The level of penalties for violating state regulations on forest protection is a content that readers are interested in. Recently, the Government issued Decree No. 146/2026/ND-CP regulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of forestry.
Article 19 states the penalty level for violating state regulations on forest protection as follows:
1. A warning or a fine of 300,000 VND to 1 million VND shall be imposed for one of the following violations:
a) Forest owners who do not report or report incorrectly to competent authorities when there are changes in forest area according to legal regulations;
b) Bringing and bringing tools and means into production forests that are natural forests without the permission of the forest owner;
c) Damaging banners, slogans, panels, posters, and propaganda photos about forest fire prevention and fighting.
2. A fine of between 1 million VND and 3 million VND shall be imposed for one of the following violations:
a) Forest owners do not comply with standards and regulations on forest fire prevention and fighting and forest fire prevention and fighting requirements of competent people or agencies;
b) Forest owners who do not build or build but do not list regulations, rules, signs, prohibition signs, and guide signs on forest fire prevention and fighting within their managed forest area in accordance with legal regulations;
c) Forest owners do not organize propaganda and dissemination of laws and knowledge on forest fire prevention and fighting according to legal regulations;
d) Forest owners equip themselves with fire prevention and fighting equipment and tools that do not ensure compliance with legal regulations;
e) Shelling, leading, and releasing livestock and animals into ecological restoration sub-areas for special-use forests;
f) Carrying waste or herding, leading, and releasing livestock on newly planted forest areas, which are in the care period for production forests; protection forests; special-use forest ecological restoration sub-areas;
g) Establishing shacks and camps in production forests that are natural forests or protection forests without the permission of the forest owner;
h) Using fire not in accordance with legal regulations in the strictly protected sub-zone of special-use forests;
i) Not notifying and not properly implementing legal regulations on using fire when burning fields, swiddens, fields, burning vegetation to prepare forest land and reduce flammable materials in the forest;
k) Bringing and bringing tools and means into protection forests without the permission of the forest owner;
l) Forest owners do not replant forests immediately in the next forest planting season after white harvesting with an area of less than 1 ha.
3. A fine of between 3 million VND and 5 million VND shall be imposed for one of the following violations:
a) Forest owners do not statistically report the extent of forest damage after the fire according to legal regulations;
b) Forest owners do not report periodically and unexpectedly on forest fire prevention and fighting work, promptly notify the local Forest Protection Department, the Fire and Rescue Police Department and direct management agencies of changes related to ensuring forest fire prevention and fighting safety within their management scope;
c) Forest owners develop forest fire prevention and fighting plans within their managed forest area that are not in accordance with regulations;
d) Forest owners do not update, supplement or not amend forest fire prevention and fighting plans when there are changes in the nature, dangerous characteristics of fire and conditions related to forest fire fighting activities.
