This is a remarkable milestone for Da Nang City - a locality that possesses great potential for precious medicinal herbs such as Ngoc Linh ginseng, Morinda officinalis, Codonopsis pilosula, Purple cardamom, etc., which mainly grow under the canopy of natural forests in high mountainous areas but have long lacked a legal corridor for sustainable development.
Under the new regulations, people and businesses are allowed to legally cultivate medicinal herbs in protective forests, special-use forests and production forests, if they have a plan approved by competent authorities. However, the cultivation process must ensure that it does not degrade the ecological function of the forest and fully comply with technical instructions. In particular, processing activities, including soaking, drying, and composting, are strictly prohibited in the forest to minimize the risk of pollution and forest fires, ensuring that the forest is maintained in its original state.
The Decree also clearly decentralizes power to local authorities, allowing Da Nang City to proactively issue a list of medicinal plants suitable for the ecological conditions of each region, while promoting the connection of communities, household groups and businesses in building raw material areas under the forest canopy. Organizations and individuals can sign contracts to lease the forest environment for a term of up to 10 years, have their rights protected and enjoy policies to encourage the development of the bioeconomy .
Notably, the concepts of “medicinal plants in the forest” and “medicinal plant harvesting” are also clearly defined for the first time, in order to separate legal cultivation activities from uncontrolled natural exploitation. This helps eliminate “circumvention of the law” in exploiting forest resources, while affirming the policy of developing the medicinal plant industry in a systematic and sustainable manner, associated with biodiversity conservation.
With this new policy framework, the model of growing Ngoc Linh ginseng under the forest canopy in Da Nang has the conditions to expand its scale, ensuring legality and transparency in management. Many local businesses expect to have access to legal land funds, invest in applying high technology in traceability, preserving original varieties, deep processing, etc. From there, closed value chains are formed, both creating livelihoods for people in the mountains and enhancing the brand value of Ngoc Linh ginseng and indigenous medicinal herbs.
Many experts believe that Decree 183 contributes to paving the way for Da Nang to become a medicinal herbs center in the Central region, realizing the national strategy on bio-economic development by 2030. When forest resources are effectively managed and linked to the green livelihood model, Vietnamese medicinal herbs, especially endemic species such as Ngoc Linh ginseng, will have the opportunity to reach the national level and gradually enter the international market.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/sam-ngoc-linh-va-duoc-lieu-da-nang-duoc-phat-trien-hop-phap-trong-rung-3264826.html
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