ASSESSMENT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS AND POLICIES RELATING TO MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL-USE FORESTS IN VIETNAM

Transcription

1 Dù n T ng c êng c«ng t c qu n lý hö thèng khu b o tån thiªn nhiªn t¹i ViÖt Nam Strengthening Protected Area Management in Vietnam - SPAM Project ASSESSMENT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS AND POLICIES RELATING TO MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL-USE FORESTS IN VIETNAM Original written in Vietnamese by Nguyen Nhu Phuong and Vu Van Dung Project funded by Danida, Managed by WWF (Denmark) and the WWF Indochina Programme and Implemented by the Forest Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Technical Report No.1 Hanoi

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3 ACRONYMS BAP IUCN MARD MCI MOFi MOSTE Program 327 WWF Biodiversity Action Plan World Conservation Union Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry of Culture and Information Ministry of Fisheries Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to restore forests, establish protection and specialuse forests and develop infrastructure. Replaced by the 5 Million Hectares Reafforestation Program (Program ). World Wide Fund for Nature

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. DETERMINATION OF PROTECTED AREAS, PROHIBITED FORESTS AND SPECIAL-USE FORESTS 3 I. PROTECTED AREAS Definition Ojectives of protected areas management The system of protected areas classification adopted by IUCN in II. PROHIBITED FORESTS AND SPECIAL-USE FORESTS... 3 CHAPTER II. ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPECIAL-USE FOREST SYSTEM IN VIET NAM 5 I. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SPECIAL-USE FOREST SYSTEM... 5 II. CONCEPTIONS OBSERVED OVER DIFFERENT PERIODS OF SPECIAL-USE FORESTS DEVELOPMENT... 6 CHAPTER III. ASSESSMENT OF DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY GOVERNMENT AND MINISTRIES RELATING TO MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL-USE FORESTS OF VIETNAM 13 I. DOCUMENTS ISSUED IN II. DOCUMENTS ISSUED IN THE PERIOD FROM 1976 UP TO NOW A. Documents relating to management and decentralization of Special-use Forest management B. Documents on formulation and approval of invetment projects for Special-use Forests.. 25 C. Documents on strengthening management and protection of Special-use Forests D. Documents related to wildlife management and protection III. GENERAL ASSESSMENT ON DOCUMENTS RELATING TO MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF SPECIAL-USE FORESTS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 39 REFERENCES Vietnamese language Foreign languages APPENDIX A. Legal Documents of the State, Government, Ministry issued from 1962 to 1975 related to Special-use Forests B. Legal Documents of the State, Government, Ministry issued from 1962 to 1975 related to Special-use Forests II. Documents related to formulation and approval of investment projects in Special-use Forests III. Legal documents on policies strengthenning management, protection of special-used forest IV. Legal documents related to management, protection of wildlife plants and animals... 46

5 INTRODUCTION Cuc Phuong Prohibited Forest (later renamed Cuc Phuong National Park), the first protected area of Vietnam, was established in In the following years many other protected areas were established by decisions of the central Government, Ministries or Provincial People s Committees. Today, a system of Special-use Forests with around 100 protected areas covering some 2.5 million hectares has been set up throughout the country. These protected areas are categorized into three groups: national parks, nature reserves and cultural, historical and/or environmental sites. The system of protected forests plays a substantial role in the conservation of forests and biodiversity of Vietnam. With the system of Special-use Forests established so far, large tracts of Vietnam's primary forests and most of the endangered faunal and floral species of Vietnam have been put under improved protection and the awareness of the local communities about nature protection has been raised considerably. The government of Vietnam, its ministerial bodies, as well as the People s Committees of provinces and cities, have promulgated laws, decrees, circulars, decisions, regulations, directives and policies guiding management and protection of the system of Special-use Forests. In worldwide practice today, there are drastic changes in concepts, management methods, planning, zoning and classification of protected areas. Vietnam also shares various international conventions on nature and biodiversity conservation. This situation requires a proper consideration and assessment of legal documents concerning Special-use Forests so that suitable documents, which are outdated, are detected for necessary adjustment and/or improvement. The objectives of this study, commenced in January 2001, were: - Compilation of available documents and policies relating to management of Special-use Forests. - Analysis of the collected documents to determine their advantages and shortcomings. - Recommendations on amendment of the existing policies or issuance of new policy tools if necessary. Due to time and budget constraints, the authors concentrated on legal documents issued by the central Government and ministerial bodies. They applied an expertbased approach combined with numerous consultations with concerned individuals. Steps applied for this study were the gathering of documents, screening them in accordance with the date of issuance and topics covered, analysis of documents, drafting the report, workshops to collect comments from experts involved in this field and finalization of the report.

