Quyết định 120/QD-TTg

DECISION

APPROVING THE PROJECT ON PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL FORESTS TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IN 2015-2020 PERIOD

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Government organization dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Protection and Development of Forests dated December 03, 2004;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 24-NQ-TW of the 7th Conference of the 11th Central Party Committee on proactive responses to climate change, enhancing natural resource management and environmental protection;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 18/2007/QĐ-TTg dated February 05, 2007 approving strategy for forestry development in 2006 – 2020 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 57/QĐ-TTg dated January 09, 2012 approving plan for protection and development of forests in 2011 – 2020 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1474/QĐ-TTg dated October 05, 2012 approving national action plan for climate change in 2012 – 2020 period;

At the request of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

HEREBY DECIDE:

Article 1. Approve “The project on protection and development of coastal forests to cope with climate change in 2014 – 2020 period” (hereinafter referred to as the Project) as follows:

1. Viewpoints

- Management, protection and development of coastal forests are key and urgent tasks for preventing and fighting natural disasters, coping with climate change and rising sea in accordance with forestry development strategy in 2006 – 2020 period, ensuring sustainable development, harmonizing interests of the country with localities, organizations and individuals that take part in the management, protection and development of forests, and at the same time satisfying Vietnam’s commitments to environmental protection and coping with climate change as a signatory of the Convention and International Agreement;

- The State shall prioritize allocation of resources from state budget in combination with other investment capitals, mobilization of social resources for the protection and development of coastal forests;

- The State shall create beneficial mechanism and policies to attract economic sectors, households and residential communities to take part in the investment in protection and development of coastal forests.

2. Objectives

a) General objectives

Promote protection function of coastal forests to cope with climate change and rising sea, alleviate natural disasters, protect sea dykes, infrastructure, conserve biodiversity; make a contribution toward socio-economic development and reinforcement of national defense and security;

b) Particular objectives

- Protect existing coastal forests with an area of 310,695 ha;

- Develop 46,058 ha to increase total area of coastal forests to the year 2020 up to 356,753 ha with coverage from 16.9% (in 2014) to 19.5% to the year 2020;

3. Contents of the Project

a) Protect existing coastal forests with an area of 310,695 ha;

b) Restore 9,602 ha of poor quality forests;

c) Develop 46,058 ha, of which:

- 37,008 ha as protective forests and specialized forests that are comprised of 29,500 ha as mangrove forest and 7,508 ha as wind and sand break forests;

- 9,050 ha as production and protective forests;

d) Coastal dispersed forests: 23.5 million trees;

4. Demands for capital and capital sources

a) Demand for capital

- Total demand for capital for the implementation of the Project in 2014 – 2020 is VND 5,415 billion (VND 902.5 billion per year on average), of which:

+ Forest protection on a contractual basis: VND 412, 7 billion;

+ Forest restoration: VND 288.1 billion

+ Forest restoration: VND 288.1 billion

+ Scattered trees: VND 235 billion

+ Others: VND 1,292.4 billion

- Allocated from sources as follows:

+ State budget: VND 3,791.3 billion (70%)

+ ODA capital: VND 1,397.5 billion (25.8%)

+ Other legal sources: VND 226.2 billion (4.2%)

b) Capital sources:

- State budget: The plan for protection and development of forests in 2011 - 2020 period under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 57/QĐ-TTg dated January 09, 2012; National target program for climate change in 2012 – 2015 period under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1183/QĐ-TTg dated August 30, 2012; the supporting program for coping with climate change (SP – RCC); Target program for coping with climate change in 2016 - 2020 period;

- Investment program for reinforcement, protection and upgrading of sea dikes under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 58/2006/QĐ-TTg dated March 14, 2006 and Decision No. 667/QĐ-TTg dated May 27, 2009;

c) ODA capital

d) Other legal sources: receipts from forest environmental services; budget for planting alternative forests by organizations specializing in changing forest use purposes; investment capital from organizations, households and individuals;

5. Investment projects for protection and development of forests in 2011 – 2020 period;

- Plan for protection and development of forests in 2011 – 2020 period: 44 projects;

- National target program and supporting program for coping with climate change: 50 projects;

- Program for reinforcement, protection and upgrading of sea dikes: 37 projects;

- International cooperation projects: 14 projects;

- Projects from other capital sources: Projects on forestation for replacement and production by organizations and individuals;

Expected area for prioritized forestation projects: 55,660 ha;

Of which:

- New development: 46,058 ha;

- Restoration: 9,602 ha;

(List of investment projects with capital sources mentioned in Appendices I, II, II, III, IV and V)

6. Implementation solutions

a) Land:

- Planning for protection and development of coastal forests must be associated with planning for land use to the year 2020, ensure long-term stability and defined on the map and in the field; conversion of use purposes for forests and coastal forest land into other purposes must be tightly controlled;

- Checking and recovering areas of land within sea dike protection corridors or within forestry development planning that are illegally used or used with wrong purposes by organizations and individuals;

- Step up assigning the task of forest protection on a contractual basis to economic sectors, communities and households for the protection and development of coastal forests;

- Encourage forms of association with residents such as land lease, contribution of capital by land use rights for forest development under the planning in combination with aquaculture and forestry combined and ecotourism;

b) Investment mechanism

- Investment budget for protection and development of coastal forest is used in combination with other sources; Of which, central budget is only reserved for coastal provinces yet to be able to balance budgets; Other provinces and cities that are able to balance their budgets shall be responsible for allocating budgets from local budget, mobilizing international assistance, credit loans and other sources for the implementation of the tasks as prescribed in the Project;

