Ineffective forest management has exposed shortcomings in the 2004 Law on Forest Protection and Development that need to be addressed through amendments, officials said at a conference on December 16.
A worker waters saplings in a Dong Nai nursery (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)- Ineffective forest management has exposed shortcomings in the 2004 Law onForest Protection and Development that need to be addressed through amendments,officials said at a conference on December 16.
Participants at thenational conference in the capital city said the law defined the forest as anecosystem but failed to clarify the scale and minimum areas involved. Criteriafor forest trees was also lacking, they said.
Deputy Minister of Agricultureand Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan said the law only focused on managing,protecting, developing and using wood but did not pay attention to the value ofthe forest environment services.
The value of suchservices was much higher than that of wood, he said, adding that annualimplementation of the policy on forest environment services netted revenuesequal to 22 percent of total social investments in the forestry sector.
He also said the lawshould also be amended to deal with shortcomings relating to forestclassification, renewing forest land allocation and leasing of forest land tohouseholds. This must be done to exempt them from land use taxes and landrental fees, thus encouraging the planting of new forests.
More regulations werealso needed on forestry product processing and trade activities, as alsocredit outlays for the sector, he said.
The changes shouldfacilitate investment in protecting and sustainably developing the nation’sforests, he added.
Nguyen Ba Ngai, DeputyHead of the Vietnam Forestry Administration, proposed that provisions are addedon allocating forest land to residents so that forest management becomesefficient,
In several localities,residential communities have proved to be very effective forest managers
Participants alsoproposed changing the name of the law to the Law on Forestry.
They wanted to increasepunishments for forest protection and management violations and speed upapplication of science and technology advances in forest protection andmanagement.
The draft amendments tothe law will be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal this monthbefore it is submitted to the Government and the National Assembly. - VNA
Vietnam’s central Thanh Hoa province and Laos’s Houaphan province have reviewed a joint programme to protect forests and prevent and fight fires in shared border areas.
Vietnam and Laos have reaped encouraging outcomes in their forestry cooperation but also need to make more efforts to address existing problems along their shared border.
The agriculture ministry is drawing up plans for a project on sustainable forest protection, restoration and development in the Central Highlands in an effort to stop the loss of forest coverage.
The programmes have brought about positive changes to rural infrastructure, comprehensively improved the material and spiritual lives of farmers, and contributed to Vietnam's economic restructuring, said PM Pham Minh Chinh.
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In recent interviews granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s reporters in Mexico, prominent figures reflected on the press’s legacy and its global influence.
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The VNA delegation, led by General Director Vu Viet Trang, actively participated in the event, engaging in both professional and diplomatic activities.
In the context where AI dominates and produces vast volumes of content, the only sustainable path forward for journalism is to focus on high-quality content and core values. Journalism must redefine its mission - not to report the fastest, but to provide the most profound and trustworthy value.
Granma and the VNA have great potential for cooperation, especially in sharing content regularly, so that VNA products are published on Granma platforms and vice versa, thereby helping Cuban and Vietnamese people access true information and gain a deep understanding of each other's country and people.
During his stay in China’s Guangzhou city from 1924 to 1927 to prepare for the establishment of a Communist Party to lead Vietnam’s revolution, President Ho Chi Minh founded “Thanh nien” newspaper and released its first issue on June 21, 1925.
Vietnam and Cambodia are hoped to strengthen their robust collaboration across various sectors, particularly in resolving remaining border issues to transform the border area into a zone of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.
The strategic product, managed and operated by the Vietnam News Agency Digital Media Centre (VNA Media), is an official channel for popularising the Party and State’s information and documents as well as delivering mainstream and trustworthy news to both domestic and international audiences through various kinds of multimedia formats.
Since President Ho Chi Minh founded Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper in 1925, the Vietnamese revolutionary press has become the voice of the people. During the resistance war against the colonialists, journalists took great personal risks to inspire patriotism and the will of rising up against foreign invaders.
The total investment exceeded 319 billion VND (12.2 million USD), including over 261 billion VND from the state budget and 57.5 billion VND mobilised from businesses, organisations, and individuals.
A worker waters saplings in a Dong Nai nursery (Photo: VNA) 
