Prosecution of large-scale deforestation case in Quang Nam

The police have initiated a case of deforestation within the overall case of deforestation of protective forests in Tien Lanh commune, Tien Phuoc district, Quang Nam.

Tien Lanh commune's protective forest was flattened - Photo: LE TRUNG

On the afternoon of September 23, Colonel Nguyen Van Cu - Head of Tien Phuoc District Police, Quang Nam Province, said that this agency had just issued a decision to prosecute a case against a subject who was caught red-handed destroying forests in Tien Lanh protective forest by forest rangers in August 2017.

Previously, at the end of August 2017, Tien Phuoc Forest Ranger Station coordinated with the District Forest Management Board to inspect Tien Lanh commune and discovered that in plot 5, sub-zone 556, 7 Ka Dong ethnic people (Bac Tra My district) were sowing acacia seeds in the destroyed forest area.

According to the report of Tien Phuoc District People's Committee in the working session with Vice Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee Le Tri Thanh on September 22, from 2010-2016, 124 hectares of protective forest were destroyed in Quang Nam.

In the first 9 months of 2017 alone, there were 7 cases of deforestation causing damage to over 40 hectares.

That same morning, the working group and Mr. Thanh also went to the scene of the deforestation to inspect.

After directly inspecting the current situation of protective forest destruction in sub-zones 556 and 557 of Tien Lanh commune, Colonel Nguyen Duc Dung, Deputy Director of Quang Nam Provincial Police, said that there was enough basis to prosecute the case of protective forest destruction in Tien Lanh.

"With what we have recorded and collected, in the next few days the provincial police will initiate a case, investigate and clarify who is behind this deforestation to handle it strictly," said Mr. Dung.

According to Tuoi Tre