The periodical land inventory taken once every 5 years as prescribed by the Land Law aims to evaluate the real fluctuating situation on land use and land users, to draw maps on present land status in communes, districts, provinces and the whole country, which shall serve as basis for the elaboration and perfection of land policies and legislation as well as the elaboration of plans for the use of land in service of economic, cultural and social construction and development as well as security and national defense. Through the inventory, the fund of unused land shall be accurately determined so as to put them into agricultural and forestrial production as are the funds of water surface for aquaculture, coastal alluvial soils, submerged forest land in direct service of agricultural development program, the 5 million hectares of new forests and the aquaculture programs for the 2000-2010 period, etc.

The Prime Minister requests the General Director of the General Land Administration, the presidents of the People�s Committees at all levels, the heads of concerned branches to organize the land general inventory and draw maps on the current land use status in 2000 throughout the country according to the following requirements:

1. Organizing the land general inventory and drawing maps on current land use status:

The land general inventory shall be carried out simultaneously throughout the country. The commune/ward/district town administrative unit shall be the basic unit for conducting the inventory. The inventory results in communes, wards and district towns shall serve as basis for synthesizing data on land areas at the district, provincial and national levels, which must be inventoried according to various types of natural land, agricultural land, forest land, urban land, rural residential land as well as unused land, and according to land users.

On the basis of the areas of assorted land already inventoried, the current land use status maps for 2000 at the commune, district, provincial and national levels in appropriate scales shall be drawn under the guidance and regulations of the General Land Administration.

2. Analyzing, evaluating and reporting on fluctuation in the land use till the year 2000 according to structure of various types of land, the land users, the per-capita land area.

3. In this inventory drive, the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities are requested to well organize the inventory, firmly grasping the unused forest land fund in direct service of the program for planting 5 million hectares of new forests and the water surface areas which can be used for aquatic products rearing in service of the aquaculture program.

The General Land Administration shall work with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Aquatic Resources, the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Statistics to elaborate the program and set norms to be inventoried in order to clearly determine: the area of unused barren land and bare hills where forests can be planted; the areas of water surface and land where aquatic products can be reared, in order to directly service the two above-mentioned programs.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is assigned to join the Ministry of Finance in evaluation of the projects on survey and inventory of the funds of unused forest land, aquatic product-rearing land, determining the funding level to be taken from the credit balance of Program 327 and submitting it to the Prime Minister for decision.

4. Inventory time and deadline

The time for commencing the inventory nationwide shall be January 1st, 2000 and the time for completion thereof by different administrative levels shall be as follows: the commune level shall complete the inventory before March 31, 2000, the district level before May 31, 2000, the provincial-level before July 15, 2000, the General Land Administration shall synthesize the results of the whole country and report them to the Government before August 31, 2000.

Particularly for the funds of forest land where forests can be planted and of water surface land where aquatic products can be reared, they must be reported and analyzed concretely for every district and every commune, and submitted to the Prime Minister before August 31, 2000 so that the Government shall report to the National Assembly at its year-end session in 2000 on the actual land fund in implementation of the program on planting 5 million hectares of new forests.

5. The funding for implementation of the inventory of the land fund and making maps on the real land use situation in 2000 shall be channeled from the central and local State budgets.

The People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to calculate, balance budget and allocate enough funding for the land general inventory, and the making of maps on the real land use situation in 2000 under the guidance of the General Land Administration and the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with the General Land Administration in calculating and balancing the demand for fund for activities related to the land inventory and the making of maps on the real land use situation for the whole country so as to include them in the 2000 draft budget estimate and guide the provinces and cities in calculating and allocating funds for implementation of the land inventory and making their local maps on the real land use situation.

The General Land Administration shall take responsibility before the Government for organizing, directing, guiding, inspecting and urging the implementation of the land general inventory and making of maps on real land use situation by localities throughout the country according to the prescribed purpose, requirements, contents, starting time and completion deadline.

The People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally- run cities shall have to organize and direct all levels and branches of: Land Administration, Statistics, Agricultural and Rural Development, Aquatic Resources, the Planning and Investment, Finance in the localities to work out plans for land inventory and making maps on current land use situation in 2000 throughout their respective provinces in accordance with the guidance of this Directive.