JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE FORESTRY LAND ASSIGNMENT AND LEASE, AND THE GRANTING OF FORESTRY LAND USE RIGHT CERTIFICATES

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.163/1999/ND-CP of November 16, 1999 on the assignment and lease of forestry land to organizations, households and individuals for stable and long-term use for forestry purposes;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Land Administration hereby guide the forestry land assignment and lease and the granting of forestry land use right certificates, as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Forestry land stipulated in this Circular includes land under natural forests, land under planted forests and land not yet covered with forests and planned for use for such forestry purposes as forestation, zoning for natural forest tending, protection or restoration; forestry research and experimentation.

2. Organizations, households and individuals that were assigned or leased forestry land and granted forestry land use right certificates by the State before the effective date of this Circular shall not have to re-fill in the procedures for forestry land assignment or lease and forestry land use right certificate granting under this Circular’s guidance.

3. The forestry land assignment or lease and forestry land use right certificate granting shall be conducted according to the administrative units of commune, ward, district township (hereafter referred collectively to as communes).

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5. The forestry land assignment or lease and forestry land use right certificate granting shall be based on communes’ land use plannings, which are approved by the People’s Committees of districts, provincial capitals and provincially-run towns (hereafter referred collectively to as district People’s Committees). For communes that have not yet worked out land use planning, the Agriculture and Rural Development service’s planning of three types of forests (protective forest, special-use forest and production forest) shall serve as basis therefor.

6. Subjects eligible for forestry land assignment without land use levy collection include:

a/ Households and individuals that are directly engaged in forestry production, agricultural production, fishery or salt-making activities, earn their livelihood principally from such production activities, and obtain certification by the People’s Committees of communes where forestry land is available;

b/ Management boards of protective forests and special-use forests;

c/ State enterprises which have been using forestry land assigned by the State before January 1st, 1999;

d/ Forestry nursery, stations, farms and enterprises, educational institutions, vocational schools;

e/ Other organizations of different economic sectors, which were assigned forestry land by the State before January 1st, 1999 under the Government’s Decree No.02/CP of January 15, 1994, and are allowed to use such land till the expiry of land assignment duration. Upon the expiry of duration for use of assigned land, they shall have to switch to lease of such forestry land;

f/ People’s armed forces units that use forestry land in combination with defense purposes.

7. Subjects eligible for forestry land lease by the State include:

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b/ Domestic organizations of all economic sectors;

c/ Foreign organizations and individuals.

8. Forestry land of various types shall be assigned or leased by the State to the eligible subjects, as follows:

a/ Forestry land planned for planting and development of special-use forests shall be assigned by the State to the special-use forests’ management boards under decisions of the Government or the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereafter referred collectively to as the provincial People’s Committees), including:

- Management boards of national parks;

- Management boards of nature conservations;

- Management boards of cultural-historical-environmental forests (protection of landscapes).

The State shall not lease forestry land planned for building and development of special-use forests.

b/ Forestry land planned for building and development of protective forests

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c/ Forestry land planned for building and development of production forests shall be assigned or leased to all subjects defined in Paragraphs a, c, d, e and f of Point 6, and Point 7, Section I of this Circular.

9. The competence to assign and lease forestry land, grant forestry land use right certificates and recover forestry land:

a/ The district People’s Committees shall decide the forestry land assignment and lease and grant forestry land use right certificates to households and individuals.

b/ The provincial People’s Committees shall decide the forestry land assignment and lease and grant forestry land use right certificates to organizations.

In cases where the Government decides to establish forests and assign forestry land thereunder, the provincial People’s Committees shall grant certificates of the right to use such land.

c/ State agencies competent to decide the forestry land assignment and lease shall be those having the right to recover already assigned and leased land. Before recovering land, they shall have to notify the forestry land assignees or lessees of the reason(s) for recovery, the recovery time and plan, damage compensation plan and levels according to provisions of law.

