1. Who is allowed to manage and use special-use forest land?
Article 186 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates that the State allocates special-use forest land for management, use, protection and development of forests in accordance with the provisions of forestry law to the following subjects:
a) Special-use forest management board.
b) Organization of science and technology, training and vocational education in forestry.
c) Forest protection management boards, economic organizations, units of the people's armed forces.
d) Residential communities in communes where there are special-use forests.
In addition, Clause 2, Article 54 of the 2017 Forestry Law stipulates that the Special-use Forest Management Board shall contract forest protection and development with households, individuals, and local communities to protect and develop forests. Based on specific conditions, the Special-use Forest Management Board shall coordinate with local authorities to establish a resettlement project and submit it to the competent State agency for approval to relocate people out of the strictly protected zone of the Special-use Forest.
2. Can I build a house on special-use forest land?
Previously, the 2013 Land Law stipulated that special-use forest land could only be converted to agricultural land and not to non-agricultural land (including residential land). Therefore, it was not allowed to build houses on special-use forest land.
Currently, Point b, Clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, effective from August 1, 2024, has added new cases requiring permission from State agencies when changing purposes, including:
- Convert special-use forest land, protective forest land, and production forest land into non-agricultural land.
Current law stipulates that land allowed for housing construction is residential land, this is the type of land used for housing construction as well as works serving people's lives.
For land plots outside the residential land category, if you want to build a house, you also need to apply for a change of land use purpose.
Accordingly, pursuant to Clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, cases of land use purpose change that must be permitted by competent State agencies include:
a) 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.
b) Convert agricultural land to non-agricultural land.
c) Converting other types of land to concentrated livestock land when implementing large-scale concentrated livestock projects.
d) Converting non-agricultural land allocated by the State without land use fees to other types of non-agricultural land allocated by the State with land use fees or land lease.
Accordingly, special-use forest land can only be used for house construction when its land use purpose is changed to non-agricultural land.
