Can protective forest land be converted?
Conversion of protective forest land is defined as the change of land use purpose. This conversion is subject to the provisions of law on conditions, subjects, authority and limits...
Clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates the following cases of land use purpose change that must be permitted by competent state agencies:
- Converting rice-growing land, special-use forest land, protective forest land, and production forest land to other types of land in the agricultural land group;
- Convert agricultural land to non-agricultural land;
- Convert other types of land to concentrated livestock land when implementing large-scale concentrated livestock projects;
- Converting non-agricultural land allocated by the State without collecting land use fees to other types of non-agricultural land allocated by the State with collecting land use fees or land lease;
- Converting non-agricultural land that is not residential land to residential land;
- Converting land for construction of public works, land used for public purposes with business purposes to land for non-agricultural production and business;
- Converting non-agricultural production and business land that is not commercial or service land to commercial or service land.
Accordingly, the law allows the conversion of protective forest land to other purposes within the agricultural land group. However, the conversion of land use purposes must be permitted by competent State agencies and must be consistent with the approved land use planning...
In addition, in the case of changing the land use purpose of a project using protective forest land for other purposes that are not decided by the National Assembly or approved by the Prime Minister in principle for investment, the competent state agency shall only allow the change of land use purpose when there is one of the following documents:
- Approval document of the Prime Minister for cases of changing the purpose of use of 20 hectares or more of protective forest land;
- Resolution of the Provincial People's Council for cases of changing the purpose of use of less than 20 hectares of protective forest land.
Can protective forest land be converted to residential land?
Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law provides cases where land use purposes can be changed but must have the consent of the competent authority. It clearly states that protective forest land can be converted to other purposes within the agricultural land group.
On the other hand, residential land is the common name for residential land belonging to the non-agricultural land group. Therefore, in comparison with the above regulations, land users are not allowed to convert protective forest land into residential land.