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7 CHAPTER I DETERMINATION OF PROTECTED AREAS, PROHIBITED FORESTS AND SPECIAL-USE FORESTS I. Protected areas 1. Definition At a discussion within the framework of the Fourth International Conference on Protected Areas organized by the IUCN in Caracas, Venezuela in 1992, a definition of protected areas was given as follows: "A protected area is an inland or marine unit which is used fully for protection and maintenance of biodiversity and natural resources or a combination of nature conservation and cropping under strict and effective measures". 2. Objectives of protected areas management - Research; - Wildlife conservation; - Protection of species and gene diversity; - Protection of natural and cultural scenes; - Tourism and recreation; - Education; - Sustainable utilisation of natural recourses derived from natural ecological systems; and - Maintenance of cultural and traditional heritage. 3. The system of protected areas classification adopted by the IUCN in 1994 The system has 6 categories: 1. Strict nature reserve/wilderness area 1.a Strict nature reserve 1.b Wilderness area 2. National park 3. Natural monument 4. Habitat/species management area 5. Protected landscape/seascape 6. Managed resource protected area II. Prohibited Forests and Special-use Forests - Article No.5 of the Forest Protection Act passed by the National Assembly on 6 September 1972 stipulates that the Government has the mandate to establish Prohibited Forests for protecting natural scenes, historical relics, recreation sites, conducting scientific research or for other special benefits brought about by forests. The cutting down of trees, except those operations carried out to facilitate forest enrichment, and hunting is strictly prohibited. - In Decision No. 41- TTg of 24 January 1977 regulating protected forests, the term "Prohibited Forest" was reiterated and the Prime Minister decided to establish 10 protected areas throughout the country. - Decision No. 1171/QD/ dated 30 November 1986 issued by the Ministry of Forestry stipulates regulations applying to three groups of forests, namely Production, Protection, and Special-use Forests. For the first time the term "Special-use Forest" was used instead of Prohibited Forest and the definition of Special-use Forest was stated as: Forests and/or forestry lands approved by the Government for the purpose of nature conservation, historical sites, recreation, research or other purposes identified in Article No. 5 of the Forest Protection Law. - The Regulation on Management of Specialuse Forests issued with the Decision No. 1171/QD of the Ministry of Forestry as mentioned above outlines concepts, objectives and criteria applied for identification and classification of Specialuse Forests. Here, Special-use Forests are classified into three groups: National parks, Nature reserves, Historical, Cultural and/or environmental sites. The later Regulation on Management of Specialuse Forests recently promulgated by the Prime Minister (Decision No. 08/2001/QD-TTg of 11 January 2001) contains amendments on functions, classification criteria and indicators used for Special-use Forests. In particular, Special-use Forests are now divided in three categories and two sub-categories as follows:

8 National park; Nature Conservation Area: - Nature reserve and - Species/Habitat Conservation Area; and Cultural, Historical and Environmental Area (landscape conservation area). National parks or nature reserves that are established in wetland areas cover all wetland ecosystems including aquatic wildlife. Up to now Vietnam has not had a protected area system. However, a system of Special-use Forests has been developed in the country. In fact, Special-use Forests are protected areas under the control of the former Ministry of Forestry, now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In all official documents of the Government and ministerial bodies issued from 1986 up to now, the term "Special-use Forest" has been used. Therefore, in this report the authors use the term Special-use Forest instead of protected area.

