Chương V Thông tư 33/2018/TT-BNNPTNT kiểm kê theo dõi diễn biến rừng: THEO DÕI DIỄN BIẾN RỪNG

Chapter V

MONITORING OF FOREST TRANSITIONS

Article 32. Tasks and requirements of monitoring of forest transitions

1. Tasks involved in the monitoring of forest transitions:

a) Monitoring transition in forest areas according to forest conditions;

b) Monitoring transition in forest areas according to forest owners;

c) Monitoring transition in forest areas according to uses of forests;

d) Monitoring transition in forest areas according to causes.

2. Requirements for monitoring of forest transitions:

a) Using forest inventorying results integrated into the central database for monitoring of forest transition hosted on the server installed at the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (briefly called Central Database) as original data used for carrying out the annual monitoring of forest transitions. Previously published data are the database for carrying out the following year’s monitoring of forest transition;

b) Using forest transition updating software issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

c) Using necessary surveying, drawing and updating instruments and equipment, including personal computers, satellite locators and tablets, for defining and zoning forest plots subject to transition.

Article 33. Processes for monitoring of forest transitions

1. Collecting forest transition information:

a) Within 15 days from the date of transition in forest area, group-II forest owners shall be responsible for reporting to district-level Forest Protection Subdepartments; group-I forest owners shall be responsible for reporting to local forest protection forces on transitions in their allocated or leased forest areas; local forest protection officers shall be responsible for reporting to district-level Forest Protection Subdepartments on forest transitions with respect to forest areas put under the control of commune-level People’s Committees, and receiving, collecting, checking and verifying information about forest transitions provided by group-I forest owners;

b) Using the sample report containing information about transition in forest area given in the Form No. 01 of Appendix IV hereto.

2. Time of identification of forest transition occurring due to causes shall be regulated as follows:

a) Time of receipt of the report on acceptance testing of forestation results or after completion of forest cropping season, or time of receipt of the report on acceptance testing of results of the protected cultivation for regeneration of forests with respect to causes of transition specified in point a and c of clause 1 of Article 37 herein;

b) After 03 years of receipt of the report on acceptance testing of forestation results or after completion of forest cropping season in the first year with respect to causes of transition specified in point b of clause 1 of Article 37 herein;

c) Time of completion of the primary exploitation of forest resources with respect to causes specified in point a of clause 2 of Article 37 herein;

d) Inspection reports including identification of forest areas subject to loss or damage that are made by competent authorities with respect to causes specified in point b, c and d of clause 2 of Article 37 herein;

dd) Reports on acceptance testing of completed exploitation of timber and other forest products that are prepared by competent authorities with respect to causes specified in point dd of clause 2 of Article 37 herein;

e) Documents, records or reports made by competent authorities with respect to causes specified in point d of clause 1 and point e of clause 2 of Article 37 herein.

3. Updating forest transitions:

a) Within 30 days of receipt of reports on forest transitions from forest owners or local forest protection officers, district-level Forest Protection Subdepartments shall carry out the inspection of forest transition documentation and the field verification; shall update forest transition software with transitions that may occur and synchronize updated results with the central database;

b) Provincial-level Forest protection Departments shall check and assess the level of adequacy of materials, data, databases and results of update of forest transitions provided by district-level Forest Protection Subdepartments; shall consolidate results of monitoring of forest transitions and areas where forests have not yet been formed throughout provinces;

c) Forest Administration shall consolidate results obtained from monitoring of transition in nationwide forests;

d) Collection and update of forest transition Information shall be subject to provisions laid down in Article 34, 35, 36 and 37 herein.

