Lam Dong and Son La are two localities selected by the Prime Minister to implement the pilot policy of payment for forest environmental services according to Decision No. 380/QD-TTg dated April 10, 2008.
After the pilot period, Lam Dong has reviewed and evaluated the effectiveness of the policy and has been concretized in the Law on Forest Protection and Development, the Law on Forestry, the Government’s Decrees, the guiding circulars. of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance.
Over the past time, the activities of the Management Board of the Forest Protection and Development Fund in Lam Dong have made great efforts, basically meeting the general requirements in the management and administration of the Fund, the implementation of policies and procedures. payment for forest environmental services in the area.
According to the Provincial People’s Committee, the collection of forest environmental services has created a great resource to pay for forest environmental service providers and contracted households to protect forests, thereby increasing income for contracted people. forest owner unit; reducing state budget spending on forest management and protection activities in the area, contributing to reducing the number of violations of the Law on forest management and protection, forest areas damaged by deforestation year by year…
However, Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee assessed that the operation of the Forest Protection and Development Fund still has many shortcomings and limitations that the inspection conclusions of the General Department of Forestry have raised.
Specifically, the management and use of residual funds still have a large amount of money left over, although this money has a target audience, but for various reasons, up to now, the funds have not been fully spent; the planning of annual revenue and expenditure for environmental services is still slow (the unit prepares until the process of appraisal and approval of the plan); there are expressions that are not very close, have not raised the sense of responsibility, there are also expressions of fear of difficulties and suffering; understanding of the provisions of the Law is still limited.
Faced with this fact, Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee requested that in the coming time, the Forest Protection and Development Fund must comply with the provisions of the Law; the collection and payment of forest environment services must ensure the right purposes and the right objects.
In particular, the Forest Protection and Development Fund makes a plan for collection and expenditure of forest environmental services in a timely manner, with policies, on time, with the right subjects, fairly and without equalization, in accordance with the provisions of the Law.
“At the end of the fiscal year, the plan for collection and expenditure of forest environmental services must be adjusted in accordance with regulations in order to fully pay the collected amount in the year, not to keep the money to pay for forest environmental services…”, the People’s Committee requested by Lam Dong province.
