Vietnam moves to streamline marine and island management rules

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is revising key decrees on sea and island governance to simplify procedures, cut costs, and strengthen decentralization, ensuring smoother, more sustainable management of marine resources nationwide.

These amendments are crucial for state management of marine resources and islands, ensuring the smooth operation of local governments in this sector, and promoting the efficient and sustainable exploitation and use of marine resources.

The decree is being drafted to guide the implementation of new content related to the sea and islands, which is part of a draft law amending 15 laws in the agriculture and environment sectors, expected to be submitted to the National Assembly at its 10th session. The draft also aims to accelerate administrative reform, supporting decentralization and delegation for the two-level government system operating in this field.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, the draft decree consists of five articles, which will amend and supplement parts of three existing decrees: Decree No. 40/2016/ND-CP, detailing the implementation of the Law on Marine Resources and Islands; Decree No. 11/2021/ND-CP, regulating the allocation of specific sea areas to organizations and individuals for resource exploitation; and Decree No. 41/2016/ND-CP, detailing the licensing of foreign organizations and individuals to conduct scientific research in Vietnam's maritime zones.

Notably, the draft decree proposes replacing the "Map of the sea area" requirement in application dossiers with a "Diagram of the sea area" to reduce costs for organizations and individuals. During the implementation of Decree No. 65/2025/ND-CP, many localities reported that the high cost of creating official maps posed difficulties, particularly for households and individuals involved in aquaculture.

The draft also supplements regulations on the procedure for processing applications to amend, supplement, extend, or return a sea area, specifically for cases where the post-appraisal dossier lacks sufficient information for a decision. This requires the applicant to provide additional information and clarify necessary content.

Furthermore, the draft decree amends and supplements numerous other regulations to remove difficulties, cut and simplify administrative procedures, and promote production and business activities in the maritime and island sector. This aligns with the reform plans outlined in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1671/QD-TTg, dated Aug. 5, 2025, which approves plans to cut and simplify business-related regulations under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Thuy An