9 CHAPTER II ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPECIAL-USE FOREST SYSTEM IN VIET NAM I. Establishment of the Special-use Forest system Compared to many other Asian countries, Vietnam s Special-use Forest system development has a long history and dates back some 40 years. However, due to warfare and financial constraints, the development of the Special-use Forest system has progressed slowly. On 7 July 1962, following Decision No. 72/ TTg of the Prime Minister, Cuc Phuong, the first Prohibited Forest (Cuc Phuong National Park today) was established. Since then, the development of the Special-use Forest system of Vietnam has passed through three distinct periods: : In this period, following the establishment of Cuc Phuong Prohibited Forest, the Forestry Sector identified 49 Prohibited Forests in the North of Vietnam. Through this period, forestry management and protection units carried out all operations relating to Prohibited Forests, from surveys to management protection : Following the reunification of the country, the Forestry Sector undertook investigations to discover precious forests remaining in the Central Highlands and in the eastern and western parts of southern Vietnam. In 1977, the Prime Minister established 10 Prohibited Forests in northern and southern Vietnam with an area of 44,310 ha. Subsequently, other forest sites with great value for biodiversity conservation were given the status of Prohibited Forest (South Cat Tien Prohibited Forest in 1978, Con Dao Prohibited Forest in 1984). Since 1984, attention has been given to the establishment of Prohibited Forests together with participation and assistance of scientists of the forestry branch and others. The Forest Sector, with the support of scientists from within and from outside the country, has carried out surveys to identify many forests of high biodiversity and produced proposals to develop a number of Prohibited Forests such as Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Bach Ma (Thua Thien Hue), Muong Nhe (Lai Chau), Xuan Nha (Son La), Hoang Lien Son (Lao Cai), Ben En (Thanh Hoa), Kon Ka King, Kon Cha Rang (Gia Lai), Bu Gia Map (Binh Phuoc), Cat Ba National Park (Hai Phong), Mom Ray - Ngoc Vin (Kon Tum), Huu Lien (Lang Son), etc. On 9 August 1986 the Chairman of the Council of Ministers released Decision No. 194-CT approving 73 Prohibited Forests throughout the country, with a total area of 769,512 ha. Five months later, on 30 November 1986 the Ministry of Forestry issued the Regulation on Special-use Forest Management. Since then, the term Special-use Forest has replaced the term Prohibited Forest up to now This period witnessed significant steps toward the strengthening of the Special-use Forest system with the support provided by both local and central governments as well as the forest and non-forest scientists. Of great significance was the assistance of international organizations interested in nature conservation, such as WWF, IUCN, and Birdlife International, etc. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations have provided funds and expertise for the establishment and development of Special-use Forests in Vietnam. The most important achievement of Special-use Forest management in this period is the formulation of feasibility studies (now referred to as investment projects ) for Special-use Forests. These feasibility studies resulted in the management of Special-use Forests based on agreed planning. Proposals have also been made to set up new Special-use Forests. In the period forest inventories and surveys have gained outstanding achievements in discovering four new mammals, namely: - Pseudoryx nghetinhensis was found in 1992, - Megamuntiacus vuquangensis in 1993, - Caninmuntiacus truongsonensis in1996, - Muntiacus puhoatensis in The discovery of these species demonstrated the great value of biodiversity that Vietnam s fauna and flora possesses. It also helped draw investments from the Government of Vietnam as well as from international organizations to

10 protect and develop Vietnam s Special-use Forests. II. Concepts observed over different periods of Special-use Forests development 1. The first period: As the country experienced very severe warfare, forest management and formulation of feasibility studies for establishing Special-use Forests stagnated. Investment was limited. Elementary environment and nature conservation education for people was neglected. Consequently, many Specialuse Forests recognized by the provinces and local authorities were degraded moderately to severely. These forest sites lost their value as special-use. 2. The second period: Following the reunification of the country, the development of the Special-use Forest system was given more attention. Besides areas of high biodiversity such as Ba Be, Ba Vi and Tam Dao National Parks, a number of geographical sites closely connected with the national struggles for independence and cultural traditions such as Hung Temple, Ba Trieu Temple, Lam Son, Tan Trao, Ba To, Muong Phang, Boi Loi and Nui Thanh etc., have been given the status of Special-use Forests. However, though the cultural and historical projects received funds for implementation, the forests surrounding these sites were ignored. In this period, education and information activities on nature conservation were not developed with participation of the community for Special-use Forest management and buffer zones were not established. Very few were supported internationally. 3. The third period: The results of forest surveys conducted by local and international experts along with the concerned trends for nature conservation prevailing in regional countries and worldwide have produced a great impact on forest protection in Vietnam. It provoked government authorities at all levels, including various ministries and departments, to give more attention to forests of precious biodiversity and nature conservation significance. In this period, thanks to the Doi Moi (renovation) policy, the awareness of administrators, scientists and the population generally about nature protection changed markedly and the exchange of international conservation experience was strengthened. Exchanges of knowledge and expertise with the international community in this field have been promoted. Education and extension services to preserve nature were improved. Various ministries and departments at different administrative levels worked co-operatively with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in protecting nature and forests. The international community and overseas consultants have provided generous support for the development of the Special-use Forest system of Vietnam. Correspondingly, in this period the number of legislative documents relating to management of Special-use Forests has increased. All this together has changed the development of Special-use Forests both in quality and quantity.

