Click to enlarge

Participatory land use planning (PLUP) and forest land allocation (FLA) are important to secure tenure rights over forest land resources with the aim to improve livelihoods and the management and protection of the natural resources. Based on the achievements in forest land allocation by the previous food security project, and in close collaboration with its partners in Quang Binh, the SMNR-CV project has developed a manual on PLUP-FLA. The first version of the manual published in 2005 has since then repeatedly been revised and adapted to the changing legal framework on the national level as well by the integration of further field experience.

In 2008, the project has supported the Provincial Forestry Consultant Group (PFCG) in adjusting provincial guidelines on forestland allocation in line with national Government Circular 38/2007/TT-BNN. Due to ongoing adjustments of a joint Circular on FLA to be issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the issuance of the project manual as the official provincial guideline on FLA has seen a substantial delay. By mid of December 2008 the project manual has been temporarily approved by the director of the provincial DARD and a final approval will be reached as soon as the national joint Circular on FLA has been issued (expected in early 2009).

Click to enlarge

The guideline provides practical guidance and elaborates step by step the PLUP-FLA procedures for the issuance of red book certificates for individual households, group of households or entire communities. The guideline does not provide detailed planning tools for economic sectors and the issuance of contracts (green book certificates) for households to manage forest land that belongs to State Forest Enterprises (SFE) and/or Protection Forest Management Boards. The guideline includes lessons learnt from other projects and the previous draft of the project PLUP-FLA manual which was presented and discussed with stakeholders from the provincial, district and communal level in several workshops on the provincial and national level.

Since in the recent national Circular 38/2007/TT-BTT, detailed forest inventories including volume calculations are specified as preconditions for the issuance of land use certificates, a description of the innovative method of “Participatory Forest Inventory” and further adjustments of the previously applied methodology have been incorporated into the revised guideline.

This guideline on PLUP and FLA is based on the following principles:

• Harmonize government priorities for socio-economic development and environmental conservation with local community needs
• In line with legal and administrative framework of Vietnam
• Be simple and easy to be implemented with the local available resources at the commune and district levels
• Ensure equitable access to forest land and resources by all groups in the community
• Strengthen sustainable development of the whole commune and villages and minimise negative environmental impacts
• Be participatory and ensure that women, ethnic minorities, the poorest and other disadvantaged people fully participate in the PLUP and FLA process
  

Further details can be found in the download section.