What do we see after 5 years of implementing the Forestry Law?

Forest management, protection and development receive the attention and participation of the whole society.

Facilitating mechanisms for forest growers and forest product processors

The family of Mr. Trieu Van Nhat in Khoi Nghe village, Son Thuy commune, Van Ban district has nearly 20 hectares of production forest; of which more than 10 hectares are planted with cinnamon. With this area, his family earns hundreds of millions of dong on average each year. Mr. Nhat said that in recent years, new regulations have created more favorable conditions for forest growers; thereby, motivating him and the people in the commune to actively plant, care for and protect forests.

“My family just sold 100 cinnamon trees and earned more than 100 million VND. In the past, to be able to exploit them, my family spent a lot of time and procedures such as reporting to the commune, then the commune officials came down to verify, then had a confirmation paper from the commune People's Committee to be allowed to exploit. However, now for the forest area that is ready to be exploited, my family only needs to inform the local Forest Ranger about the area and location of exploitation and it's done. This is very convenient for people to participate in forest planting,” Mr. Nhat added.

Van Ban is the locality with the largest forest area in Lao Cai province, with a total forest area and forestry planning land of 112,400.46 hectares; of which, special-use forest is 24,966.15 hectares, protection forest is 46,708.75 hectares and production forest is 40,725.56 hectares. Mr. Nguyen Cong Tuong, Head of Van Ban District Forest Protection Department, said: With this forest area, every year, people participating in planting, caring for and protecting forests are also paid billions of VND in forest environmental service fees as well as other support policies from the State.

The Forestry Law has created more favorable conditions for forest growers.

“In addition to creating conditions for people to participate in forest planting, the Forestry Law also has more favorable regulations on procedures for facilities purchasing and processing forest products as well as transporting and selling to large enterprises for purchasing or exporting; thereby, creating stable output for people to plant forests…”, Mr. Tuong emphasized.

The Forestry Law defines “forestry as a technical economic sector”, thereby providing regulations on the forestry economic chain, helping the development of forestry economy in Lao Cai become a commodity and a strength in the development of forest economy, forest environmental services... Thanks to that, the work of developing forests, using forests and developing forest economy according to the right purpose, creating jobs, increasing income for many households in the highlands. From 2019 to 2023, the exploitation of planted forests in Lao Cai province reached 556,789m3 of wood and revenue from non-timber forest products (branches, cinnamon leaves, cardamom, giang leaves...) brought in a total revenue of more than 2,200 billion VND per year.

Removing obstacles in the implementation of the Forestry Law

In the process of implementing the Forestry Law, besides the advantages, there are also difficulties and obstacles that need to be resolved soon to improve the effectiveness of forest protection, care and development. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Sam, Deputy Director of Lao Cai Forest Protection Department said: There are still difficulties and inadequacies between the Forestry Law and the Land Law in the process of land allocation, forest allocation, ownership assignment... which directly affects the rights of forest owners. In addition, investment resources for forestry are still slow and limited, so the economic potential of forests has not been fully exploited. The awareness of some local authorities, forest owners and people about forest development and use is still limited...

Forest product purchasing and processing facilities are encouraged to develop to create stable output for forest growers.

“For the Forestry Law to be truly effective, it is necessary to completely resolve the issue of forestry land, ownership, etc. according to the new provisions of the Land Law; there must be a specific boundary between records and the field, thereby enhancing the responsibility of forest owners. Mechanisms and policies to support the development of the forestry economy need specific guidance so that the policy can truly come into life. Strengthen propaganda work so that organizations, individuals, and communities understand the Law as well as forest development policies, etc., thereby voluntarily and actively participating in forest management, protection, and development,” Mr. Sam emphasized.

It can be said that after 5 years of implementing the Forestry Law, the sense of responsibility for forest protection of organizations and individuals has gradually been raised. The Forestry Law clearly stipulates the forms of forest ownership to recognize the labor achievements and investment results of forest workers; thereby, creating incentives for organizations and individuals to invest in poor forests and benefit from forests. Thereby, contributing to promoting socio-economic development in remote areas and ethnic minority areas.

National Park Passport – Protecting the Forest Your Own Way

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/thay-gi-sau-5-nam-thuc-hien-luat-lam-nghiep-1723799548568.htm