Treasure in the jungle
(Baonghean.vn) - In the darkness and the weak light of winter pouring down through the leaves, I leaned against the rough but fragrant trunk of the ancient sa mu tree, suddenly realizing how small I was...
Through the jungle
After several appointments, I was finally able to follow the forest rangers and officers of the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board.check sa mu forestin the vast Tam Hop old forest, close to the Vietnam - Laos border and also close to the core area of Pu Mat National Park.
At 5am, when the night was still thick, from Thach Giam town - Tuong Duong district, we set off in the bitter cold of the border region. Lo Van Thuy - a young officer of the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board reassured us: "From the town to the center of Tam Hop commune is 30km, plus about 25km of steep mountain passes and 3 hours of walking to get there. It's not too far, bro". Being a local, having been in the industry for 5 years, Thuy's main time is in the forest. Climbing mountains, wading streams, and crossing forests is a daily routine for him, but he didn't know that for me it was a difficult challenge. Outside, even through many layers of hats, the cold wind still whistled in my ears.
From Thach Giam town, down to Tam Thai, we were accompanied by 2 more forest rangers from Tam Thai Forest Ranger Station. We all agreed to go to Tam Hop Forest Management and Protection Station to get more necessary supplies, forest equipment, and enough food for the whole group and then continue the journey.
After having a meal of sticky rice, the head of the Tam Hop Forest Management and Protection Station, Mr. Kha Van Lai, gave me a pair of knee-length socks and leggings. He told me to wear them over my pants, then put on a pair of sandals and I could go into the forest with peace of mind. These are considered indispensable items for forest rangers. They can cover gaps on the legs to prevent slugs and leeches from clinging on. Moreover, they also help protect the legs from being cut by sharp thorns and knife-like cogon grass leaves that can cause injury.
The area we are going to is called Tam Hop primeval cold forest, located deep in the Vietnam - Laos border. This area is over 1,000m above sea level, the climate is cool all year round, often covered with clouds, creating a very diverse ecosystem. In particular, the sa mu tree is often distributed in areas with high altitudes, steep mountain slopes, rising much higher than other vegetation layers below.
From the center of Tam Hop commune, through Xop Nam, Vang Mon, to Pha Lom village, we were personally led by the village chief, Mr. Xong Ba Cho, and two officers of Tam Hop Border Post. The Tam Thai - Tam Hop road, ending at Tam Hop Border Gate, used to be an important route for transporting timber from Laos to Vietnam about 10 years ago. But since 2016, when the Lao government decided to close the forest, this road has had almost no traffic. Floods, landslides, and lack of investment have made the road muddy and very bumpy. The steep slopes, the precarious hairpin turns in the deep abyss make riding a motorbike deep into the forest quite stressful.
After more than 2 hours of struggling with the bumpy road, when we were only about 3 km from Tam Hop Border Gate, the Head of Tam Thai Forest Ranger Station - Tran Van Sy waved his hand and told the team to stop the car on the side of the road and then started the journey on foot. In this area, looking far away, we could see the sa mu forest clumps towering above the rest. It looked so close, but it took hours of walking to get there. There was no road, we had to walk and clear the way, and also had to watch out for slugs and leeches clinging to us.
As someone familiar with this cold forest, Pha Lom Village Chief - Xong Ba Cho took the lead. He walked and cleared away the sharp thorns so that everyone behind could follow. After the initial excitement, the deeper we went into the forest, the more difficult the path became, steep, narrow and tangled with trees. Everyone stuck close together, sometimes the person in front would turn back to ask the person behind, so that no one would fall too far behind. There were also times when we encountered a high cliff that we could not climb, forcing us to turn back and find another way.
After more than 2 hours of cutting through the forest, by noon, we had finally arrived. Looking at the towering sa mu trees in front of us, everyone was overwhelmed. Looking up at the straight tree trunks covered with green moss, a whole clear sky full of longing opened up.
My treasure
Under the roots of the sa mu tree, which had a diameter that 4-5 people could not hug, we discovered some large fallen and rotten tree trunks. The village chief Cho said that perhaps no one had set foot in this forest for a long time. Previously, the Mong people in Pha Lom in particular and Tam Hop commune in general often went into the forest to get planks to cover their houses and split them to roof. Now sa mu is strictly protected, people's awareness has also been raised, so sa mu is considered a treasure of the village and the commune.
