| THE PRIME MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT ------- | SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ------------ |
| No: 12/2003/CT-TTg | Hanoi, May 16, 2003 |
DIRECTIVE
ON ENHANCING URGENT MEASURES TO PROTECT AND DEVELOP FORESTS
Over the past years, the Prime Minister has adopted many undertakings and measures on socio-economic development in mountainous areas as well as on forest protection and development. Annually, the Government has concentrated efforts on implementing many important programs aiming to socially and economically develop mountainous areas and to attract all people to participate in forest protection and development, thus raising the forest coverage, step by step establishing the eco-environmental equilibrium, creating many jobs for, and stabilizing the life of, ethnic minority people in mountainous provinces as well as remote and deep-lying areas.
However, recently, the situation of forest destruction and wild animal hunting has spread widely over the country, particularly in primitive forests, special-use forests and headwater-protection forests. Forest destroyers have arrogantly devastated forests, hunting precious and rare wild animals and destroying the national forest resources; many shops illegally trade in forest products and forest specialties, abetting forest destroyers and earning illicit profits.
