Do not process or prepare medicinal plants in the forest.

Draft Decree regulating principles for cultivating, growing, developing and harvesting medicinal plants in forests:

1. Must be consistent with the sustainable forest management plan approved by the competent state agency for special-use forests, protection forests and production forests where the State is the representative owner; must have a plan for cultivating and developing medicinal plants approved by the competent state agency for special-use forests and protection forests.

2. Ensure the maintenance of forest area, forest quality and forest use purposes; comply with the provisions of the Forest Management Regulations and must not lose the State's ownership of forests and natural resources above ground and underground.

3. For special-use forests: do not raise, grow, or harvest medicinal plants in strictly protected zones or ecological restoration zones of national parks, nature reserves, or species-habitat conservation areas; the plants must be indigenous and meet the conditions in Clause 7 of this Article.

4. For protective forests: do not grow or develop medicinal plants in upstream protective forests with slopes of over 300 and in eroded coastal areas belonging to windbreak, sandbreak, wavebreak, and sea encroachment protective forests.

5. For production forests that are natural forests: effectively use space and forest environment to raise and grow medicinal plants, ensuring that the purpose of use of the forest is not changed and that the forest is not degraded.

6. Medicinal products may only be harvested from medicinal plant cultivation and development activities according to approved plans; medicinal plant cultivation and development activities may not be used to harvest natural medicinal plants in the forest; medicinal plants may not be processed or prepared in the forest.

7. Medicinal plants grown and developed in the forest are shrubs, herbs, and mushrooms with ecological characteristics suitable for the local conditions, on the list of valuable medicinal plants with high medical value and economic efficiency issued by the Ministry of Health and medicinal plants with high economic value in the locality.

8. Cultivation and development of medicinal plants in the forest must be carried out by planting in strips or patches, ensuring even distribution throughout the forest plot. The total cultivation and planting area must not exceed 1/3 of the forest plot area.

9. Change the cultivation location to a new location after three years for medicinal plants with a cultivation cycle of less than one year; after two cultivation cycles for medicinal plants with a cultivation cycle of one to less than three years; after each cultivation cycle for medicinal plants with a cultivation cycle of three years or more.

Methods of organizing the cultivation, development and harvesting of medicinal plants

According to the draft, forest owners are organizations that are allowed to implement plans for raising, growing, developing, and harvesting medicinal plants in the following ways: self-organizing or cooperating, associating, or leasing the forest environment to organizations and individuals to raise, grow, develop, and harvest medicinal plants in accordance with the provisions of law.

Forest owners are communities that are allowed to implement plans to raise, grow, develop, and harvest medicinal plants according to the following methods: self-organization or cooperation, association with organizations and individuals to raise, grow, develop, and harvest medicinal plants according to the provisions of law.

Forest owners are households and individuals assigned protective forests, production forests which are natural forests and production forests owned by the State and are allowed to implement plans for raising, growing and developing medicinal plants by self-organization or cooperation and association with organizations and individuals to raise, grow, develop and harvest medicinal plants in the forest according to the provisions of law.

Harvesting medicinal plants

Regarding the harvesting of medicinal plants, the draft stipulates: For medicinal plants that are endangered, precious, and rare, follow the Government's regulations on the management of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants and animals and the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (*).

For medicinal plant species not listed above, the forest owner harvesting medicinal plants or the organization or individual renting the forest environment to grow and develop medicinal plants shall send the original copy of the Medicinal Plant Harvesting Information Form prepared according to Form No. 05 in the Appendix issued with this Decree (in case the subject renting the forest environment must have confirmation from the forest owner) to the local Forest Protection Agency to monitor the implementation process.

Forest owners, organizations and individuals renting forest environments to raise and develop medicinal plants as prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree shall enjoy all products obtained from the area of ​​raising and developing medicinal plants, after fulfilling financial obligations as prescribed by the State. In case organizations and individuals cooperate or associate with forest owners to raise and develop medicinal plants, the enjoyment of the obtained products shall be agreed upon by the parties in the contract.