This planning adjustment is set against the backdrop of the country entering a new phase of development with the goal of high growth, requiring a more efficient allocation of land resources, a fundamental element of all socio-economic activities. Photo: Thuc Vy.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is seeking feedback from ministries, sectors, and localities on adjusting the National Land Use Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, in order to meet development requirements in the new phase and address shortcomings arising from practical experience.

Ensuring synchronization and adaptation to development realities.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, after nearly five years of implementing Resolution No. 39/2021/QH15 of the National Assembly on the National Land Use Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the five-year National Land Use Plan 2021-2025 shows that many new factors have emerged, from changes in growth targets and adjustments to the national master plan to the improvement of the sectoral and local planning systems.

In particular, the reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the need for large-scale infrastructure development such as expressways, high-speed railways, seaports, and airports have significantly altered land use requirements.

Meanwhile, at the initial stage, many sectoral and provincial plans were incomplete, leading to inadequate forecasts of land demand. In particular, although provincial plans had been approved by the Prime Minister, many localities proposed land use targets for 2030 that showed significant increases or decreases compared to the targets allocated by the Prime Minister. This highlights the need to adjust land use targets for certain land types to meet the land use needs for socio-economic development goals and ensure consistency within the land-use planning system.

Therefore, this planning adjustment aims to ensure consistency within the planning system, meeting the requirements of rapid and sustainable development.

Restructuring land use, prioritizing infrastructure and urban development.

One of the notable changes is the significant adjustment in land use structure. According to the proposed plan, agricultural land area will decrease to approximately 26.69 million hectares by 2030, a reduction of more than 1 million hectares compared to the previous plan. Conversely, non-agricultural land will increase sharply to approximately 6.05 million hectares to meet the needs of industrial, urban, infrastructure, and service development.

According to the draft, it is projected that by 2030, agricultural land will decrease by 1,038.57 thousand hectares, while non-agricultural land will increase by 1,153.57 thousand hectares, compared to the previous plan.

Notably, the area of ​​land used for rice cultivation has been adjusted down to approximately 3.25 million hectares, a reduction of over 654,000 hectares compared to the 2024 figure. This reduction aims to create room and resources for development, provide contingency funds for national, regional, inter-regional, and inter-provincial strategic infrastructure projects, and ensure timely and flexible responses in socio-economic management and development during the new period. However, it still guarantees an annual rice production of approximately 34.4 million tons, exceeding the level necessary to ensure national food security.

This demonstrates a flexible approach to land use, ensuring food security while creating space for new development.

Besides development goals, the revised plan continues to emphasize the requirement for environmental protection and ecological balance. Accordingly, by 2030, the forest land area will be maintained at over 15.57 million hectares, an increase of 31.9 thousand hectares compared to 2024, ensuring a stable forest cover rate of approximately 42% as stipulated in the Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Specifically, the area of ​​special-use forests is increased to expand nature reserves, while protection forests and production forests are reviewed and adjusted to suit practical realities. This orientation contributes to ecosystem protection, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development.

Ensuring land use needs are met to achieve socio-economic development goals and targets.

In the draft, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment proposes four objectives for adjusting the national land use plan.

The most important objective is to ensure that land use needs are met to achieve socio-economic development targets and indicators at over 8.0% per year during the 2021-2030 period, and at least 10% per year during the 2026-2030 period; GDP per capita will reach approximately US$8,500 by 2030; and the urbanization rate will exceed 50%.

Land use planning prioritizes the allocation of land for the development of a comprehensive infrastructure system, industrial and service development, urban development, and the promotion of economic growth; with a focus on development needs in national economic growth zones, growth poles, and economic corridors. It ensures land availability to meet the growing demand for education, healthcare, social services, culture, sports, social housing, housing for industrial zone workers, and land for national defense and security purposes.

Regarding rice land, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has determined that it will manage rice-growing land to meet national food security needs and allocate a portion for export; flexibly transform the production structure of a portion of rice-growing land without changing the nature and conditions of rice-growing land use; and strictly control the conversion of rice-growing land, especially land specifically used for wet rice cultivation, to non-agricultural land. It will also manage, develop, and improve the quality of forests to ensure a stable forest cover rate of 42% and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 8-9%.

To increase land use efficiency, the plan will aim to continue bringing unused land into use, carrying out land reclamation and sea encroachment, increasing the area of ​​marine and coastal protected areas to at least 6% of the national sea area; rehabilitating and restoring degraded land areas, improving soil health associated with environmental protection and sustainable development.

At a meeting with several units in early April regarding the adjustment of the National Land Use Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa emphasized that the adjusted plan must simultaneously ensure food security, maintain forest cover, and create room for local development, meeting the requirements for double-digit growth in the coming period.