Chapter 1: General Provisions
Article 1 These Measures are formulated to strengthen the management of municipal forestry development funds, enhance the scientific and standardized allocation and use of funds, prevent operational risks, and improve the efficiency of fund utilization, in accordance with the "Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China," the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China," and the "Notice of the General Office of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government on Issuing the Reform Plan for the Division of Fiscal Powers and Expenditure Responsibilities in the Field of Natural Resources in Tianjin" (Tianjin Government Office Document [2021] No. 10), as well as other relevant laws and regulations.
Article 2 Municipal forestry development funds (hereinafter referred to as “forestry development funds”) refer to expenditures allocated through the municipal fiscal budget for the development of forestry in our city. The primary areas of expenditure include: municipal key afforestation and greening projects, management and protection of key ecological forests, forest pest and disease control, forest ecological benefit compensation, wetland ecological compensation, wetland protection and restoration, forest fire prevention, and the protection and rescue of wild animals and plants.
Article 3 Funds for wetland ecological compensation shall be administered in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Tianjin Municipal Measures for the Administration of Municipal Wetland Ecological Compensation Funds" (Jin Cai Gui [2021] No. 4).
Chapter II Budget Management
Article 4: The allocation of forestry development funds shall be managed using both the factor-based method and the project-based method. Specifically, municipal-level key afforestation and greening projects, management of key ecological forests, forest pest and disease control, and forest ecological benefit compensation shall be managed using the factor-based method, while funds for wetland protection and restoration, forest fire prevention, and wildlife protection and rescue shall be managed using the project-based method.
Article 5. By June 30 of each year, the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, in conjunction with the Municipal Finance Bureau, shall study and determine the project task plans and overall funding scale for the following year’s municipal-level wetland protection and restoration, forest fire prevention, and wildlife protection and rescue projects. The relevant functional departments of the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau shall, based on the project task plans and overall funding scale, arrange for districts and relevant units to prepare and submit implementation plans.
Article 6. By August 31 of each year, district forestry authorities and relevant units shall submit to the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources the plan for the next fiscal year’s municipal-level key afforestation and greening projects, as well as the implementation plans for the next fiscal year’s wetland conservation and restoration, forest fire prevention, and wildlife protection and rescue projects.
Article 7: By September 30 of each year, the Municipal Planning and Resources Bureau, in conjunction with the Municipal Finance Bureau, shall study and determine the allocation factors for the following year’s funds for key ecological forest management and protection, forest pest and disease control, and forest ecological benefit compensation; it shall also, in conjunction with the Municipal Finance Bureau, organize experts to review, evaluate, and approve the implementation plans for wetland protection and restoration, forest fire prevention, and wildlife protection and rescue projects.Projects involving the illegal occupation of arable land or permanent basic farmland, or otherwise failing to comply with laws, regulations, and forestry management provisions, shall not be included in the scope of subsidies.
Article 8 By October 31 of each year, the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources shall formulate a proposal for the allocation of forestry development funds for the following year based on the funding allocation factors and project approval results, and submit it to the Municipal Finance Bureau. The Municipal Finance Bureau shall review the funding allocation proposal submitted by the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, taking into account factors such as forestry work plans and the scale of municipal financial resources, prepare a budget proposal, and submit it to the Municipal People’s Congress for deliberation in accordance with established procedures.
Article 9. Finance bureaus at all levels, forestry authorities at all levels, and fund-using units shall establish and improve management systems for forestry development funds. They shall use such funds in strict accordance with the requirements specified in the approved budget, including project content, funding scale, specific purposes, implementation progress, and budget categories. Expenditures without budgetary authorization or exceeding budgetary limits are strictly prohibited.
Chapter III: Scope and Standards of Funds
Article 10. Funds for municipal-level key afforestation and greening projects shall be used for comprehensive subsidies for such projects that comply with the provisions of the Administrative Measures for Municipal-Level Key Afforestation and Greening Projects and have passed municipal-level inspection and acceptance. The specific scope includes: seedling costs, land preparation costs (land leveling, earthwork, and hole digging), planting costs, maintenance costs, and land occupation costs. Subsidy standards:
(1) Greening Projects for Major Roads: Greening projects within a 100-meter range on either side of expressways and high-speed railways shall receive a subsidy of 4,000 yuan per mu; greening projects within a 100-meter range on either side of general railways, national highways, and provincial highways shall receive a subsidy of 2,200 yuan per mu.
(2) Greening projects along Class I waterways: Greening projects within a 100-meter radius on either side of Class I waterways are eligible for a subsidy of 2,200 yuan per mu.
(3) Contiguous Forest Land Projects: A subsidy of 1,500 yuan per mu.
(4) Other key afforestation and greening projects implemented with the approval of the Municipal People’s Government, based on the actual needs of our city’s afforestation and greening efforts, shall be subsidized in accordance with the approved standards.
Article 11: Key ecological forest management funds shall be used to cover the costs of maintaining green belts within a 100-meter range on either side of expressways (excluding the roadside fence) and within a 100-meter range on either side of high-speed railways, as defined and included in the management scope by the municipal authorities.The subsidy standard is 200 yuan per mu per year for maintenance and management costs, covering expenses such as thinning, pruning, weeding, brush clearing, pest and disease control, trunk whitewashing, fire prevention, and replanting.
Article 12. Forest Pest and Disease Control Funds shall be used for expenditures related to the prevention and control of diseases, insects, rodents (rabbits), and harmful plants that endanger the normal growth of forests, trees, and seedlings and cause major disasters. These primarily include expenditures for the purchase of pesticides, spraying equipment, tools, and equipment maintenance, as well as subsidies for labor costs associated with pest control and expenses for small tools.
