Need for precision in planning raw material forests in Nghe An

(Baonghean) - In order to have a strategy for developing the forest economy and enhancing the economic value of the forest, Nghe An has had a master plan for developing raw material forests for the period 2016 - 2020, with a vision to 2030. Previously, the province also had specific plans for raw material areas for a number of projects, wood processing factories... However, in reality, this planning still has some shortcomings and inaccuracies.

Realizing the great economic potential of forests, Nghe An province is focusing on solutions to improve the quality and productivity of raw wood plantations, meet the raw material needs of processing facilities and balance the forestry land fund to develop raw material plantations, attracting businesses to invest in the wood processing industry.

Nghe An has issued an action plan for forest protection and development, socio-economic development, and environmental protection for the period 2016 - 2020; approved a plan for raw material forest development for the period 2016 - 2025, with a vision to 2030. With the aim of linking the planning with restructuring the provincial forestry sector towards increasing added value and sustainable development in both socio-economic and environmental aspects.

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The pond area and tea growers are still planned as raw material areas in Thanh Thuy (Thanh Chuong). Photo: Duc Chuyen

This planning also aims to assess the potential of forestry land in the production forest planning that can develop raw material forests associated with each processing center in the province; balance the forestry land fund to develop raw material forests, in order to attract businesses to invest in the wood processing industry, with the motto of intensive cultivation of raw material forests, not scattered planning. However, through actual inspection of some localities, some raw material areas of the projects show that the planning of these raw material areas is still overlapping, the data is not accurate.

For example, in Thanh Chuong district, the planning of the raw material area for the project "Nghe An Wood Processing Factory" is over 5,700 hectares, but after checking the reality, there are still about 2,282 hectares. According to the leaders of the communes with planning of raw material areas and forest growers in Thanh Chuong district, the reason is that the planning process lacks specific surveys. There are areas where people build houses, grow tea, grow rice, and have harvested for many years, but they are still planned as raw material areas for planted forests. Mr. Phan Duy Trinh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Thuy commune (Thanh Chuong) said: Thanh Thuy has 2,300 hectares of production forest land, but after inventory, there are about 300 - 400 hectares that can be invested in new planting. Therefore, when planning raw material areas for factories and projects, it is necessary to be close to reality, otherwise it will cause difficulties for both the locality and businesses.

During our research on the planting of raw material forests in Cao Son commune (Anh Son), Mr. Phan The Tai - a forestry officer of the commune said: The planning and survey on paper are very different from reality. There are places where people live and grow tea (like in hamlet 1) but they are still planned as raw material areas. To plan correctly, we have to go to each household, we cannot do it sitting in one place. For example, in Cao Son, the planned raw material area for the MDF wood processing factory is 400 hectares, but in reality, there are only about 180 hectares left. Mr. Thai Ngo Cuong - Deputy Head of Anh Son Forest Protection Department added: In reality, there is still a situation where planning is considered a protective forest, but people arbitrarily plant raw material trees like in Tho Son, Binh Son, Vinh Son communes...

Surveying raw material forests ready for harvest to develop exploitation plans at Dong Bac Raw Material Joint Stock Company. Photo: HN

In the document explaining the fact that the actual forestry land use coefficient is lower than the planning, the Forestry Planning Investigation Team (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) stated: Due to the heterogeneous distribution of land areas for forest planting, there are places with local slopes or exposed rocks, rivers and streams... small areas interspersed that cannot be planted with raw material forests but cannot be separated (accounting for 15-17%); in the planning area, there are some areas of forested land that are not eligible for renovation to plant raw material forests, with an area of ​​less than 0.5 ha interspersed and cannot be separated (accounting for 5-6%)...

Talking to Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Mr. Ngo Hung Tu - Deputy Head of the Forestry Planning Investigation Team said: The planning investigation is only for orientation purposes, what trees to plant is up to the forest owners. The investigation work also depends on machine technology. The error compared to reality may be due to using old maps, but the current situation has changed. To know, we have to check the field again. According to Mr. Tu, in the recent forest planning, an error of several tens of thousands of hectares is acceptable! Mr. Nguyen Tien Lam - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that if we want to develop the forest economy, we must have investment; have a master plan, a specific plan. In reality, using 70% of the area compared to the plan is okay!

Failure to grasp the specific situation and reality during the planning process will lead to many problems arising, the locality where the planning is planned does not agree, such as in Que Phong district, when the district inspected and reviewed the current status of the land area planned for the raw material forest planting project of Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company, the communes proposed not to include it in the planning, such as Quang Phong commune did not agree to let the company lease 1,061.9 hectares of land according to the approved planning because the people did not agree, because if the company leased the land, it would affect people's lives due to lack of water, lack of production land, affecting the grazing areas, farms, and rice fields of households along the streams...

According to economic experts, the planning of raw material areas is inaccurate, when many raw material processing factories are formed and put into use, it will lead to competition in buying and selling, "untimely exploitation" of planted forests, over-exploitation of regenerated forests, even exploitation of protective forests and special-use forests... causing forest resources to be exhausted, causing ecological imbalance and causing major environmental consequences!

Mr. Nguyen Tho Canh - former Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: Planning is a measure of state management of land, the quality of planning is a very important issue. If the planning is wrong, it will lead to virtual numbers, leading to inaccurate calculations and planning, affecting the investment strategy for forestry economic development of the province, of investors in planting raw material forests and building processing factories.

NPV