Under the Law on Protection and Development of Forest of the National Assembly (Forest Law), forest is defined as an ecological system consisting of the populations of forest fauna and flora, forest micro-organisms, forest land and other environmental factors, of which timber and bamboos or typical flora constitute the major components with the degree of coverage of forest canopy over forest land of 10% or more.

The Forest Law provides that based on the main use purpose, forests can be classified into:

• Protection forest (rừng phòng hộ) -  Protection forests are used mainly to protect water sources and land, prevent erosion and desertification, restrict natural calamities and regulate climate, thus contributing to environmental protection. Protection forest may include (1) headwater protection forests; (2) wind- and sand-shielding protection forests; (3) protection forests for tide shielding and sea encroachment prevention; and (4) protection forests for environmental protection. Protection forests are presumably planted on protection forest land (đất rừng phòng hộ);
•   Special-use forest (rừng đặc dụng) - Special-use forests, which are used mainly for conservation of nature, specimens of the national forest ecosystems and forest biological gene sources; for scientific research; protection of historical and cultural relics as well as landscapes; in service of recreation and tourism in combination with protection, contributing to environmental protection. Special-use forest may include (5) national parks; (6) nature conservation zones; (7) landscape protection areas; and (8) scientific research and experiment forests. Special-use forests are presumably planted on special-use forest land (đất rừng đặc dụng); and
• Production forest (rừng sản xuất) – Production forests are used mainly for production and trading of timber and non-timber forest products in combination with protection, contributing to environmental protection. Production forests are planted on production forest land (đất rừng sản xuất)

In addition, Article 3.1 of the Forest Law provides that forests include planted forest (rừng trồng) and natural forest (rừng tự nhiên). There is no legal definition of planted forest or natural forest. According to Vietnamese Dictionary, “natural” refers to something which already existed and which are not created by human being. Based on this definition, one can take the view that:

• Natural forest is forest which already existed and which is not grown or planted by human being; and
• Planted forest is forest which is planted by human being.