11 CHAPTER III ASSESSMENT OF DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY GOVERNMENT AND MINISTRIES RELATING TO MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL-USE FORESTS OF VIETNAM To make the analysis and assessment of documents issued by the Government and state departments concerning the management of Special-use Forests of Vietnam easier, papers collected have been divided into two periods: : This was a period of war and the few documents issued applied only to the northern provinces of Vietnam to the present: Restoration of peace in the country. Many documents were released and applied at the national scale. Analysis is made separately for an individual document or a group of documents of similar content and time of issuance. Due to the immense number of documents and limited time available for this study, analysis was concentrated on those documents promulgated by the National Assembly, the Central Government and Ministries. When reading these documents, attention has been given to the following: - Whenever there are several documents regulating the same issue and discrepancies appear due to overlap, the stipulation indicated in the document released by the higher authority prevails; and - Whenever the same issue is being regulated by different documents of the same administrative level, the stipulation provided in the document that came into effect last prevails. I. Documents issued in This period should be regarded as the embryonic stage of the Special-use Forest system of Vietnam. Following the establishment of Cuc Phuong Prohibited Forest (now Cuc Phuong National Park), war divided the country: the South and the North. As a result, there were few documents on Special-use Forests being implemented and only in the northern part (north from Vinh Linh, Quang Tri Province). In this period, of great importance are the following documents: 1. Forest Protection Act promulgated by the President on 11 September This is the highest official document on forest protection issued by the Government to that time. This Act deals with numerous aspects relating to forests and forest resources. - For a nature reserve, this is the first time the term "Prohibited Forest" is officially used. The Act stipulates objectives and major principles of the establishment and maintenance of the Prohibited Forest system. - It was the first time the control of rare and precious fauna and flora species was legalized. The Government was assigned with the task to verify the list of rare and precious species and formulate the regulations for preserving these species. - Steering and implementing bodies for forest management were determined in this Act. 2. Decision No 155-CP issued on 3 October 1973 by the Government Council guiding the implementation of the Forest Protection Act of To implement the Forest Protection Act of 1972, in the Decision 155-CP the Government outlined a number of policies and measures as follows: - Forest and forestry land-use planning should be carried out to provide basic data and information for plantation establishment, forest maintenance and enrichment. - Professional forest protection units and nonprofessional forces at the grassroots level should be arranged to ensure proper protection of the remaining natural forests and successful planting of new forests. The budget needed for maintaining forest protection forces was part of the fund for forest protection. The staffing of the forest protection

12 system was fixed at the rate of one person per 1,000 ha of forests on average. The General Department of Forests was responsible for the unified administration of forest protection personnel as well as the facilities provided and distribution of staff, budget and facilities based on the requirement of different localities. The General Department of Forests was given the task of formulating regulations on forests and forestry land management and formulating policies for allocating forests and forest land to cooperatives, to be approved by the Government Council. 3. Decree No. 101-CP dated 21 May 1973 of the Government Council stipulating the organizational structure, duties and mandate of forest protection units. According to this Decree, the forest protection force was under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Sector. Administratively, the forest protection force had a system from central to grassroots level under the control of the General Director of the General Department of Forests. The structure of the forest protection force consisted of a general department, sub-department and forest protection station at central, provincial and district levels respectively. 4. Decision No. 348 dated 15 June, by the General Department of Forests on tasks, mandate and organizational structure of the Forest Protection Department According to the this Decision, the Forest Protection Department was assigned to provide services to the Head of the General Department of Forests in the following fields: - Unified management of forest protection, guiding the organization of forest protection forces; and - Elaborating and organizing the implementation of policies, regulations, rules and technical measures applied to forest protection. The organizational structure of the Forestry Protection Department consisted of six sections, including professional and technical ones. Besides general forest management, technical sections dealt with monitoring and controlling wildlife protection. Discussion In the period , the Vietnamese economy experienced a lot of difficulties and the country was divided. Nature conservation in general, and biodiversity in particular, suffered from a lack of information and material on nature conservation worldwide and a lack of local technical and managerial staff. The awareness and consciousness of administrative bodies at all levels was limited. In these circumstances, the Forestry Sector recognized the utmost importance of conservation and tirelessly urged the Government to allocate rich tracts of natural forests for conservation and to abandon logging. Thanks to this effort, 49 forest sites obtained the status of Prohibited Forests, the pre-requisite for forest conservation. The Forestry Sector made proposals on the establishment of Prohibited Forests and collaborated with local authorities to protect them. (A large number of Prohibited Forests were approved by provincial governments, namely Huong Can and Xuan Son Forest in Phu Tho Province, Thuong Tien Forest in Hoa Binh, Ba Mum Island in Quang Ninh, Bac Son - Mo Re, in Lang Son etc.). Advice was given also by the Sector so that the Government could issue legal documents to provide a foundation for building-up the Prohibited Forest system (afterwards Special-use Forests). One may reach the conclusion that forest protection and nature conservation in this period were still far from satisfactory as there was only one Prohibited Forest area officially approved by the Government and some others recognized by provincial authorities. However, this was a very important preparatory stage to create the necessary requirements for the development of a Special-use Forest system in the coming period. In this period, the documents issued by the Government and ministerial bodies confirmed and recognized the following provisions: 1. Prohibited Forests are special sites assigned for nature protection, historical and cultural relics maintenance, research and other specific purposes. The Government decides on the establishment of Prohibited Forests. 2. Logging and hunting is strictly prohibited in Prohibited Forests. 3. Under the direct control of the Government Council, the General Department of Forests was entitled to ensure unified management for forest protection.