Article 13. Forest Ecological Benefit Compensation Funds shall be used for the protection and management of national-level and municipal-level key public welfare forests. The subsidy standard is 20 yuan per mu (the subsidy standard for national-level public welfare forests includes the portion funded by central government subsidies).
Article 14. Wetland Protection and Restoration Funds are allocated for expenditures related to the protection and restoration of national important wetlands, wetland nature reserves, and national wetland parks managed by the municipal forestry system and listed in the national or Tianjin municipal important wetland catalogs. These expenditures primarily include maintenance of monitoring and surveillance facilities, procurement of equipment, protection and restoration of degraded wetlands, and labor costs for hiring temporary management personnel by the protection and management agencies responsible for these wetlands.
Article 15. Forest Fire Prevention Funds shall be used for expenditures related to the prevention and suppression of sudden forest fires. This includes expenditures for the construction and maintenance of necessary fire prevention infrastructure, such as establishing forest firebreak zones, purchasing prevention, monitoring, and suppression tools and equipment, supplies, and fire communication systems; expenditures for renting transportation vehicles required for firefighting; expenditures for the temporary hiring of forest firefighting personnel; and expenditures for the construction of fire roads in key state-owned forest areas.
Article 16. Wildlife Conservation and Rescue Funds shall be used for citywide wildlife conservation and rescue efforts, surveys and monitoring of wildlife resources, and labor costs associated with hiring temporary personnel.
Chapter IV: Allocation and Management of Funds
Article 17: Funds for municipal-level key afforestation and greening projects and key ecological forest management and protection shall be disbursed based on the results of inspections and acceptance. For municipal-level key afforestation and greening projects, two rounds of acceptance inspections shall be conducted: 50% of the subsidy funds shall be disbursed upon passing the inspection in the year of afforestation, and the remaining 50% shall be disbursed upon passing the survival inspection in the third year.The Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau is responsible for organizing the inspection and acceptance work. The specific work procedures and inspection and acceptance standards shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Administrative Measures for Municipal Key Afforestation and Greening Projects and the Administrative Measures for the Management and Protection of Key Ecological Forests.
Article 18: Funds for forest pest and disease control, forest ecological benefit compensation, wetland protection and restoration, forest fire prevention, and wildlife protection and rescue shall be allocated in accordance with the annual budget. The Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau shall propose fund allocation recommendations, which shall be reviewed and disbursed by the Municipal Finance Bureau.
Article 19: For eligible forestry projects, the Municipal Finance Bureau may allocate funds in advance at a certain proportion through the budget advance allocation process. During budget execution, fund settlements shall be made based on actual circumstances such as acceptance and evaluation. If the amount of funds allocated in advance exceeds the settlement amount, the excess shall be carried forward to the following year for continued use; if the funds allocated in advance are insufficient, the difference shall be disbursed based on actual needs, but shall not exceed the total annual budget allocation.
Article 20. The Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, the finance bureaus of each district, the district forestry authorities, and relevant units shall disburse project funds in a timely manner according to the project implementation progress. Any surplus funds carried forward shall be handled in accordance with current relevant regulations. For projects classified as capital construction projects, the financial settlement procedures for capital construction completion shall be carried out in accordance with established procedures.
Article 21: Where the use of forestry development funds falls within the scope of government procurement management, relevant national regulations on government procurement shall apply. Where the afforestation entities are individual farmers or farmers’ professional cooperatives, the district finance bureaus may, in consultation with the district forestry authorities and relevant units, disburse funds through legally valid methods such as “One-Card” systems or bank transfers, in accordance with relevant regulations and local conditions.
Article 22. By March 31 of each year, the finance bureaus of each district shall, in conjunction with the district forestry authorities, report to the Municipal Finance Bureau and the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau on the utilization of forestry special funds, the status of fund balances and carryovers, and the completion of forestry projects for the previous year. Expenditures arranged through the issuance of local government bonds shall be implemented in accordance with relevant bond management regulations.
Chapter V Performance Management and Supervision and Inspection
Article 23. Municipal-level forestry development funds shall be subject to full-process budget performance management. The Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau shall, in accordance with the city’s relevant regulations on budget performance management, establish and improve a full-process budget performance management mechanism; conduct ex-ante performance assessments as required; formulate performance targets; carry out performance monitoring; organize self-evaluations and departmental evaluations; and strengthen the application of evaluation results and information disclosure. Performance results shall serve as an important basis for the allocation of municipal-level forestry development funds.
Article 24. Municipal forestry development funds shall strictly be prohibited from being used for expenditures such as the construction of government buildings, the purchase of vehicles, personnel expenses for administrative agencies, and the purchase of routine office equipment. It is strictly prohibited to fabricate expenditures, transfer or embezzle funds, or withhold, occupy, or misappropriate funds.
Article 25. The Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, the Municipal Finance Bureau, and the forestry and finance departments of each district shall supervise and inspect the management and use of forestry development funds, strengthen follow-up and accountability, and promptly correct any identified issues.
For any acts that violate laws, regulations, or the provisions of these Measures, liability shall be pursued in accordance with the Budget Law, the Supervision Law, the Regulations on Penalties for Fiscal Law Violations, and the Regulations on Disciplinary Actions for Civil Servants in Administrative Organs; where such acts constitute a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 26. Should the scope and standards of municipal-level forestry development funds be adjusted due to policy requirements, implementation shall proceed in accordance with the adjusted scope and standards.
Article 27. These Measures shall take effect on the date of issuance and remain valid for five years. The “Notice of the Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Agriculture Commission, and Municipal Forestry Bureau on Issuing the Administrative Measures for Municipal-Level Fiscal Forestry Subsidy Funds in Tianjin” (Jin Cai Nong [2016] No. 87) is hereby repealed.
