?

Delegate Ha Thi Phuong Thao (Nghia Dan unit) raised an issue at the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the policy of developing agriculture and rural areas, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De said that the province's agriculture has developed well in recent years. In 2022, the growth rate in the province's agricultural sector reached 4.78%, among the top in the country. Besides, the basic prices are good, only the price of buffalo is low due to the influence of the Chinese market.

Analyzing in depth the project to expand and develop fruit trees, Mr. De said that in 2020, the total area of ​​fruit trees in the province reached 22,800 hectares, the target by 2025 is 30,000 hectares, by 2030 is 50,000 hectares. Due to the Government's land planning, the province has encountered difficulties in expanding the area of ​​fruit trees and developing agriculture. Besides, the situation of pests and diseases is complicated, especially on orange trees.

Provincial leaders and provincial People's Council delegates attended the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

"The Department of Agriculture is directing localities to switch to other crops for a few years in areas affected by pests and diseases before replanting. During that time, the pineapple growing area can be increased and pineapple processing factories are being attracted to the area," said Mr. De.

Regarding the livestock development project, the target for the pig herd by 2025 is 1.1 million heads, but by 2022 the target has been reached. For poultry, it has reached 33.2 million heads, exceeding the target by 2025 of 32 million heads. The herd of buffalo and cows has reached 785,000 heads, nearly reaching the target by 2025 of 790,000 heads. To solve the difficulties in output and prices in livestock farming, the province has proposed solutions to expand the market, increase processing and preservation, thereby increasing the value of livestock farming for farmers.

Regarding the delegates' opinions on the Khe Thi 1 Reservoir Project (Nghi Cong Nam Commune, Nghi Loc District), Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De said that the project to repair and upgrade the Khe Thi Reservoir was approved by the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee in 2013 with a total investment of VND 48,302 billion, including the following items: expanding, raising and reinforcing the earth dam; expanding the spillway; building a new water intake culvert under the dam and irrigation canal.

Provincial People's Council delegates attending the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

By 2016, the capital allocated for the project was 11,400 billion VND. However, because the project was approved before the 2014 Law on Public Investment, the capital source and the ability to balance capital were not clearly assessed, leading to the project being delayed. In addition, the current contract unit prices have increased sharply, making it difficult to complete the investment items according to the decision of the Provincial People's Committee.

"The investor is requested to review the entire project and submit it to the competent authorities for settlement of the completed part. After settlement, select urgent items, determine costs and capital sources to establish a new investment project according to regulations in the coming time," said Mr. De.