13 4. The setting up of a special force focused on forest protection called the People s Forest Protection Forces. These forces were put under the General Department of Forests. They had an organizational network from district level upwards, being independent from forestry business units to ensure proper protection of forests even for forest compartments. 5. The General Department of Forests, in collaboration with People s Committees of provinces, are entitled to develop plans for concentrated plantations, watersheds and Prohibited Forests as well. 6. Hunting anywhere in any form for any circumstances has to obey the State regulations for hunting and have to be permitted by the forestry agency, at least at provincial level. These six provisions provided a very important background for establishing the Special-use Forest system afterwards. However, the stipulations given in these provisions are not yet detailed and still required concrete actions later on. In general, documents issued during this period contained the following weaknesses: - Lack of a clear definition and criteria to identify Prohibited Forests, - The term Prohibited Forest did not reflect all functions of forests of this kind. It could easily make people misunderstand that all activities in these forests are restricted. Therefore, Prohibited Forests did not get support from people, especially those who lived inside the Prohibited Forest or within buffer zones of Prohibited Forests. - Lack of classification of management categories and management zoning of Prohibited Forests for effective and efficient control. - Regulations and practical measures were focused on protection, with regulations for management and planning on surveys, development and utilisation of Prohibited Forest yet to be made. - Lack of regulations indicating organizational structure of managerial units involved in the Prohibited Forest system. The regulations for operations of protected forest Management Boards had not yet been made available. - Lack of a financing system to support activities of Prohibited Forests. These shortcomings and weaknesses would be given attention in the next stages of Prohibited Forest development. II. Documents issued in the period from 1976 up to now The reunification of the country offered favorable conditions for the building-up and development of the Special-use Forest system nationwide. Thanks to the progress of forest inventory and planning, strengthened international cooperation and the assistance provided by overseas scientists and international organizations, the development of Special-use Forests has progressed considerably. In this period, Vietnam s nature conservation activities came to be integrated into worldwide and regional practices in this field. The number of documents devoted to nature conservation management has increased remarkably to meet the need of faster development of the Special-use Forest system. Due to the large number of issued documents, the authors have divided them into four groups for investigation. A. Documents relating to management and decentralization of Special-use Forest management; B. Documents approving feasibility studies for Special-use Forests establishment and investment projects; C. Documents containing policies on strengthening protection and management of Special-use Forests; and D. Document for management and protection of precious animal and plant species. A. Documents relating to management and decentralization of Special-use Forest management. 1. Decision No QD dated 30 December 1986 issued by the Ministry of Forestry promulgating the Regulation on

14 Management of Special-use Forests. Following the Government s Decision No. 194-CT of 9 August 1986 on establishing 73 Prohibited Forests, the forestry sector was assigned to manage a system of Prohibited Forests including 87 sites with a total area of around one million hectares. To ensure proper management of this system, the Ministry of Forestry issued the Regulation on Special-use Forest Management. According to this Regulation, in view of decentralisation of Special-use Forest management, Special-use Forests were classified into three groups: 1. National parks: To be managed and developed by the Ministry of Forestry; 2. Nature reserves: Subject to area and significance of the forest sites, the Ministry of Forestry or Provincial People s Committees may manage them. Nature reserves that are located in areas owned by Forestry-Agricultural-Industrial Corporations are to be managed and developed by the Forestry Sector. 3. Cultural, Historical and Environmental Areas: To be managed by the Ministry of Forestry. The management of these groups of forests may be delegated to the concerned department subject to the dimension and importance the forests possess. In principle, the organization, establishment and zoning had to obey the following regulations: - The establishment of Special-use Forests had to be approved by the Ministerial Council based on a proposal from the Ministry of Forestry and/or People s Committees of provinces possessing the forests. - Each Special-use Forest had to be divided into various zones and sections. - National parks, nature reserves, environmental and cultural protection forests of large size had to be divided into three functional zones: Strictly protected zones, Buffer and ecological rehabilitation zones, Service, administration, production, recreation/entertainment zones. - Prior to establishment, each Special-use Forest had to have a feasibility study or investment project approved by a relevant legislative body with positive comments from the Ministry of Forestry and the local authorities concerned. - Boundaries of Special-use Forests were to be defined by a system of solid posts and boards. All natural resources found in the forests had to be investigated, recorded and shown on maps. - To facilitate the management of Special-use Forests, national parks were required to have directorate boards, while the Specialuse Forests of other kinds should have Management Boards or management stations. Without a decision of the Council of Ministers, changes of purpose and/or classification of forests approved to be Special-use were impossible. Discussion The Regulation on Management of Special-use Forests issued by the Ministry of Forestry in 1986 represents one of the most important documents for management of the Special-use Forest system of the country in the last years of the 20th century. Based on this Regulation, the Forestry Sector has markedly upgraded the development of Special-use Forests. A system of Special-use Forests with over 90 areas classified into three groups was developed and became operational. With this Special-use Forest system more than one million hectares of forests, including a large proportion of primary forests, was put under strict protection and most of the endangered, rare and precious plant and animal species became legally protected. Nevertheless, the Regulations on Management of Special-use Forests issued in 1986 had shortcomings and weaknesses as follows: - This Regulation was issued at Ministerial level. Its effectiveness, therefore, was limited. Management of selected Special-use Forests, particularly of cultural protection forests, was overlapping and confused between the Ministry of Forestry and provinces, or between the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Culture and Information. At provincial level, the mandate of departments of agriculture and rural development and sub-departments of forest

