DECISION

 APPROVING THE SCHEME ON FOREST PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN DINH HOA SAFETY ZONE, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE, IN THE 2008-2020 PERIOD

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the December 14. 2004 Law on Forest Protection and Development;

At the proposal of the Thai Nguyen province People's Committee (in Report No. 45/-NLN of December 14, 2007, and Official Letter No. 17/ BC-UBND of March 13, 2008) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Report No. 1835/TTr-BNN-KL of June 30, 2008,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the Scheme on forest protection and development in Dinh Hoa safety zone, Thai Nguyen province, in the 2008-2020 period, with the following principal contents:

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- Dinh Hoa forest, Thai Nguyen province, is a specially important part of Dinh Hoa safety zone, a relic complex of the revolutionary history. Together with other localities in the former Viet Bac resistance base. Dinh Hoa safety zone forest is a place where lived and worked President Ho Chi Minb and high-ranking leaders of the Party, the Government and the army during 1947-1954 (with 109 historical relics recognized by the State). During resistance years, Dinh Hoa ethnic minority people rendered great services in sheltering and protecting cadres of the Central Party Committee, the Government and the army, making important contributions to the Dien Bien Phu historic victory and the great national resistance war. At present, the life of people in the safety zone has been improved but still faced many difficulties. Therefore, investment in forest protection and development is an important solution to boosting socio-economic development, improving people's living conditions, demonstrating the moral principle "Remember the source when drinking water" and reflecting the attention of the Party and the Government to people in the safety zone.

- To ensure harmony between the objectives of conservation and development of forests in Dinh Hoa safety zone, focusing on the restoration of landscape in close combination with rationally using and exploiting forest resources and developing production forests, creating many commodity products for society and contributing to raising the people's life.

- To apply the experience of international organizations, research and practice review results and appropriate forest management mechanisms suitable to Dinh Hoa safety zone in order to draw experience for wider implementation.

- State investment will play a decisive role. At the same time to encourage all economic sectors to make investment in order to tap the potential and strengths of forests. To ensure equality in the interests of stakeholders in the Scheme.

2. Objectives:

- To manage, protect and develop forests of three kinds (special-purpose, protection and production forests) in association with protecting, restoring and embellishing natural landscape and the historical relic complex: to protect biodiversity and promote the environmental protection function:

- To supply forest products to meet consumption and processing demands;

- To create more jobs and contribute to increasing the living standards for ethnic minority people in the former "resistance capital", to increase environmental education and raise awareness about the revolutionary ideal among young generations.

3. Orientations for forest protection and development

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b/ Tasks

- Forest protection and development tasks until 2020:

Special-purpose forests: To protect 4,516 ha of existing forests, zone off for natural growth 3,043 ha, and afforest 169 ha;

Protection forests: To protect 5,205 ha of existing forests, zone off for natural growth 1,699 ha, and afforest 168 ha;

Production forests: To protect and tend 13,846 ha of existing forests, zone off for natural regeneration 1,540 ha, renovate 1,250 ha of impoverished natural forests, afforest 169 ha, and reforest 5,696 ha of exploited forest plantations:

- Building infrastructure and forest service facilities: To build a head office for the Dinh Hoa safety zone forest management board, including 200 m² of working office. 100 m² of public-duty houses and auxiliary works: to support the upgrade of 30 km of roads for developing forests in remote and deep-lying communes; to build a consolidated forest tree nursery, encourage households to build nursery gardens on their own land areas to produce forest and fruit seedlings.

 4. Major solutions a/ Organization of management:

- To promote the state management of forest protection and development: To formulate and submit to competent authorities for approval a regulation on management of Dinh Hoa safety zone forests suitable to the characteristics of each kind of forests in the safety zone. To experiment the merger of management, protection and development forces in the locality in the direction of establishing the Dinh Hoa safety zone forest management board on the basis of reorganizing the forest ranger section and the existing special-use forest and protection forest management boards, with the forest ranger force as (he core;

- To increase coordination among different levels, branches and localities in neighboring areas in effectively protecting and developing forests;

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- To increase state budget invesrtnents; to develop specific incentive mechanisms and policies to encourage all economic sectors and the community to participate in forest protection and development.

b/ Science and technology:

- To apply biotechnology (genetic, tissue and cutting technologies) to the production of high-quality plant varieties in order to increase crop yields:

- To apply information and remote sensing technologies to the management and monitoring of forest resource developments in each forest lot: To formulate forest management plans suitable to the characteristics of Dinh Hoa safety zone forests for sustainable management and use of forests;

- To encourage all economic sectors to invest in building establishments to process forest products (artificial boards, chip boards, home furniture, etc.) for consuming products of forest owners and increase the value of forest products;

To build models of planting new varieties of forest trees to zone off for restoring forests; planting trees under forest canopy, and transfer technology to forest owners.

c/ Policies:

Land policies: To diversify forms of management and use of forest land (allocation, contracting and lease), review and complete the allocation of land and forests to organizations, households, individuals and communities for stable and permanent management in the direction of assigning the safety zone forest management board to manage consolidated special-use forests and protection forests. Scattered and small special -use protection forests will be assigned to organizations, households, individuals and communities for management.

Adjacent forests (on some 650 ha) surrounding historical relics, which are currently managed and lawfully used by households, will be from now heated as special-use forests. The State will pay expenses for building these forests according to the value of existing forest trees, and forest-owning households will be further allocated land and forests for management and use under the special-use forest regulation. -Investment policies:

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- The provincial People's Committee shall plan the allocation of investment capital from the local budget and the integration of the funds of programs and projects carried out in the locality for investment in economic and social development of the safety zone;

+ To encourage all economic sectors to invest in protecting and developing forests and developing forest product processing establishments. To raise capital among the people and mobilize concessional credit loans for forest planting, protection and restoration;

+ To expand and promote international cooperation and make use of the assistance of foreign organizations and individuals in finance and technology for effective investment in forest protection and development.

5. Total investment: The total investment for protecting and developing Dinh Hoa safety zone forests until 2020 is about VND 293.631 billion. including:

- State budget funds allocated in the five million hectare afforestation project: VND 192.26 billion, including VND 23.06 billion for nonbusiness expenses and VND 169.2 billion for investment;

- Loans from Vietnam Development Bank and the Social Policy Bank: around VND 91.371 billion;

- Funds raised from investors, owners of existing processing establishments and households in the locality: around VND 10 billion.

6. Organization of implementation:

a/ The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance in arranging funds according to annual schedules and plans for Thai Nguyen province to implement the Scheme; direct and guide the locality in formulating investment projects; and examine and evaluate the Scheme's implementation;

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c/The Dinh Hoa district People's Committee shall perform the state management in the locality and direct commune People's Committees and its attached sections to coordinate with the safety zone forest management board in effectively carrying out projects;

d/ The Dinh Hoa safety zone forest management board is the investor of forest development projects. It will work as an revenue-generating non-business economic unit to provide public services in managing and developing Dinh Hoa district forests, and manage investment projects according to current regulations.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, the president of the Thai Nguyen province People's Committee and concerned units shall implement this Decision.

FOR THE PRIME MINISTER

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

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Hoang Trung Hai