4. Approving and publicizing results of monitoring of forest transitions

a) Package of documents submitted to apply for approval of results must comprise the written request for approval of results of monitoring of forest transition; charts or forms compiled from results by using the Form No. 02, 03, 04 and 05 of Appendix IV herein; the report on assessment of forest transition, analysis of causes of increase or reduction in forest area and areas not yet becoming forests in the report period and year on year; the forest transition monitoring database, including forest status maps and information about attributes of these maps (in digital form);

b) District-level Forest Protection Subdepartments must prepare application documents for approval of results referred to in point a of clause 4 of this Article for submission to district-level People’s Committees to seek their decisions on public disclosure of forest conditions before reporting to provincial-level Forest Protection Departments by January 31 in the following year;

c) Forest Protection Departments must prepare application documents for approval of results specified in point a of clause 4 of this Article for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to submit to provincial-level People's Committees to seek their decisions on public disclosure of forest conditions before the combined report is submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development prior to February 28 in the subsequent year;

d) Forest Protection Administration must prepare application documents for approval of results specified in point a of clause 4 of this Article for the Vietnam Administration of Forestry to submit to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to seek its decision on public disclosure of conditions of nationwide forests by March 31 in the subsequent year.

Article 34. Monitoring of transitions in forest areas according to forest conditions

1. Monitoring transitions in forest areas:

a) Natural and planted forests;

b) Earthen mountain forests, rocky mountain forests, flooded forests and dune forests;

c) Timber forests, bamboo forests, timber and bamboo mixed forests and palm forests.

2. Monitoring transitions in non-forest areas:

a) Cultivation areas of plants not yet becoming forests;

b) Areas of protected cultivation of plants for forest regeneration purposes;

c) Other areas currently in use for forest protection and development purposes.

Article 35. Monitoring of transitions in forest areas according to forest owners

1. Monitoring transitions in area of forests under the management of forest owners prescribed in Article 8 of the Law on Forestry.

2. Monitoring transitions in area of forests under the management of commune-level People’s Committees.

Article 36. Monitoring of transition in forest areas according to purposes of use of forests

1. Monitoring transitions in specialized forests, including national parks, natural reserves, species – biotopes conservation zones, protected landscapes, forest areas intended for scientific researches and experiments, national vegetation parks and national seed stands.

2. Monitoring transitions in protection forests, including upstream protection forests, forests protecting water resources of residential communities, border protection forests, wind, sand and wave sheltering and sea reclamation forests.

3. Monitoring transitions in production forests.

Article 37. Monitoring transition in forest areas according to causes

1. Increasing forest areas due to the following causes:

a) Afforestation;

b) Planted forests qualified as forests;

c) Areas of protected cultivation of regeneration plants that are qualified as forests;

d) Others.

2. Decreasing forest areas due to the following causes:

a) Forest harvest;

b) Illegal harvest;

c) Forest fire;

d) Illegal deforestation and forestland encroachment;

dd) Transfer of purposes of forests;

e) Others (such as pests, diseases, cyclone, drought, flood, erosion and frost, etc.).

Article 38. Achievements obtained from monitoring of forest transition

1. Maps showing forest transition results that use the reference system VN2000 and the mapping scale according to laws on maps:

a) Commune-level: the minimum scale of 1/10,000;

b) District-level: the scale of 1/50,000;

c) Provincial-level: the scale of 1/100,000;

d) Nationwide-level: the scale of 1/1,000,000;

dd) With respect to maps of group-II forest owners, their scales must be commensurate with forest areas.

2. Forms and charts monitoring forest transitions and areas not yet becoming forest in different administrative units, and group-II forest owners, which are prepared by using the Forms No. 02, 03, 04 and 05 of Appendix IV herein.

3. Archival and depository of forest transition results:

a) Data on forest transition results (in documentary and digital form) prescribed in clause 1 and 2 of this Article may be archived and deposited on an annual basis;

b) Communal-level documentary data on forest transition results may be archived at commune-level People’s Committees and district-level Forest Protection Subdepartments; district-level documentary data on forest transition results may be archived at district-level Forest Protection Subdepartments and provincial-level Forest Protection Departments; provincial-level documentary data on forest transition results may be archived at Forest Protection Departments and Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development; nationwide documentary data on forest transition results may be archived at Forest Protection Administration.

c) Digital data on forest transition results integrated into the database available on the forestry information system hosted at the Vietnam Administration of Forestry may be deposited with district- or provincial-level administrative units and Vietnam Administration of Forestry.