15 protection on management of Special-use Forests was not clearly defined. The coordination for managing environmental, historical and cultural protection forests was still insufficient. In most cases, forest protection officers take care of the forest while staff of the Culture and Information Branch look after cultural relics. - Determination of the functional zones is yet to be clarified. There is confusion between ecological rehabilitation zones and buffer zones. Therefore, in Circular No LN/KL dated 13 July 1993 the Ministry of Forestry gave additional guidance on management of buffer zones: A buffer zone is a forested or open land area that is occupied by local people and next to the boundaries of national parks and nature reserves. A buffer zone is developed to mitigate the pressure of local people on strictly protected forest sites. The area of the buffer zone does not constitute a part of the total area of the national park or nature reserve. However, buffer zone development projects are to be approved together with master plans of national parks or nature reserves. 2. The Act on Protection and Development of Aquatic Resources dated 25 April 1989 and issued by the Chairman of the State Council. The Act regulates issues related to nature conservation, such as: - The State undertakes the unified control of aquatic resources and the living environment of aquatic life. - Actions leading to devastation of aquatic resources and contamination of their habitats are strictly banned. The use of poisonous and explosive substances, guns, electric shockers, misuse of chemicals, the clearing of mangroves, watershed forests, coral reefs, marine plants and other special landscapes is illegal. - Fishing and trading in aquatic products of high value, rare and precious species or endangered species listed as protected species is prohibited. - The Minister of Fisheries is entitled to stipulate the list of aquatic species to be preserved as well as special measures to protect them. Discussion In general, the Act on Protection and Development of Aquatic Resources has given attention to protect aquatic species and stipulate the fishing seasons, while protection of habitats and the establishment of marine and coastal reserves have received little attention. 3. The Law on Forest Protection and Development issued by the Chairman of the State Council on 19 August This was the most comprehensive legal document on forest management and protection passed by the National Assembly to this date. The major provisions concerning nature conservation found in this Law are: - The government is to undertake measures to ensure unified management of forests and forestry land. Forests and forestry lands are allocated to organizations and individuals for protection, development and sustainable use following planning and plans approved by the Government. - Subject to forest functions, forests are divided into three groups: Special-use Forests (national parks; nature reserves; cultural, historical and environmental areas); Protection Forests (catchment protection function); and Production Forests (commercial production function). - The Chairman of the Ministerial Council makes decisions to establish Special-use Forests of national importance and allocates them to Management Boards, which may be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forestry or other agencies under the Ministerial Council. - The chairperson of Provincial People s Committees is entitled to establish Specialuse Forests of local importance and assign them to Management Boards, which are under the control of the provinces. - The purpose of setting up Special-use Forests is to preserve nature, national ecological examples, genetic resources of fauna and flora, conduct research, protect historic relics and cultural sites and to provide recreation and tourism services.

16 - Boundaries of Special-use Forests are demarcated by a system of solid posts and boards. - The Government is to develop policies to harmonize, mobilize and attract funds from national and international organizations and individuals to invest in the development and protection of Special-use Forests in a sustainable way. - Each Special-use Forest has to be put under a Management Board. - Management of Special-use Forests has to follow the regulations applied to this group of forests. The Management Board is allowed to carry out services, research, social and cultural activities in accordance with the law. - Organisations and individuals who hold activities in Special-use Forests have to get permission from the Management Board. - Strictly protected zones of national parks and nature reserves have to be carefully managed. Actions that may be harmful to forests therein are prohibited. - To regulate forest management, Chapter VII of the Law stipulates the organizational structure of forest protection forces, reconfirming that forest protection forces are specialized units dealing with the function of managing and protecting forests, including special-use ones. These forces are under the unified leadership of the Minister of Forestry and supervised by local authorities. Forest rangers are provided with a uniform, and other facilities needed for operation. - Concerning international cooperation in the field of forest management, the Law states that Vietnam is looking forward to broadening relationships and ties with other countries, international agencies and individuals in the fields of basic survey, research, technology transfer, technical training, forest protection, plantation technology and processing of forest products. 4. Decree 17-HDBD dated 17 January 1992 of the Council of Ministers regulating the implementation of the Law on Forest Protection and Development. This Decree detailed certain points of the Law on Forest Protection and Development: - In principle, the mandate to establish Special-use Forests and change usage purposes of these forests is delegated as follows: The Chairman of the Council of Ministers makes decisions on establishment of national parks and important nature reserves, then assigns agencies of the Ministry of Forestry to control the established parks or reserves. The establishment of nationally substantial cultural, historical and landscape protective forests is also decided by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers but the control of this subgroup of forests may be allocated to relevant agencies belonging to Provincial People s Committees. The chairpersons of People s Committees of provinces are entitled to make decisions on establishment of cultural, historical, landscape and tourism protection forests and hand over the management of these forest sites to agencies under provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development. A change of status of Special-use Forests can be made only by decisions of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers based on a recommendation from the Ministry of Forestry and chairpersons of related Provincial People s Committees. - Planning and management of Special-use Forests: In collaboration with relevant agencies and local authorities, the Ministry of Forestry has to develop the master planning for the national system of Special-use Forests, including national parks, nature reserves, cultural and historical sites, landscape protection forests and tourism forest sites and submits the master planning to the Ministerial Council for consideration. Based on the instruction of the Ministerial Council, Special-use Forests, subject to their significance, may be transferred to the Ministry of Forestry or