10. Forestry land assignment and lease limits:

a/ The limits of forestry land to be assigned to organizations shall be based on the planning and plans for use of such forestry land as well as the demands for and ability to use forestry land stated in investment projects already approved by the competent State agency(ies).

b/ The limits of forestry land to be assigned to households and individuals shall be based on the actual situation of land use and forestry land fund of the localities as well as the demands and ability of such households and individuals. The provincial People’s Committees shall decide the limits of forestry land to be assigned to households and individuals (one-member households), but the total acreage of forestry land assigned to one household or one individual must not exceed 30 hectares.

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c/ The limits of forestry land to be leased to organizations shall be set upon projects already approved by the competent State agencies; the limits of forestry land to be leased to households and individuals shall be set upon such households’ and individuals’ land lease applications on the basis of the current land use situation and forestry land fund of each locality.

d/ The limits of abandoned land, bare hills and mountains, coastal sandy land, seaward encroachment land to be assigned to households and individuals to use for forestry purposes shall be decided by the provincial People’s Committees on the basis of the localities’ land fund and production capability of such households and individuals, while ensuring the realization of the policy on encouraging and creating favorable conditions for exploitation and use of such types of land for forestry purpose.

11. Forestry land assignment and lease duration:

a/ For organizations, the land assignment duration shall be prescribed according to projects approved by the competent State agencies; for households and individuals, the land assignment duration shall be 50 years. Upon the expiry of such duration, if the land users wish to continue using such land and if in the course of forestry land use, they have strictly observed the land legislation and the legislation on forest protection and development, the competent State agencies shall consider the assignment of such land for continued use. Land planted with forest trees with a growth cycle of more than 50 years shall be further assigned by the State for continued use when the use duration expires.

For organizations, households and individuals that were assigned forestry land by the State before October 15, 1993, the land assignment duration shall be calculated from such date; for those assigned forestry land after October 15, 1993, the land use duration shall be calculated from the assigning date.

b/ Duration of forestry land lease to organizations, households and individuals shall be determined according to projects approved by the competent State agency(ies) or land lease applications of households and individuals but must not exceed 50 years. In cases where a project needs a land rent for more than 50 years, such duration must be decided by the Prime Minister but must not exceed 70 years.

When such duration expires, if organizations, households and individuals still wish to lease such forestry land and use such land for right purposes, they shall be considered by the State for further lease.

12. Organizations, households and individuals that have been using forestry land already assigned to State enterprises shall have to switch to the form of receiving contracted forestry land according to provisions of the Regulation on contracting of land to be used for agricultural, forestry and aquacultural purposes in State enterprises promulgated together with the Government’s Decree No.01/CP of January 4, 1995.

State enterprises that were assigned forestry land by the State before January 1st, 1999 shall have to revise their assigned land funds; the part of forestry land being used not for right purposes or with low efficiency or left unused shall be recovered and put by the provincial People’s Committees into the forestry land fund for assignment and lease to others.

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1. Determination of forestry land fund for assignment and lease:

a/ Bases for determining forestry land fund for assignment and lease include:

- Maps, documents and figures available on the actual situation of forest land and unused land which can be used for forestry purposes;

- Land-use plannings of communes or plannings of three types of forests (protective forest, special-use forest and production forest), already approved by the competent State agencies;

- Actual situation on the management and use of forestry land by organizations, households and individuals;

b/ The People’s Committees of provinces and districts shall direct their attached land administration offices, agriculture and rural development agencies and forest rangers as well as the lower-level People’s Committees in determining forestry land fund for assignment and lease according to purposes of using, building or developing each type of protective, special-use or production forest.

c/ The forestry land fund for assignment or lease shall be determined according to commune administrative units and indicated in detail on maps, or synthesized from each map or forest section.

2. Preparation of dossiers of application for forestry assignment or lease:

a/ For organizations, such a dossier shall be filed at the provincial land administration and comprise:

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- The investment project approved by the competent State agency;

- The decision on or the permission for establishment of the applying organization;

- The map or diagram of the land plot to be assigned or leased under the application.

b/ For households and individuals, such a dossier shall be filed at the commune People’s Committees and comprise:

- An application for forestry land assignment or lease;

- The plan for use of forestry land (for cases of land lease).

