The Forest Protection Department and the People's Committee of Dien Chau District respond to the issues raised in the newspaper report.

(Baonghean) - On November 30, 2012, Baonghean newspaper published an article titled: "Large quantity of illegally logged timber discovered in Dien Chau: What do those in charge say?".

Following the news report, and in accordance with the directives of the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the handling of the issue raised by the Nghe An newspaper, the Dien Chau District People's Committee and the Forest Protection Sub-Department coordinated to review all matters related to forest management and protection, and forest product management in Dien Chau district.

On January 10, 2013, the People's Committee of Dien Chau District issued Official Letter No. 32/UBND-KL, and subsequently, on January 14, 2013, the Provincial Forest Protection Department issued Official Letter No. 16/BC-KL to Nghe An Newspaper, responding to the issues raised in the aforementioned article.

Accordingly, both official documents affirm that in the past, the Forest Protection Department and the People's Committee of Dien Chau district have consistently paid attention to directing the work of forest protection in general and the management of forest products and wood processing and production facilities in the area in particular. Therefore, in 2012, Dien Chau district seized and handled many cases of illegal buying, selling, transporting, and storing of forest products: Total number of violations and cases processed: 62 cases; confiscated items included: 80.194 m³ of sawn timber, 856 kg of rosewood, 2 red-faced monkeys weighing 19 kg, 2 live tigers weighing 70 kg, 1 dead leopard weighing 110 kg, 140 kg of wild animals, and 500 birds. Fines totaled 615 million VND. Specifically, from November 26th to December 26th, functional agencies in the district discovered and handled 29 cases. Confiscated: 44,251 m³ of sawn timber of various types; fined: 306 million VND.

However, problems persist, such as the fact that timber processing facilities in Dien Chau district are still storing a large quantity of timber. The Forest Protection Department directed Mobile Forest Protection Team No. 1 and the Forest Fire Prevention and Control Team No. 1 to coordinate with the Nghe An Economic Police to inspect and seize 40 cubic meters of timber from four facilities in Dien Yen and Dien My communes, as reported by Nghe An newspaper, without the knowledge of the commune People's Committees, the Forest Protection Units, and the local forest rangers; many timber processing facilities in the area were established without business registration certificates issued by competent authorities, and have not yet been dealt with. The reason is that the district Forest Protection Unit has not promptly advised the district People's Committee to establish an inspection team to crack down on and seize illegally stored timber among the people and timber processing facilities in accordance with Directive No. 31/CT-UBND of the province; the local forest rangers' activities have not been effective, and they have not grasped the situation regarding the use of timber in their managed areas to advise the competent authorities on handling the matter. The People's Committees of the communes have not effectively implemented the management of forest products as stipulated in Decision 07/QD-TTg dated February 8, 2012, of the Prime Minister.

First, Nghe An Newspaper sincerely thanks the Forest Protection Department and the People's Committee of Dien Chau District for promptly receiving the newspaper's feedback, conducting an investigation, and providing a written response to the issue raised. However, Nghe An Newspaper finds that the content of the letter still contains some unsatisfactory points that need further discussion:

Firstly, the Forest Protection Department and the People's Committee of Dien Chau district have failed to fulfill their duties in managing the transportation of forest products in the area. In particular, the Forest Protection Unit – the unit primarily responsible – has, whether intentionally or unintentionally, neglected its duties, allowing large quantities of illegally logged timber to be stored and transported openly, causing public outrage.

The district's Forest Protection Department organized training for all directors, businesses, and chairmen of commune People's Committees on the transportation and processing of forest products. However, on November 26, 2012, when authorities seized over 40 cubic meters of illegally harvested timber in Dien Yen and Dien My communes, reporters from Nghe An Newspaper questioned the chairmen of the two commune People's Committees, who claimed they did not know how many timber processing facilities existed in their respective communes. Furthermore, they were completely unaware that authorities had seized the illegally harvested timber in their area.

Secondly, the aforementioned document does not specify the level of disciplinary action taken against the individuals and organizations involved. In particular, the District Forest Management Unit, which has long been negligent in allowing illegal timber to proliferate, bears primary responsibility, yet the Dien Chau District People's Committee has not issued any warnings, reprimands, or disciplinary actions against them. Even the local forest rangers in the two communes involved have been completely unaffected, receiving no warnings or reprimands whatsoever.

Even more concerning, less than a week after the above incident, authorities discovered and seized another 17.3 cubic meters of illegally harvested timber at Pham Van Quyet's timber processing facility in Hamlet 11, Dien Hoang Commune (Dien Chau District). Unfortunately, both the Forest Protection Department and the Dien Chau District People's Committee overlooked this, failing to include it in their reports or hold anyone accountable.

The seizure of illegally logged timber in Dien Chau district has been brought to public attention with the hope that relevant authorities will seriously investigate and hold accountable the individuals and groups responsible for allowing the widespread harboring of illegally logged timber. In particular, the responsibility of the Dien Chau Forest Ranger Station Chief and other local forest rangers should be clarified, and appropriate disciplinary action should be taken to deter and prevent further illegal logging and transportation of timber.

Nghe An Newspaper argues that the Provincial People's Committee's request to address the issue raised in the newspaper was not intended to prompt the Forest Protection Department and the Dien Chau District People's Committee to report on the situation of forest protection and management and forest product management in Dien Chau district.

Dien Chau District People's Committee
Forest Protection Department -
Nghe An Newspaper