Director of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development speaks out about violations in some protective forest management boards

Ms. Thai Thi An Chung - Deputy Head of the Provincial People's Council's Legal Committee, Tan Ky district delegate spoke at the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

At the discussion session at the 9th Session of the 17th Provincial People's Council, Ms. Thai Thi An Chung - Deputy Head of the Provincial People's Council's Legal Committee, Tan Ky district delegate said that in 2018 and the first 6 months of 2019, a series of violations at the protection forest management boards (FPMBs) in Yen Thanh and Quynh Luu districts... were discovered by the authorities during inspection and investigation.

Assessing the loose management in this field, Ms. An Chung expressed that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to inspect and re-examine the activities of the Forest Protection Departments, not only in terms of human resource allocation and use but also in terms of budget allocation and use. "It is recommended to clarify lessons learned from violations and solutions to prevent violations," said the female delegate of Tan Ky district.

Mr. Hoang Nghia Hieu - Director of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development spoke at the discussion session in the hall. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Responding to this content, Mr. Hoang Nghia Hieu - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An shared the difficulties with officers and employees working at the Forest Protection Departments due to low salaries.

However, the head of the provincial Department of Agriculture affirmed that if there are violations, they must still be handled, not covered up, and evidenced by cases that have been handled in Ky Son, Tuong Duong, especially violations at the Forest Protection Departments in Quynh Luu in 2009, 2010, 2011 and Yen Thanh in 2012, 2013.

Illegally exploited protective forest area in Tan Thang commune, Quynh Luu district. Photo: Thanh Duy

The industry has no forbidden areas, even long-standing violations are thoroughly handled, and responsibilities are clearly assigned. Violations that are criminally responsible must be handled criminally, violations that are administrative management responsibilities must be handled according to regulations, without cover-ups.