With the supports of Social Policy Ecology Research Institute (SPERI), recently, Que Phong District People's Committee, Nghe An province have signed the certificate of the right to use 426,7 hectares of forest land for Pom Om village (the Thai ethnic), Hanh Dich commune in  compliance with laws and customs of the Thai ethnic. However, during the implementation process, many inconsistencies, gaps in the legal framework for forest and land has revealed. These should be adjusted promptly.

Inconsistencies in forest and land allocation

Although the State has issued the policy on forest and land allocation for ethnic minorities, but in fact its result is very limited. In particular, the biggest obstacle is the requirement of profiles, procedure which are too complex. According the Circular 38/2007/TT-BNN on guiding the sequence, procedures of forest allocation, to complete a set of records it is required to have meetings among local authorities and people to approve the application, the forest management plan after allocation, assessment records, reports together with the records, minutes of forest granting in the field and the financial obligations ... "A minority and commune government normally do not or is very hard to fulfill all the above requirements. Regardless the ethnic minority who face with language barriers, the above procedures are actually and questions and insurmountable" – shared by Vice Chairman of Hanh Dich commune, Mr. Luong Quoc Viet. He also said: If we did not have the support of funding and methods of SPERI, the Forest and land allocation model in Pom Om would not able to complete. The complexity of the procedures not only interfere with the local authorities, but also for individuals and households. Mr. Vi Dinh Van, a coordinator of the key farmers network in Hanh Dich which has been supported by SPERI said: The requirements and procedures are too complex. While ethnic minorities are poor, so almost of them do not have enouth resources to cover expenses for forest land allocation procedures as prescribed in Circular 38/2007/TT-BNN. On the other hand, the education qualification of villagers in most of villages are very limited, so asking them to write applications and prepare procedures to be considered for land allocation is not possible.
In addition to the complexity of the procedures, the current forest and land allocation also ‘prioritizes’ enterprises and business who are holding forestland, but does not pay attention to local ethnic minorities. In Hanh Dich where has  the large forestland area per capita, but the ratio of land allocated to the people is too low. While the local population lack of forest land (only allocated 0.65 ha / person), then the average of forestland per official of the management board of protection forest is 1,243 ha, and each staff of the Nghe An General Investment Joint Stock Company on Rubber Development is allocated around 61.3 ha. This situation is not only happened in Hanh Dich, but also popular in many other places. The main reason is that the legal documents do not have the proper priorities for the ethnic minority land-users.

Ethnic minorities - first priority in forest and land allocation

Priority of forest and land allocation to ethnic minorities is a necessary as the current standard of living of the ethnic minorities are very low.  Moreover, upland agriculture is completely different that in the plain due to it associates forestry and forestry development. Therefore, forest and land allocation to households and individuals will create conditions to assure production. In fact, after the allocation of land and forest, there is an occurance of different self-help groups which work relatively effectively in a range of themes such as gardening, ecological forestry gardening like models of Mr. Vi Van Nhat and Vi Van Thanh in Na Xai village or bio-diversity garden with variety with the medicinal species  of Mr. Ha Van Tuyen in Pom Om.

To do this, the priority on land allocation for local people needs to be clear in forest land-use planning and lawful documents from the central to local levels. Accordingly, it requires to simplify the procedural requirements in forest and land allocation and flexibility in financial obligations as we can not see and ask households and ethnic minorities to have to complete the complex procedures and pay financial obligations like the entities who competent in finance and educational qualification.

In addition, the ‘hanging’ plans has had direct impacts on the allocation of land and forests for people. Although the State has policies and legislations to require reorganization and renewal of state agro-forestry enterpriese to return land to local poeple and ensure residential and production land for ethnic minorities, but in Hanh Dich and many other locations in Que Phong dsitrict, while lacking of land for production, people are still allocated land because the forestland was planning on "hanging" for Nghe An General Youth Volunteers Association Team 7– later converted as Que Phong Rubber Plantation Farm. Plot No. 83 and 85 where are watershed forests of Pom Om  and other surrounding villages are being planned for rubber plantations. Although the Que Phong Rubber Plantation Farm has not been granted the land use right certificates, it still keeps these areas.

The implementation of pilot on forest and land allocation to the Thai community in Pom Om vilalge, Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district revealed many inadequacies in the legal framework for forest management. Amending and supplementing proper legal documents, as well identify the priority of forest and land allocation for ethnic minority groups and local people is an urgent task, contributing to the socio-economic development, defense and security stability in mountainous ethnic minority areas. At the same time it creates a local major force for effective and sustainable forest protection.

Source: Nhandan