3. Organizing the consideration and approval of applications for forestry land assignment or lease:

a/ For organizations:

- Within 30 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the provincial land administration shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the agriculture and rural development agency and the forest ranger of the same level in verifying the dossier of application for forestry assignment or lease and inscribing their opinions on the application form; carry out the procedures for submitting such dossier to the provincial People’s Committee for consideration and decision on forestry land assignment or lease, to the qualified organization; or return the dossier to the unqualified organization and clearly notify the latter of the reason(s) therefor.

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b/ For households and individuals:

- Within 15 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the commune People’s Committee shall have to complete the verification and inscription of their certifications on the application form for land assignment or lease, then forward such dossier to the district land administration. If the applying household or individual is unqualified, the dossier shall be returned to it/him/her and the reason(s) therefor shall be clearly notified.

- Within 15 days after receiving the dossier forwarded by the commune People’s Committee, the district land administration shall coordinate with the district agriculture and rural development agency and forest ranger in completing the dossier verification and inscribing their opinions on the application for forestry land assignment or lease, then carrying out the procedures for submitting it to the district People’s Committee for consideration and decision.

- Within 15 days after receiving the dossier forwarded by the land administration, the district People’s Committee shall have to decide on the forestry land assignment or lease. In case of rejection, it must notify the district land administration of the reason(s) therefor, so that the latter can notify the land assignment or lease applying household or individual thereof.

4. On-spot land hand-over:

a/ The commune People’s Committees shall coordinate with the land administration offices and forest rangers, which are competent to assign or lease forestry land in organizing the on-spot land hand-over to subjects that have obtained forestry land assignment or lease decisions to the witness of village or hamlet chiefs and the adjoining land plots’ users.

b/ The on-spot land hand-over must include clear demarcation of boundaries and putting up of landmarks. The record of the on-spot land hand-over and reception must be signed by all representatives of organizations and/or individuals mentioned in Paragraph a of this Point.

5. Granting of land use right certificates:

a/ Within 30 days after the on-spot land hand-over is completed, the district land administration shall report it to the district People’s Committee for signing and granting the forestry land use right certificate to the concerned household or individual; the provincial land administration shall report it to the provincial People’s Committee for signing and granting the forestry land use right certificate to the concerned organization.

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Forestry land use right certificates shall be made in unified form set by the General Land Administration and comply with the following additional guidance:

- For places where the assigned forestry land maps, which contain only serial numbers of forest sections, plots and lots are used, the serial numbers of forest sections shall be inscribed in the "number of maps" column, while those of forest plots and lots shall be inscribed in the "number of fields" column, of the list of land fields.

- Column "addendum" shall be inscribed with the following contents:

+ Specific use purposes of each forest type:

For special-use forest land, the use purposes shall be inscribed according to its organizing forms: national parks, nature conservations or cultural-historical-environmental forests.

For protective forest land, the use purposes shall be inscribed for: very vital head-water protective forest, vital head-water protective forest, less vital head-water protective forest; protective forests against wind, sand encroachment, tidal waves and for seaward encroachment; protective forest for eco-environmental protection.

For production forest land, the use purposes shall be clearly inscribed for: large timber production forest, small timber production forest, assorted bamboo production forest and specialty forest.

+ For forestry land under natural forests or planted forests, the state of forests must be described according to provisions of Decision No.682B/QDKT of August 1st, 1984 of the Minister of Forestry (now the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development) promulgating the table of forest designing and trading norms.

+ Forest protection and development requirements, such as: forest zoning, tending and restoration, forest planting, and other requirements.

