Preserving the Cho Bui mountain
Landslides and subsidence began in 2020, but Cho Bui mountain in Hamlet 2, Quang Son commune, Do Luong district, with its lush green pine forests, is a beautiful natural landscape. Therefore, along with ensuring the safety of the people, attention should also be paid to protecting and developing the forest here…
Nhat LanAugust 11, 2024
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We learned about the subsidence and landslides at Cho Bui mountain in Hamlet 2, Quang Son commune, Do Luong district in 2020, on the same day that a villa collapsed in Dong Vo hill area, Phu Man commune (Quoc Oai, Hanoi) due to prolonged heavy rain. On July 24, 2024, someone recounted the landslide at Cho Bui mountain, using the villa collapse in Dong Vo to illustrate the risks faced by dozens of households in Hamlet 2, Quang Son commune, living near landslide-prone areas during the rainy season. He said: “I went there right when the landslide occurred. The landslide was huge. There are also large, isolated rock formations on the mountain, and there are no solutions to prevent further landslides, so it's really worrying…”
Hoping to fully understand the incident from four years ago, based on the information we heard, we contacted Quang Son commune and Do Luong district. In addition to direct exchanges, we received more than a dozen documents from various levels and sectors, enough to reconstruct the picture of the landslide at Cho Bui mountain four years ago. On October 30, 2020, due to the influence of the remnants of Typhoon No. 9, Quang Son commune experienced heavy and prolonged rainfall, causing widespread flooding. During the storm, the Quang Son Commune People's Committee received a report that the Cho Bui mountain area, adjacent to Hamlet 2, was experiencing severe land subsidence with a risk of landslide. Given this critical situation, the Quang Son Commune People's Committee organized a field inspection. Subsequently, it was determined that at approximately 3:30 PM on October 30, cracks appeared on Cho Bui mountain, extending from the base to the summit, with a length of about 80 meters; Near the mountaintop, at the very top of the crack, there is another horizontal crack about 20m long and 1m wide, with subsidence up to 3m deep.
At this time, the People's Committee of Quang Son commune assessed that if the landslide situation continues to worsen, it will directly threaten the safety of approximately 13 households in Hamlet 2 at the foot of the mountain, including the families of Le Thi Quy, Le Thi Doan, Le Huu Quang, Le Quang Cuong, Le Quang Vo, Le Thi Man, Le Huu Ha, etc. Therefore, the commune quickly coordinated with the Hamlet 2 Steering Committee to directly inform each affected family to prepare for emergency relocation. At the same time, warning signs were placed to prevent people from entering or leaving the landslide-prone area, and through Document No. 247/BC-UBND, a report on the landslide situation in the Cho Bui mountain area was urgently submitted to higher authorities for guidance.
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Concerned about the safety of the people, after receiving a report from the Quang Son Commune People's Committee, the Do Luong District People's Committee issued urgent directives to the Party Committee and local authorities to promptly implement immediate measures. These included: relocating residents to safe areas; assigning personnel to be on duty 24/7 to monitor weather developments and the subsidence and landslides on Cho Bui mountain; and implementing a "four-on-the-spot" plan to promptly respond to any incidents. "Be ready and urgently relocate residents from areas at risk of landslides and flooding to safe areas, ensuring the absolute safety of people's lives, health, and property...", the urgent directive from the Do Luong District People's Committee emphasized.
At the same time, in order to obtain comprehensive support from higher-level agencies, on October 31, 2020, the People's Committee of Do Luong District submitted Report No. 312/BC-UBND to the Provincial People's Committee, the two Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Natural Resources and Environment, as well as the Provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control - Search and Rescue...
"Be prepared and urgently relocate people from areas at risk of landslides and flooding to safe places, ensuring the absolute safety of people's lives, health, and property..."
Excerpt from the urgent document of the People's Committee of Do Luong District
By scheduling our visit, on July 28, 2024, we were accompanied by Mr. Pham Hong Son, Vice Chairman of the Quang Son Commune People's Committee, and two officials from Do Luong District to visit the landslide site on Cho Bui Mountain and the residents of Hamlet 2, where 13 households were affected. The distance from the Quang Son Commune headquarters to Cho Bui Mountain is less than one kilometer. After a few minutes of travel, we could observe Cho Bui Mountain, surrounded by the lush green of the forests, and at its foot, densely packed gardens and houses belonging to hundreds of households.
