Villagers supervise the cutting down of two hundred billion dong rosewood trees in Hanoi.
After many years of requesting, the Phu Chinh village community has been allowed to cut down two Dalbergia tonkinensis trees on their property.
At 8:00 a.m. on January 27, the community of Phu Chinh village (Chuong My district, Hanoi) began cutting down two Dalbergia tonkinensis trees in the Phu Chinh pagoda grounds under the supervision of local authorities.
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Cutting down two Dalbergia tonkinensis trees in Chuong My. Photo:Household Finance |
Two workers use chainsaws to cut small branches from a 50-year-old rosewood tree. Two other workers use iron cutters to protect a 100-year-old rosewood tree (circumference of two arms) located next to it.
Outside the road leading to the village, the commune police force is stationed at both ends leading past the tree cutting location, guiding people to go in another direction to ensure safety. Each time a tree branch is cut down, a forest ranger will measure and count the size. It is expected that the cutting of the two sưa trees will be completed within the day.
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The protective frame of the 100-year-old Dalbergia tonkinensis tree was removed. Photo:Household Finance |
A representative of the Phu Chinh village community said that all the cut down rosewood will be preserved in a container located in the village's cultural house.
"We will assign someone to look after and ensure the quality of the wood. The auction is not yet specific, we will work with local authorities to come up with a plan as soon as possible," this person said.
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The rosewood logs will be stamped by forest rangers. Photo:Household Finance |
The leader of the Hanoi Forest Protection Department said that after receiving the notice from the local government, he sent specialized officers to inspect and stamp each piece of wood. In the market, each kilo of milkwood costs 20-30 million VND.
In the Phu Chinh Pagoda grounds, there are two red sưa trees. In 2010, traders came to pay more than 100 billion VND for each sưa tree. In the same year, people sawed off a branch and sold it for 20.5 billion VND to raise funds to build the village communal house.
In 2013, during a storm, a large branch of the sưa tree was stolen by thieves. Due to termite damage, people have repeatedly requested to sell the sưa tree. In October 2018, Hanoi issued a document requesting departments and agencies to guide people in exploiting sưa trees in accordance with legal procedures.