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a/ Each land administration dossier made in the course of forestry land assignment or lease, granting of forestry land use right certificate shall comprise the following documents:

- Cadastral map or map of assigned forestry land;

- Land administration book;

- Land statistical book;

- Land use right certificate register;

- Original documents, including: application for forestry land assignment or lease; statistical table of forestry land fund; on-spot land hand-over record; forestry land assignment or lease decision.

b/ Forms of land administration books, land statistical books, land use right certificate register books and books for monitoring land changes shall comply with provisions of the General Land Administration’s Decision No.499/QD-DC of July 27, 1995 and the following additional guidance:

- Land administration books, land statistical books and land use right certificate register books shall be made for all land types, not to make a separate book set for forestry land;

- For places where the forestry land assignment maps, which contain only serial numbers of forest sections, plots and lots are used, then on the said kinds of books the serial numbers of forest sections shall be inscribed instead of serial numbers of maps and serial numbers of plots and lots instead of those of land fields;

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c/ Where cadastral maps are not available, forestry land assignment maps must be made to indicate the forestry land assignment and/or lease results. The forestry land assignment maps shall be made according to the commune administrative units and approved by the provincial land administration.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Responsibilities of the provincial People’s Committees:

a/ To work out land use plannings and the plannings of three forest types (special-use forest, protective forest, production forest); plans for organization of forestry land assignment and lease and granting of forestry land use right certificates to organizations, households and individuals in their respective provinces’ territories strictly according to provisions of the land legislation, the legislation on forest protection and development, the Government’s Decree No.163/1999/ND-CP of November 16, 1999 on forestry land assignment and lease to organizations, households and individuals for stable and long-term forestrial use and this Circular.

b/ To approve the land use plannings; forest land assignment and lease plans of the People’s Committees of districts in their localities.

c/ To grant land use right certificates according to provisions of law.

2. Responsibilities of the district People’s Committees:

a/ To work out land use plannings; plans for organization of forestry land assignment and lease in their respective districts according to the State’s regulations.

b/ To approve the land use plannings; forest land assignment and lease plans of the People’s Committees of communes in their localities.

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3. Responsibilities of the commune People’s Committees:

a/ To disseminate the State’s undertakings and policies and the plans of the provincial, district and commune People’s Committees on forestry land assignment and lease and granting of forestry land use right certificates among people in their respective communes.

b/ To review the situation of forestry land use by organizations, households and individuals in their respective communes.

c/ To work out land use plannings and plans for forestry land assignment and lease and granting of forestry land use right certificates in their respective communes, then submit them to the competent authorities for approval and organize the implementation thereof according to the State’s regulations.

4. Responsibilities of the specialized State management agencies:

a/ Land administration agencies:

- To assist the People’s Committees of the same level in working out land use plannings; plans for and organization of forestry land assignment and lease and the granting of forestry land use right certificates in localities.

- To draw up maps and diagrams in service of land assignment and lease and land use right certificate granting.

- To coordinate with the forest rangers in assisting the People’s Committees of the same level to organize the land assignment and lease, land registration, elaboration of land administration dossiers and the granting of forestry land use right certificates.

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b/ The agriculture and rural development agencies shall coordinate with the land administration offices and the forest ranger agencies in assisting the People’s Committees of the same level to work out forestry land use plannings; revise the forestry land acreage already assigned by the State to State-run forestry farms and agricultural farms; forestry and agricultural enterprises belonging to the people’s armed forces; management boards of protective forests and special-use forests.

c/ Forest rangers:

- To coordinate with the agriculture and rural development agencies and the land administration offices in determining the forestry land boundaries and boundaries demarcating three forest types on maps and in the field.

- To determine the acreage of forestry land under natural forests and planted forests on maps and in the field, in order to work out forest protection plans.

- To coordinate with the land administration offices in effecting the forestry land assignment and lease. To monitor the development of forest resources and forestry land.

- To coordinate with the land administration offices in assisting the People’s Committees of the same level to examine, inspect and settle disputes arising in the use of forestry land by organizations, households and individuals according to provisions of law.

- To coordinate with the agriculture and rural development agencies and land administration offices in settling disputes on forestry land according to their competence.

5. Implementation effect:

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing.

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Any problems arising in the course of implementation shall be promptly reported by the localities to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Land Administration for consideration and solution.

FOR THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE
AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
VICE MINISTER




Nguyen Van Dang

FOR THE GENERAL DIRECTOR OF
GENERAL LAND ADMINISTRATION
DEPUTY GENERAL DIRECTOR




Nguyen Dinh Bong