- Level of investment in protection and development of coastal forests

+ Level of investment in zoning for forest regeneration and protection of protective and specialized forests on a contractual basis shall be 1.5 times the contracted job for protection of headwater forests as prescribed. Specific piece work shall be decided by People’s committees of provinces in accordance with actual circumstances of the locality;

+ Level of investment in new development, addition and restoration of protective and specialized coastal forests shall follow the design and cost estimates approved by competent agencies on the basis of current economic and technical norms in accordance with specific implementation conditions of each locality;

+ Other investment items (biodiversity conservation; tallying and monitoring coastal forest developments; scientific research; planting scattered trees; propaganda and education...) shall be implemented according to projects and plants approved by competent authorities.

c) Science and technology

- Determine types of trees suitable for regional and local conditions; formulate technical regulations and standards for development and restoration of wind and sand break forests; develop breakwater mangrove forests and solutions for fighting erosion at estuaries and along the coasts;

- Develop general, sustainable  and effective cultivation models (forestry, aquaculture, forestry and agriculture combined) to replace low-productive extensive farming models; develop and make appropriate use of non-woody forest products associated with protection and development of coastal forests;

- Study technological solutions to enhance quality of coastal forests, ensure forest formation, cope with pests and forest fire;

- Construct the system of monitoring and determining the amount of carbon, coastal forest ecology services to mobilize receipts serving sustainable development of forests;

- Apply advanced remote sensing technology, geographic information system, information technology to management, prediction, assessment and monitoring of coastal forest development and natural disasters;

d) Propaganda, education and enhancement of capacity

Intensify propaganda, education and enhancement of awareness of people from all social strata about role and function of coastal forests as well as responsibilities of organizations and individuals for protection and development of coastal forests; Intensify expansion of forestry, fishery and agriculture;

dd) Mechanism and policies

Carry out a study and formulation of beneficial mechanism and policies on coastal forests to encourage all social strata to take part in the protection and development of coastal forests making a contribution toward accomplishing objectives and tasks of the Project;

7. Implementation

a) Ministries or central agencies:

- The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development:

+ As a permanent agency for the Project, shall preside over and cooperate with ministries, agencies and coastal provinces in implementing the Project successfully;

+ Preside over and cooperate with ministries and sectors in the examination and assessment of investment projects for protection and development of coastal forests in localities;

+ Carry out a study and formulation of policies on management, protection and development of coastal forests, make the submission to the Prime Minister for approval;

+ Inspect, supervise and speed up the implementation of the Project; play a role as a central agency in compilation of performance results and make the report to the Prime Minister;

+ Promulgate technical instructions regarding management, protection and development of coastal forests;

+ Preside over and cooperate with ministries, sectors and localities in running the check over the list of projects prioritized for protection and development of coastal forests for allocation of investment capital in annual programs and plans and the entire 2015 - 2020 period;

For difficulties that arise during the implementation of the Project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall preside over and cooperate with relevant ministries and sectors in handling issues within competence or make the report to the Prime Minister on ultra vires issues;

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment

+ Preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in balancing capital demands for the implementation of the Project;

+ Cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in bringing projects on protection and development of coastal forests into the list of projects prioritized to use international assistance and loans (WB, ADB, KfW,...);

+ Cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in carrying out the inspection, supervision and speeding up the implementation of the Project;

- The Ministry of Finance:

+ Preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in guaranteeing non-business capital sources for forest regeneration zoning, forest protection on a contractual basis, scientific research and monitoring development of coastal forests under this Project;

+ Instruct and manage use of capital sources for the implementation of the Project within functions and duties and applicable regulations;

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

+ Cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities in running the check over the list of projects related to protection and development of coastal forests by capital sources for climate change and making the report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance for compilation and submission to the Prime Minister;

+ Cooperate with localities in directing and checking planning and plans for coastal land use, ensuring long-term stability and purposeful use; providing guidance to localities on inspection and recovery of lands within dike protection corridors, lands under coastal forest development planning that are illegally used, unproductively developed or wrongly used by organizations and individuals...for restoration of forests;

- Other ministries and sectors shall carry out the implementation of the tasks as prescribed in the Project within assigned functions and duties.

b) People’s committees of coastal provinces:

- Direct the formulation of the province’s planning and plans for protection and development of coastal forests in 2015 – 2020 period and a vision to 2030;

- Direct, check and formulate investment projects on protection and development of coastal forests by capital sources, make the submission to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for examination and verification before approval;

c) Direct and check the planning and plans for land use; be determined to recover areas of land within dike protection corridors, areas of land under coastal land development planning invaded, illegally used, wrongly and unproductively developed by organizations and individuals for the restoration of forests as prescribed;

d) Organize the implementation, inspection and monitoring of approved projects on protection and development of coastal forests; make annual reports on performance result to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for compilation and submission to the Prime Minister;

dd) Direct propaganda, education and enhancement of awareness of people from all social strata about role and function of coastal forests; mobilize people and economic sectors to actively participate in the protection and development of coastal forests to cope with climate change; organize management and protection of coastal forests under applicable regulations;

Article 2. This Decision takes effect since the signing date.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of governmental agencies, presidents of People’s committees of central-affiliated cities and provinces shall be responsible for executing this Decision./.