Since 2018, Viet Nam's Circular 28 on Sustainable Forest Management – officially, 28/2018/TT-BNNPTNT – has been a crucial regulatory framework promoting the sustainable use and management of its forests. In 2023, it was amended and reissued as Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BNNPTNT to help strengthen working principles, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (SFM) in the country.
The changes include additions and amendments that bring the circular in line with other policies and laws, promote gender equality and community participation in sustainable forest management, and clarify and speed up procedures for approval of sustainable forest management plans. The reforms also improve and simplify the outlines of sustainable forest management plans presented in the circular’s appendices.
In September 2023, RECOFTC co-sponsored a consultation workshop in Ha Noi to collect comments on this revision. “While the 2018 circular was an important part of Viet Nam’s commitment to sustainable forest management, five years of implementation revealed some gaps in the text,” says Ly Thi Minh Hai, country director of RECOFTC Viet Nam. “There was a need to address the inconsistencies with other parts of Viet Nam’s legal and regulatory framework.”
Our stakeholder consultation was organized to support the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s invitation to relevant parties to provide inputs to the update. Attendees included government officials, academics, RECOFTC staff and representatives of communities in Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces.
Gap
The meeting enabled participants to learn about proposed changes to the circular and share their insights and recommendations to streamline complexities. “Our consultation enabled representatives from community forests to share their experiences and reflections on how to improve the circular to better align with local practices,” says Dien Tien Vu, deputy country director of RECOFTC Viet Nam. “Bringing communities and decision-makers together to discuss challenges in the forestry sector helps to ensure that practice can influence policy. With the new amendments, the circular better reflects the realities and needs of communities managing local forests.”
Updates to the circular were officially issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on 30 November 2023.