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Mr. Tran Trung Sons family (Dien Bien) contracted to protect the forest. He asked, can his family grow medicinal herbs under the forest canopy? The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment answered the question as follows: According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 168/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016 of the Government regulating the contracting of forests, gardens and water surface areas in the Management Boards of special-use forests, protective forests and State Agriculture and Forestry One-Member Limited Liability Companies: 1. Contracting forests, gardens, and water surfaces is a form of agreement to perform work in management, protection, use, and production and business activities between the contracting party and the contracting party for a certain period of time. According to the provisions of Clause 9, Article 2 of the 2017 Law on Forestry: 9. Forest owners are organizations, households, individuals, and communities that are allocated forests, leased land, or leased land for forest restoration and development; transfer, donate, or inherit forests according to the provisions of law. Thus, the forest contractor is not considered the forest owner, but must comply with the agreement with the contractor. According to the provisions of Article 32b of Decree No. 183/2025/ND-CP dated July 1, 2025 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Forestry, the raising, growing and harvesting of medicinal plants in the forest applies to forest owners (specified in Clause 9, Article 2 of the 2017 Law on Forestry) or organizations and individuals that rent the forest environment or cooperate and associate with forest owners. Clause 2, Article 25 of Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018 of the Government. The Government details the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Forestry: Forest owners and stable contractors are households, individuals, and communities that are allowed to intercrop agricultural crops, non-timber forest products, livestock and aquaculture under the canopy of protection forests, but must not reduce the forest area, quality, affect forest regeneration and the forests protection capacity. Thus, the stable contractee of the protective forest area is allowed to intercrop non-timber forest products in the forest. It is recommended that the family contact the Commune Peoples Committee/Department of Agriculture and Environment to clarify the type of forest that the family is contracting for forest protection and determine the form of contracting with the forest owner (Contracting work, services or Stable Contracting); At the same time, identify non-timber forest product species as medicinal plants on the list issued by the Minister of Health or other medicinal plants with high medical and economic value in the locality decided by the Chairman of the Provincial Peoples Committee according to Clause 2, Article 32 of Decree No. 183/2025/ND-CP. Decree No. 168/2016/ND-CP only gives the contracting party rights within the scope of the contract; The contracting party must comply with the contract, be subject to inspection and supervision by the contracting party and be responsible before the law for violations. However, Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP allows forest contractors to stably intercrop non-timber forest products under the forest canopy and Decree No. 183/2025/ND-CP grants the right to self-organize, cooperate, associate or lease forest environments to forest owners to raise, grow, develop, and harvest medicinal herbs under the forest canopy, but does not directly grant this right to forest protection contractors.Chinhphu.vnReference moreWhat policies are covered by contracting forests?See moreCan trade unions receive contracts to protect forests?See moreWho are eligible to contract to protect forests?See moreCan border guard stations receive contracts to protect forests?See moreCan groups of households receive contracts to protect forests?