17 local authorities for proper management following the mandate delegated. Management Boards of Special-use Forests are responsible for formulating feasibility studies and submitting these documents to competent agencies of the Government for approval. The approved feasibility reports are to be followed by Management Boards. Management and utilisation of Specialuse Forests has to follow the Regulation on Special-use Forests and the approved feasibility reports. 5. Decree No. 39-CP dated 18 May 1994 by the Government on organizational structure, duties and mandate of forest protection forces and Circular No. 7-TCLD dated 8 August 1994 by Ministry of Forestry guiding the implementation of Decree No. 39-CP. Decree 39-CP clarified tasks and responsibilities of the Forest Protection Department as follows: "The Forest Protection Department operates as an advising agency, assisting the Ministry of Forestry in organising the state administration of Special-use Forest protection and management throughout the country. As a professional and an executive agency, the Forest Protection Department has to undertake measures to prevent violations of legislative provisions regulating forest protection and management. Regarding the specific tasks of the Forest Protection Department, the Decree stipulates that the Department is to make proposals to the Ministry of Forestry on organising the administration and protection of protection, special-use and production forests. The Department is also required to guide and supervise local authorities in management of forests that have been allocated to organisations or individuals as well as those forests that are still not allocated. The Circular No. 7- TCLD indicates that: - The Forest Protection Department belongs to the Ministry of Forestry. It has four sections, including one for Special-use Forest management. - National parks and nature reserves, which are under the control of the Ministry of Forestry, may set up forest protection stations. The Ministry of Forestry decides to set up forest protection stations, defines their personnel and nominates their staff. Forest protection stations of this type are controlled by directors of national parks or nature reserves and professionally supervised by the local forest protection subdepartments. In collaboration with forest protection sub-departments, directors of national parks and directors of nature reserves have to formulate project documents for maintaining the Special-use Forests, submit these documents to the Minister of Forestry for approval and then organize project implementation. - The Provincial Sub-departments of Forest Protection are entitled to administer Specialuse Forests that belong to provinces. - Special-use Forests that are not under the management of the Forestry Sector are not covered by these stipulations. Discussion The documents mentioned above (3a, 3b and 3c) represent superior stipulations promulgated by the National Assembly, the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Forestry on establishment, management, protection and development of Special-use Forests. They play an important role in accomplishment of the objectives of the Special-use Forest system of Vietnam. These documents stipulate requirements for both the management and protection of Special-use Forests (earlier documents focused on Special-use Forest protection alone). However, these documents still contain shortcomings and weaknesses as follow: 1. The titles of Special-use Forests vary from document to document; 2. The relationships between the former Ministry of Forestry (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and People s Committees of provinces and larger cities as well as line departments are not yet clarified. There is a confusion and misunderstanding of duties and mandates among provincial and city agencies involved in management of Special-use Forests. Overlaps in special use-forest management is found between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

