Procedure for processing applications for forest environmental service payments.

(Baonghean) - To effectively implement the forest environmental service policy in the province, on May 11, 2016, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Guideline No. 1087 on the procedures for implementing the policy of payment for forest environmental services (FES) in Nghe An province.

Do Luong Forestry Company Limited produces acacia seedlings for reforestation. Photo: Hoang Vinh

The guidelines consist of six parts: 1. General provisions; 2. Principles, methods, content, procedures, and implementation of reviewing forest boundaries and areas within the forest ecosystem service supply basin; 3. Procedures for developing district-level forest management and protection plans, plans for the use of funds, and other plans; 4. Procedures for preparing contract documents and technical designs for forest protection serving the payment of forest ecosystem services for the period 2016-2020; 5. Procedures for settling payments for forest environmental services; 6. Implementation.

Accordingly, the procedure for processing payment documents for forest environmental services is as follows:

a) For forest owners who are households, individuals, village communities, and organizations that are not forest owners but are entrusted by the State with the responsibility of managing forests.

Step 1. Prepare and approve relevant documents: Based on the Decision approving the watershed boundary and forest area within the watershed, the district-level forest ranger unit (representing the district-level payment organizations) coordinates with the commune-level People's Committee and relevant units to prepare a forest management and protection plan according to the prescribed contents. Based on the approved forest management and protection plan, the district-level forest ranger unit coordinates with the commune-level People's Committee and relevant units to prepare the allocation and contracting documents; and the technical design according to the prescribed procedures.

Step 2. Implementation:

- Before July 15th of each year, the district-level payment organization shall prepare and consolidate the plan and budget for payments for forest ecosystem services (FES) throughout the district for forest owners including households, individuals, village communities, and forest areas managed by the commune People's Committee, and submit it to the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund. The FES payment plan shall include: a table determining the area of ​​forest providing FES, a report explaining the payment plan, and an estimate of management costs;

- Compile a list of forest owners who are households, individuals, or village communities and submit it to the district-level People's Committee for approval after confirmation from the commune-level People's Committee. This list is approved at the same time as the approval of the forest protection technical design dossier. Annually, the district-level payment organization reviews and advises on adjustments if there are changes in forest owners or changes in forest cover.

- Before December 31st, compile the results of forest protection for the provision of forest ecosystem services (based on reports from the People's Committees of the communes) and complete the verification and compilation of a summary table of forest protection acceptance results for payment of forest ecosystem services, along with a report to be sent to the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund as a basis for entrusted payment of forest ecosystem services for the planned year.

- In cases where there are requests from households, individuals, village communities, and other necessary cases, the district-level payment organization will take the lead in coordinating with relevant agencies and units to conduct inspections and acceptance testing. The report on the results must be submitted to the provincial-level Forest Protection and Development Fund before January 15th of the following year as a basis for payment of forest protection and development service fees.

- Coordinate with the People's Committee at the commune level to direct village heads to publicly display the summary list and area of ​​forest land eligible for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) for forest owners in the village community or in the most convenient public place for people to easily monitor before payment is made...

b) For forest owners who are management boards of protection and special-use forests; state-owned forestry enterprises/forestry companies; armed forces units; private enterprises; foreign enterprises and other forest owners.

Step 1. Preparation, appraisal, and approval of relevant documents: Based on the decision approving the watershed boundary and forest area within the watershed, the forest owner prepares a forest management and protection plan according to the prescribed contents. Based on the approved forest management and protection plan, the forest owner proceeds to prepare the technical design documents for forest protection according to the prescribed procedures.

Step 2. Implementation: Planning and documentation for payment of forest environmental service fees: Before July 15th of each year, forest owners prepare a plan for payment of forest environmental service fees and submit it to the provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund along with the required documents as follows:

The Payment Plan for Ecosystem Services (PES) includes: a report explaining the payment plan; a statistical table listing households receiving PES contracts and the area of ​​forest providing PES; and an estimated management cost.

Sign a commitment to manage and protect forests providing ecosystem services or review and supplement annual forest protection commitments (if any) with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Sign a contract for forest protection or review and supplement the contract appendix (if a multi-year contract) with the contracting parties. The contract must be certified by the People's Committee at the commune level. The contract must include: an application for the contract, a handover record of the site, and a map of the forest area under contract for protection.

The map of forest area providing DVMTR (Forest Ecosystem Services) is prepared and included with the approved BVR (Forest Protection and Development) technical design dossier.

The forest owner shall conduct acceptance testing with the contractor in accordance with the prescribed procedures and submit the results to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (or directly to the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund) before December 31st of the planning year.

- The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall establish a team and organize the acceptance inspection at the management level in accordance with current regulations. The acceptance inspection team shall conduct the inspection according to the prescribed content, summarize the inspection results, and notify the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund of the inspection results. Simultaneously, they shall report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development before March 15th of the following year of the plan, as a basis for settling the entrusted payment of forest environmental service fees for the plan year to the forest owner.

For all information regarding the Policy on Payment for Forest Environmental Services, please visit [website/link].here!

Sea Swallow(Synthetic)