According to scientific information, the sa mu, or the oil sa mu, is called Cunninghamia konishii Hayata, belonging to the Cupressaceae family. In Nghe An, it is also known as long lenh or ngoc am. The sa mu tree is mainly distributed in the primeval forests along the Vietnam - Laos border, the mixed area between broadleaf and coniferous trees, with an altitude of over 1,000m above sea level, and where the slope is from 12 degrees to 40 degrees.
According to information published by scientists, the ecological characteristics of this tree species are large trunks, which can be up to 50m high, some trees up to 70m, trunk diameter can reach 4-5m, pyramid-shaped foliage. The leaves of the sa mu grow very densely in spirals, with twisted bases, so they are arranged more or less in 2 rows.
In Nghe An, where the Western World Biosphere Reserve was recognized in September 2007, with a total area of 1,303,285 hectares; is a green corridor connecting 3 core areas including: Pu Mat National Park, Pu Huong Nature Reserve and Pu Hoat Nature Reserve; in which, Pu Mat National Park is the center, with very high biodiversity, representing most types of tropical rainforests, very diverse habitats, including: mountains, wetlands, streams and other habitats. In the area, 1,297 plant species have been investigated and recorded, including the sa mu tree. That is why along the Vietnam - Laos border, from Que Phong district to Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong districts, many sa mu forests have been identified and counted.
In particular, since 1998, when a group of biodiversity experts discovered an ancient sa mu tree with a diameter of 5.4m and a height of about 40 - 50m in Pu Mat National Park, dozens of ancient sa mu trees in Nghe An have been recognized as heritage trees by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment.
Although it was officially discovered and its scientific values were recognized quite late, according to the Head of Pha Lom Village, hundreds of years ago, sa mu was used by the Mong people as a material to build houses. In Pha Lom today, there are still many houses with roofs and walls made of sa mu boards like that. Although the exact scientific values are not known, for the Mong people, sa mu wood is fragrant and very durable. When split to roof houses, sa mu boards often dry out in the dry season, creating gaps for the wind to pass through, but when it rains, the wood expands, covering the house to prevent water leakage. "There are roofs made of sa mu wood that last for hundreds of years without being damaged, sometimes even covered with moss to make it thicker" - Head of Xong Ba Cho Village affirmed.
Currently, Pha Lom village has 128 households, with 687 people, mainly Mong people, belonging to 5 main families. To protect the ancient sa mu trees, the village's Village Covenant also prohibits cutting down sa mu trees in any form. If any household does not comply, in addition to being handled according to the law, they will also be handled by the Village Covenant.
However, the management and protection of forests in general and the rare sa mu and po mu forests in particular are always on the minds of forest rangers such as forest rangers or protective forest management boards. The head of the Tam Thai Forest Ranger Station, under the Tuong Duong Forest Ranger Department - Tran Van Sy thoughtfully said: Tuong Duong is the district with the largest natural area in the province, with 281,129 hectares (accounting for 17% of the total area of the province), of which 92.3% is forestry land with 259,566 hectares, including 86,602.35 hectares of protective forest, spread over 16/17 communes and towns of the district. The Tam Thai Forest Ranger Station alone has only 3 people but managing a large forest area of 3 communes of Tam Thai, Tam Dinh, Tam Hop, with thousands of hectares of forest, is a huge amount of work.
“There is a lot of pressure. The pressure of protecting the forest, of protecting the forest, even from bad guys who are eyeing the precious trees in the forest day and night. But thanks to the coordination and support between forest owners, local authorities, especially the border guards, the sa mu forests are still maintained,” said the Head of the Tam Thai Forest Protection Station.
Sa mu is a rare and precious tree belonging to group 1A in the List of endangered and rare forest plants and animals. The wood is dark yellow or slightly reddish, the wood grain is straight, has oil and is very fragrant. Because of its rare characteristics, Sa mu is always targeted by deforestation subjects and is at risk of extinction. Therefore, along with strictly protecting the existing Sa mu populations, we also increase propaganda to the people about the scientific values and sign a commitment not to cut down Sa mu trees...
After completing procedures such as measuring diameter, determining coordinates, marking the inspection date, it was time for us to say goodbye to the sa mu forest to return before dark. In the middle of the majestic Truong Son range, the layers of mountains, overlapping and deep green, stretched out as far as the eye could see. In the darkness and the weak light of the winter weather pouring down through the leaves, I leaned against the rough but fragrant trunk of the ancient sa mu tree, suddenly realizing how small I was. Small, compared to the "old tree" hundreds of years old and to the vastness of the old forest...