18 Development, Ministry of Culture and Information, on the one hand, and between forest protection subdepartments and provincial agriculture and rural development departments on the other hand. 3. Lack of a stipulation that may ensure funds for Special-use Forests. Many Special-use Forests have been approved but they cannot become operational because of the lack of funds. A lot of Special-use Forests, which have been established with Program 327, remain without a funding source. 4. Decree 17- HDBT of The Council of Ministers guiding the implementation of the Law on Forest Protection and Development states that Management Boards of Special-use Forests have to formulate feasibility studies to be submitted to competent agencies. In fact, most of the Management Boards are set up after the approval of feasibility studies. 6. Decision No. 350-TTg dated 28 May 1996 of the Prime Minister about the functions, tasks, mandate and organizational structure of the Forest Development Department within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Item 1 and Item 2, Article 2 of this Decision define tasks and the mandate of the Forestry Development Department as follows: 1. Prepare long-term, mid-term and shortterm planning and plans, formulate programmes and projects on establishment, rehabilitation, utilisation and development of watersheds, special-use and production forests, undertake social forestry extension and organize the implementation of these initiatives upon getting the approvals of the competent organizations. 2. Elaborate and submit policies and regulations on management of protection, special-use and production forests and social forestry development to competent agencies of the Government. Discussion The stipulations given in Item 1 and 2, Article 2 of the above-mentioned Decision are duplicated with the provisions indicated in Item 2 and 3, Article 4 of the Decree 39-CP of 18 May 1994 of the Government on organizational structure, duties and mandate of the Forest Protection Department. Decree 39-CP defines the similar duties and mandate of the Forest Protection Department as: - Develop necessary legislative documents, policies, procedures, rules and regulations on forest management and submit them to the Ministry of Forestry or other competent agencies for approval and promulgation. - Make proposals and recommendations on organisation of protection, special-use and production forest management and submit to the Minister of Forestry for consideration. Because of this overlap, The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued two Decisions to adjust the functions and mandate of the Forest Protection Department as it expressed in Item 5 and 6 below. 7. Decision No NN-TCCB/QD of 15 November 1997 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development entrusting the Forest Protection Department to administer national parks. There are two important points found in the Decision: 1. To entrust the Forest Protection Department to deal with the administration of the national park system belonging to the Ministry of Forestry. 2. Following the functions and tasks of national parks, the Director of the Forest Protection Department, together with line departments of the Ministry of Forestry, is assigned to control and supervise activities carried out by national parks. 8. Decision No QD/ BNN/ TCCB of 12 February 1999 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the working mechanism and relations between the Forest Protection Department and national parks belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

19 This document describes the responsibility of the Forest Protection Department and directors of national parks in administration of national parks. It also determines responsibility of line departments of the Ministry in collaboration with the Forest Protection Department in national park management. 9. Law on Environment Protection of 27 December 1993 There are 55 articles contained in this Law, of which two articles (12 and 13) are devoted to nature conservation: - All organizations and individuals are required to protect wildlife species, biodiversity, forests, the sea and other ecosystems. - Logging has to follow planning and stipulations defined in the Law on Forest Protection (Article12). - Utilisation and exploitation of nature reserves and landscapes need to have a license from the concerned agency responsible for environmental protection administration and be registered at the offices of local authorities mandated to administer the nature reserves or landscapes within the localities (Article13). Discussion The Law on Environment Protection has not given due emphasis to nature protection and biodiversity conservation. In particular, this Law does not contain a comprehensive provision on the system of protected areas over the entire country. 10. Decision 845-TTg dated 22nd December 1995 of the Prime Minister enforcing Vietnam s Biodiversity Action Plan. The Biodiversity Action Plan of Vietnam has proposed a variety of urgent actions related to the building-up and development of protected areas of Vietnam. These actions are: - Immediate actions need to be taken to define and preserve protected areas retaining high biodiversity value. Around one million hectares of forest and forestry land should be expanded at 87 recognized Special-use Forests and priority is given to areas of high biodiversity value. - Consolidate and develop buffer zones around protected areas and encourage people to practice intensive farming to stabilize living conditions. Efforts should be made to educate and convert local dwellers into forest protection forces. - Planning should be done to establish important wetland protected areas in Ca Mau, along the Hong River, bird sanctuaries, lagoons etc. These areas are apart from the Special-use Forest system and are located close to communities that are in urgent need of farming lands. - Identifying selected marine and inland wetland areas. Priority is given to marine protected areas with highly valued biodiversity. - Experimental research should be carried out to rear and propagate rare and precious sea creatures and forest wildlife. They may be species of high economic value that have been over-exploited or endangered. Discussion The Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) aims at the sustainable management of Vietnam s biodiversity in the period from the late 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century. The BAP outlines the main directions and actions that need to be taken. However, it is lacking in specific details, such as who is responsible for implementation of its actions, how to carry it out and where to get the funds necessary for actions. The BAP was prepared by groups of experts with input and comments from researchers. Since this document was formulated without the active involvement of management officers and policy makers as well as line ministries, it is not reflected in annual action plans of ministries and provinces. The working mechanism for implementation of the BAP also needs to be discussed to verify the duties of concerned ministries, agencies and local administrations. 11. Decision No /QD/ TTg of the Prime Minister regarding the responsibility of authorities at different levels on state administration of forests and forestry lands. Articles concerning the management of the Special-use Forest system may be summarized as follows: