New policies related to forestry development.

On November 26th, the People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An province implemented...Forestry planningThe national plan for the period 2021-2030, with consideration up to 2050, was also disseminated. Simultaneously, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development disseminated new policies on forestry development and handed over forestry planning maps and data to relevant units and localities. Notably, three new legal documents issued by the National Assembly and the Government contain several policies and regulations related to the forestry sector. These are the Land Law of 2024; Decree No. 91/2024/ND-CP dated July 18, 2024, amending and supplementing Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018, detailing the implementation of some articles of the Forestry Law; and the Investment Policy in Forestry stipulated in Decree No. 58/2024/ND-CP.

Land LawResolution No. 31/2024/QH15, adopted by the 15th National Assembly at its 5th extraordinary session, comprises 16 chapters and 260 articles, effective from August 1, 2024. It contains many new points aimed at promoting sustainable forestry development. Simultaneously, it amends and supplements several articles to address bottlenecks related to the authority to change the purpose of forest land use, forest allocation plans, and forest leasing.

Specifically, the new points of the 2024 Land Law in the field...forestryRegarding land classification, the regulation defining the "unused land" group has been revised to "land whose purpose of use has not been determined and which has not been allocated or leased."

This is a new regulation compared to the 2013 Land Law. Accordingly, forest land includes both forested and non-forested land after clear-cutting, or barren land, deforested hills, rocky mountains, and areas of inland water interspersed within sustainable natural ecosystems that cannot be separated, and is planned for forest development through new forest planting, reforestation, or regeneration. This regulation will address the current inconsistency in the statistics, management, and use of forest land.

The 2024 Land Law amends and supplements several articles of the Forestry Law: Specifically, regarding the principles of forest allocation, forest leasing, conversion of forest land use to other purposes, and forest reclamation, it is stipulated that they must be consistent with the national forestry plan, provincial plan, or district-level land use plan. This regulation has expanded the principles for forest allocation, forest leasing, conversion of forest land use to other purposes, and forest reclamation to only require consistency with one of the three aforementioned plans.

Regarding the basis for forest allocation, forest leasing, conversion of forest land to other purposes, and forest reclamation: The plan for forest allocation, forest leasing, and conversion of forest land to other purposes of the district-level People's Committee must be approved by the provincial-level People's Committee, or the annual land use plan of the district level must be approved by the competent authority. This regulation expands the basis for forest allocation, forest leasing, conversion of forest land to other purposes, and forest reclamation to only require compliance with one of the two aforementioned plans.

Authority to decide on the policy of changing forest land use: The Provincial People's Council decides on the policy of changing forest land use to other purposes, except for projects under the authority of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, or the Provincial People's Council, which approves and decides on investment policies according to the Law on Investment, the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership method, and the Law on Oil and Gas. Thus, essentially, the authority to decide on the policy of changing forest land use (regardless of limits or forest types) has been decentralized to the Provincial People's Council; it is no longer divided into three levels (National Assembly, Prime Minister, Provincial People's Council) as in the old regulations.

Regarding the cultivation, development, and harvesting of medicinal plants in special-use forests, the following regulations apply: Forest owners shall develop a plan for the cultivation, development, and harvesting of medicinal plants in special-use forests and submit it to the competent authority for approval. Forest owners may organize, cooperate with, or lease forest land to organizations or individuals for the cultivation, development, and harvesting of medicinal plants or for conducting scientific research. The cultivation, development, and harvesting of medicinal plants in special-use forests shall be carried out in accordance with the Regulations.forest managementand other relevant legal provisions.

Regulations concerning scientific research, teaching, internships, and tourism activities.ecologyThe regulations regarding ecotourism, recreation, and the cultivation and development of medicinal plants in protected forests have been supplemented with the following provisions: Construction of facilities serving ecotourism, recreation, and entertainment; and the cultivation and development of medicinal plants are permitted within protected forests.

Regarding the cultivation and development of medicinal plants in protection forests, specific regulations include: Forest owners must develop a plan for cultivating and developing medicinal plants in protection forests and submit it to the competent authority for approval. Forest owners may organize, cooperate with, or lease forest land to organizations or individuals for the cultivation and development of medicinal plants or for conducting scientific research. The cultivation and development of medicinal plants in protection forests must comply with the Forest Management Regulations and other relevant laws.