In recent times, Binh Thuan has paid great attention to the socio-economic development of ethnic minority areas. Many policies have been implemented, supported and invested in by the province for ethnic minority areas in the province, helping to improve the material and spiritual life of the people.
Effectiveness of forest allocation policy
Binh Thuan has 34 ethnic minorities, with 104,066 people, accounting for nearly 8.4% of the province's population. Compared to the general level of the province, the lives of ethnic minorities are still difficult; the rate of poor and near-poor households is still high; the results of poverty reduction are not sustainable; the risk of re-poverty and poverty is likely to occur; the average income per capita is low and uneven. In the face of the above situation, the forest allocation policy has been implemented. Accordingly, from 2011 to 2021, the area allocated for forest management and protection to ethnic minority households is 86,179.42 ha/2,379 households, an average of 36.3 ha/household, the contracted labor cost is 200,000 VND/ha/year, the total implementation cost is 192.476 billion VND. From 2016 to present, the Central Government has supported the implementation of forest management and protection contracts for ethnic minority households according to Decree No. 75 of the Government on mechanisms and policies for forest protection and development, associated with the policy of rapid and sustainable poverty reduction and support for ethnic minorities in the period 2015 - 2020. For households in communes in Region II and Region III who receive forest protection contracts, they will be paid 400,000 VND/ha/year, with a total capital of 66.1 billion VND/72,651 ha/2,408 households. In 2019 alone, through the "Social Forestry" coordination program between the Provincial Ethnic Minorities Committee and Binh Thuan Forestry One Member Co., Ltd., 63 ethnic minority households received contracts of 2,176.34 ha with a contract rate of about 300,000 VND/ha/year. In particular, implementing Resolution No. 18 of the Provincial People's Council: In 2022, the forest protection contract for ethnic minority households was 50,099.4 ha/1,304 households, an average of 38.42 ha/household, the contracted labor cost was 200,000 VND/ha/year, the total implementation cost was 10.019 billion VND. Recently, the Provincial People's Committee has allocated funds to pay for forest protection contracts for 1,304 households/39,120 ha of forest with a total amount of 11 billion 736 million VND, from the budget for implementing the policy of supporting forest protection contracts for ethnic minority areas in the province in 2023, which was assigned by the Provincial People's Committee to the Provincial Ethnic Minorities Committee in Decision No. 2637, dated December 15, 2022. Currently, the functional sector is continuing to complete the dossier to submit to the Provincial People's Committee to issue a Decision on allocating funds for the second phase of 2023 to contracted households according to Resolution 18, dated December 18, 2022 of the Provincial People's Council.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tan, Head of the Provincial Ethnic Minorities Committee, said that the implementation of the policy of forest allocation, management and protection for ethnic minority households in the past time has contributed to reducing deforestation and illegal exploitation of forest products, contributing to environmental protection. Ethnic minority households have jobs, increased income, improved living conditions; the relationship between ethnic minorities and forest protection forces is increasingly close, people's awareness of forest management and protection is raised. If 5 years ago, the poor households in ethnic minority areas in the whole province were 4,250 households, accounting for nearly 20% of the total number of households, now this number is only 1,705 households, accounting for 6.96% of the total number of households.
Focusing resources to support ethnic minorities
The policy of supporting the settlement of production land for ethnic minority households according to Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU of the Provincial Party Committee is also one of the policies that has contributed to supporting ethnic minority people to gradually stabilize their lives and escape poverty. The area of production land granted according to Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU is 5,048.55 ha/4,415 households, most of the granted land area has been put into production by the people. At the same time, through the implementation of the advance investment policy, it has contributed to helping people have enough seeds and production materials on the allocated land area; thereby promoting the efficiency of land use.
In particular, implementing the National Target Program on socio -economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, the Provincial People's Committee has urgently directed the establishment and promulgation of the operating regulations of the Provincial Steering Committee for National Target Programs; resolutely directed the Provincial Ethnic Committee to coordinate with departments, branches and localities to complete documents, accelerate the assignment of capital plans, actively disburse funds to implement the Program; strengthen the supervision of the implementation of the Program in localities. Regarding the capital allocated to implement the Program in 2023, the Provincial People's Committee has directed and urged the departments, branches and localities assigned to be in charge of projects and sub-projects to actively and urgently implement procedures to allocate the allocated capital sources. Currently, the departments, branches and sectors have advised the Provincial People's Committee to allocate detailed capital sources for the projects and sub-projects of the Program; The People's Committees of the districts are also developing and completing the submission to the People's Councils at the district level for promulgation of Resolutions on budget allocation for implementation in the district. Up to now, the province has disbursed the capital plan for 2022 to August 5, 2023: development investment capital: VND 15,568 billion/VND 51,905 billion (30%), public service capital: VND 17,635 billion/VND 35,818 billion (49%).

The Provincial Ethnic Committee said that in the coming time, it will continue to implement the direction of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and the Provincial People's Committee on strengthening propaganda and mobilizing ethnic minorities to effectively use production land granted by the State and implementing solutions to strengthen land management in the locality. Continue to effectively implement investment policies to support production development and forest protection contracts for ethnic minority areas in the province for the period 2021 - 2030. At the same time, continue to advise on the effective implementation of tasks in the National Target Program on socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021 - 2030, phase I: from 2021 to 2025; strengthen inspection and urging of relevant departments, branches and district People's Committees to speed up the construction progress of works and projects to ensure the disbursement rate of assigned capital; Closely monitor each implementation area, regularly check and grasp the implementation progress to promptly work with localities to direct the removal of difficulties and errors in the implementation of the Program.
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