On May 13, Party Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to give opinions on the draft Decree amending Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Forestry Law, adding detailed regulations on farming, planting, developing and harvesting medicinal plants in forests.
Draft Decree adding the terms "Medicinal plants" and "Medicinal plant harvesting"; stipulating principles, forms, methods, content of plans as well as procedures for appraisal, approval or adjustment of plans for farming, planting, developing, and harvesting medicinal plants in forests.
In addition, the Draft Decree also stipulates the lease of forest environment for farming, planting for development, and harvesting medicinal plants in forests.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha proposed to complete the Draft Decree on scope, content, and goals in practice, in order to create a legal space for sustainable and multi-purpose exploitation and use of forest land and forest resources.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the Decree should focus on strictly regulating the activities of raising, planting, developing, and harvesting medicinal plants for special-use forests and protective forests and applying different policies in different areas of the area regarding socio-economic conditions and infrastructure.
In particular, buffer zone in special-use forests and protective forests must specify in detail the types of medicinal plants planted, farming methods, etc., strictly protect core areas that must control the harvesting and exploitation rates of medicinal plants for natural development.
Regarding a number of specific mechanisms and policies, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Decree must design incentive and incentive mechanisms for machinery, equipment, science and technology, credit, land for construction of warehouses, processing factories... for businesses to organize cooperation with people in raising and growing large-scale medicinal plant areas.
"The Decree needs to focus on the role of the community, protecting the people to preserve the forest, people must have a stable livelihood and livelihood from the policy of raising, planting and developing, harvesting medicinal plants," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment coordinate with the Ministries of Finance, Health, and the State Bank to study and propose insurance mechanisms and policies for the cultivation and development of medicinal plants, especially in remote areas.
In addition, consider adding tasks to funds related to forest protection and development to support farmers and growers in developing medicinal plants; developing geographical indications, maps of medicinal plant areas, and e-commerce trading floors.
