Enterprises that exploit forests and their benefits for their businesseswill have to pay environmental fees from January 1 next year.
Decree 99/2010/ND-CP, which sets the payments, was issued aftersuccessful trials in Central-Highland Lam Dong province and northern SonLa province that began in 2009.
Vietnam isthe first Southeast Asian country to charge an environmental service feeand 77 billion VND (3.9 million USD) has been collected to protect anddevelop its forests.
The decree stipulates thatenterprises that generate hydro-electricity and supply water will haveto pay 20 VND per kWh of commercial electricity they produce and 40 VNDfor each cubic metre of commercial water to minimise erosion, protectthe land and regulate and maintain water sources.
Forest-based tourism enterprises will have to pay between 1-2 percent of their total turnover.
The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry will set the fee for industry and small businesses.
The money will go to watershed forest owners, including organisations,households or individuals who sign contract with the State to providelong-term protection of the forests.
The ministry'sranger department deputy director Nguyen Huu Dung said universalapplication of the fees would create funds for the protection ofenvironment and ecosystems.
The money would also help improve the quality of services and ensure sufficient water for power generation and tourism.
Forests were crucial to the regulation of water resources and controlling floods, deputy director Dung said.
Ministry assessments show that land encroachment and illegal logginghad been remarkably reduced since the introduction of the pilot fees.
More than 8,000 households in Lam Dong province alonehave received 8.1-8.7 million VND (413-443 USD) each year from thecollection of fees from 203,330ha of forest.
Many households had asked that the protected area be extended./.
Decree 99/2010/ND-CP, which sets the payments, was issued aftersuccessful trials in Central-Highland Lam Dong province and northern SonLa province that began in 2009.
Vietnam isthe first Southeast Asian country to charge an environmental service feeand 77 billion VND (3.9 million USD) has been collected to protect anddevelop its forests.
The decree stipulates thatenterprises that generate hydro-electricity and supply water will haveto pay 20 VND per kWh of commercial electricity they produce and 40 VNDfor each cubic metre of commercial water to minimise erosion, protectthe land and regulate and maintain water sources.
Forest-based tourism enterprises will have to pay between 1-2 percent of their total turnover.
The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry will set the fee for industry and small businesses.
The money will go to watershed forest owners, including organisations,households or individuals who sign contract with the State to providelong-term protection of the forests.
The ministry'sranger department deputy director Nguyen Huu Dung said universalapplication of the fees would create funds for the protection ofenvironment and ecosystems.
The money would also help improve the quality of services and ensure sufficient water for power generation and tourism.
Forests were crucial to the regulation of water resources and controlling floods, deputy director Dung said.
Ministry assessments show that land encroachment and illegal logginghad been remarkably reduced since the introduction of the pilot fees.
More than 8,000 households in Lam Dong province alonehave received 8.1-8.7 million VND (413-443 USD) each year from thecollection of fees from 203,330ha of forest.
Many households had asked that the protected area be extended./.