Looking up from the foot of the mountain, it's clear that the slopes are quite gentle, reaching the summit, which is about a hundred meters away. However, according to Mr. Pham Hong Son, the landslide site requires a steep incline, making the ascent quite arduous. Fortunately, because the pine forest on Cho Bui mountain is densely planted, we could follow the trees, and our ascent to the landslide site wasn't too difficult. After about 20 minutes, we reached the landslide site from 2020. There, the previously described horizontal crack, 20 meters long and 3 meters deep, had disappeared due to the four years' rainy seasons causing the soil and rocks to subside, forming mounds and cliffs, which were then concealed by shrubs and ferns. The vertical crack, 80 meters long, had become a ravine with many small branches extending from the summit down to near the foot of the mountain. This situation, during heavy rains, will create a runoff carrying water, soil, and rocks down onto the houses of local residents. Continuing closer to the mountaintop, we identified three locations with rock formations that locals call "orphan rocks." Some of these rocks were very large; one could imagine the extreme danger they would pose if subsidence or landslides occurred, causing rockslides…
From the reality of Cho Bui Mountain, we understand why landslides are a nightmare for those living at the foot of the mountain and a concern for those responsible in Do Luong district and Quang Son commune. We carefully observed Cho Bui Mountain and discovered something even more worrying. After a few minutes of rest at the summit of Cho Bui Mountain, on the way down to visit the residential area at risk of landslides, we saw many large, open areas of land interspersed within the pine forest, devoid of vegetation. Upon closer inspection, we found many young acacia trees planted recently in these open areas. Significantly, the negative impacts of human activity were evident. To create a level surface for planting the young acacia trees, people had deliberately leveled and cleared the mountain land… As a result, many pine trees had exposed roots, making them highly susceptible to breaking and falling during heavy rains and floods…
Because of the existing risk of subsidence and landslides on Cho Bui mountain, and the fact that land reclamation on the mountain for planting acacia trees would increase the danger, we immediately spoke with the Vice Chairman of Quang Son Commune People's Committee, Pham Hong Son. According to Mr. Son, the forest on Cho Bui mountain was contracted to a household in the commune for care and protection; recently, when this household arbitrarily reclaimed land, the Commune People's Committee discovered the violation, drew up a report, and demanded that all activities affecting the forest cease…
Following our field trip, we learned about the landslide prevention plan for Cho Bui mountain. We were informed that, recognizing the urgency of the situation based on the report from Do Luong district, a provincial working group had visited the landslide site for inspection. Subsequently, the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 7787/UBND-NN dated November 6, 2020, conveying the directives of the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Hoang Nghia Hieu (now the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee), which included: “Assigning the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to lead the coordination with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Standing Office of the Provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, and other relevant units to inspect and advise on a plan for handling the situation”; “Assigning the People's Committee of Do Luong district to continue directing the People's Committee of Quang Son commune and relevant units to regularly inspect and monitor households living in the landslide area to promptly address any issues and ensure absolute safety of life and property.”
Then, the option of removing soil and lowering the mountain to reduce the risk of landslides was discussed and publicly debated. In May 2021, Do Luong district and Quang Son commune proposed selecting an option that would allow surveying and planning for soil removal and mountain lowering to prevent landslides. This was because, in addition to the 13 households at the foot of the hill, many other households further out were highly likely to be affected if a landslide occurred; meanwhile, relocating these households would be very difficult and time-consuming, and the rainy season was approaching. From this, the urgent investment project "Addressing landslides on Cho Bui mountain in Hamlet 2, Quang Son commune, Do Luong district" was approved with a total budget of 1.4 billion VND, implementing the following activities: "Removing slope barriers in severely affected areas, with a total volume of approximately 27,500 m³."3The project "Relocating large boulders from the hilltop and transporting soil to designated collection points for leveling within Quang Son commune" was approved by the People's Committee of Do Luong district in July 2021.
However, over time, no unit or enterprise dared to undertake the project. As officials from Do Luong district and Quang Son commune discussed, several businesses conducted site visits but then withdrew because they realized that the construction would not be safe and would have a negative impact on the environment…
Several businesses organized site visits but then withdrew because they realized the construction work was unsafe and would have a negative impact on the environment…
The question arises: Given that the plan to remove soil and lower the mountain to prevent landslides has proven unfeasible, have Quang Son commune and Do Luong district considered new options? It was discussed that on August 27, 2024, a delegation led by Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De inspected the landslide situation at Cho Bui mountain. After the inspection, the Vice Chairman directed Do Luong district and Quang Son commune to continue implementing measures to respond to natural disasters, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property. The district and commune are also considering relocating and resettling affected households...
Following our field trip to Cho Bui Mountain, we contacted several geological and forestry experts who suggested that, to minimize subsidence and landslides, we should research and implement a denser green belt system on the mountain. As one expert explained: “The most effective landslide prevention method has always been planting trees. For Cho Bui Mountain, choosing to plant long-lived tree species is a measure worth considering. With these green belts in place, even in the event of a landslide or rockfall, the negative impact would be significantly reduced…”
Regarding Cho Bui mountain, choosing to plant long-lived tree species is a measure worth researching and implementing. With these green belts in place, even in the event of landslides or rockfalls, the negative impacts would be minimized…”
In early August 2024, the Do Luong District People's Committee contacted us and was informed that the district had recently sent a document to the Provincial People's Committee requesting approval for the relocation of households living near the foot of Cho Bui mountain, which are at risk of natural disasters and landslides. Specifically, they requested the Provincial People's Committee to approve the policy, allocate funds for compensation and support for land and property clearance, and construct a resettlement area; to reclaim residential and garden land from households living near the foot of Cho Bui mountain that pose a risk to their lives, and to allocate resettlement land to these households. At the same time, they requested permission for the Do Luong District People's Committee to survey the site to develop a detailed plan for the resettlement area, dividing the land into plots to resettle the households, covering an area of approximately 2.2 hectares in Dong Quan area, Quang Son commune...
Recognizing that the option of removing soil and lowering the mountain to prevent landslides is not feasible, we must consider relocating the residents. However, having understood the concerns of some households within the affected area, we know that this option will also face many difficulties. The state budget is limited, while the residents have already invested in large-scale housing projects, and land is an inseparable part of their livelihood… Therefore, we believe that, in parallel with implementing the resettlement project, Do Luong district and Quang Son commune need to strengthen the protection of the existing forest area and consider increasing the density of green belts on Cho Bui mountain…
