Challenges in identifying forest owners

ĐBP - The policy of paying for environmental services (PES) has brought significant benefits to forest owners, helping to motivate people to participate in forest protection efforts. However, the process of reviewing and determining forest areas, identifying forest owners, and creating payment maps remains a challenge, affecting the PES process.

Noong Luống commune (Điện Biên district, Điện Biên province) has more than 630 hectares of forest eligible for PES payments. However, difficulties in identifying the forest owners have led to delays in making PES payments.

Lò Văn Ính, a resident of Huổi Phúc village, Noong Luống commune, shared: “Our village has 7 households managing 7 hectares of protected forest. Due to changes in boundary lines and disputes among forest owners, Huổi Phúc village has not yet determined the forest area and completed the PES payment map for the community.”

Due to the unresolved boundary issues, the forest area in Huổi Phúc village has not received PES payments for many years.

According to statistics, two forest owners in Noong Luống have passed away, and their families have not yet submitted the meeting minutes to determine the person receiving the PES payment or the death certificates to the Forest Protection and Development Fund. There are also cases where two forest owners have the same name, or discrepancies between decisions and the corresponding forest maps.

Under the regulations of Articles 62 and 63 of Decree No.156/2018/NĐ-CP, which provides detailed guidelines for implementing some provisions of the Forestry Law, determining the forest area eligible for PES payments annually is a key task. This is the first step in identifying the specific forest areas offering PES services for organizations, households, individuals, and communities. Therefore, discrepancies in forest owner information on maps, decisions, and identity documents or disputes between owners are the main reasons preventing some forest owners from receiving PES payments.

In the province, there are still 95,472 hectares of forest for which the eligible recipients of PES payments have not been identified.

Lò Thị Thi, Head of the Forest Protection Force of Điện Biên district, stated that the district has a total of 139,626 hectares, of which 76,797 hectares are forested land. The Forest Protection Force has proactively collaborated with the Forest Protection and Development Fund, the People’s Committees of communes, and forest owners to finalize the documentation for PES payments in 2023. PES payments have been made to 1 organization, 1 group of households, 178 communities, and 190 individuals/families, with a total payment of over VND 9.7 billion and a total area of more than 40,000 hectares. However, there are still 25 forest owners in the district who have not received PES payments, amounting to nearly VND 40 million, primarily due to administrative issues.

Meanwhile, Mai Hương, Director of the Forest Protection and Development Fund, explained that the greatest challenge in PES payments is identifying the rightful forest owners for the forest areas being compensated. As of 2024, the area of forest eligible for PES payments has not been fully accounted for, with over 412,109 hectares of forest, of which more than 316,637 hectares have been allocated, and 95,472 hectares still lack identified recipients. This is due to either the land not being allocated or the allocation under Plan No.2783/KH-UBND not having completed the paperwork, including the maps and land allocation decisions. Specifically, the forest areas in Điện Biên are over 41,829 hectares; in Tuần Giáo, 14,381 hectares; in Nậm Pồ, 13,187 hectares; in Điện Biên Đông, 10,509 hectares; in Mường Chà, 4,095 hectares; in Mường Nhé, 3,575 hectares; in Tủa Chùa, 3,785 hectares; in Mường Ảng, 1,774 hectares; in Điện Biên Phủ city, nearly 2,000 hectares; and in Mường Lay town, 473 hectares. There are disputes over forest ownership, overlapping areas between forest owners within the district, with other districts, and even with neighboring provinces, affecting 10 forest owners.

The leadership of the Forest Protection and Development Fund, along with forest rangers, conduct on-site checks of the areas providing PES services.

Currently, in the province, there are 2,635 forest owners who have not yet opened accounts. The delay in resolving these issues impacts the rights of the forest owners and the effective management and development of forests.

To resolve these issues, on May 7, 2025, the provincial People’s Committee issued Official Letter No.1923/UBND-KTN, addressing the unresolved administrative issues to ensure PES payments are made to forest owners. The committee has urged the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, local governments, and the Forest Protection and Development Fund to continue implementing the necessary actions to resolve these difficulties and speed up the process of land and forest allocation, as well as issuing forest land use certificates to facilitate PES payments.

In summary, while the PES policy has been beneficial, there remain several obstacles related to identifying forest owners and managing forest areas for PES payments. These challenges must be addressed to ensure the efficiency of the PES system and to support the sustainable development of forest resources in the province.

Quang Hùng
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