The 'forbidden forest' of the Thai people in Tuong Duong

(Baonghean) - The Săng Lẻ forest is not only a tourism symbol of Tương Dương, but also represents the tireless spirit and determination of the Thái people in preserving the forest.

Oral village regulations

We met Mr. Vi Duong Canh while the veteran was walking along a trail surrounding the sandalwood forest in Quang Thinh village (Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district). The 62-year-old man nimbly stepped over the rocks, his eyes fixed on the forest as if counting each tree.

Mr. Canh is currently one of 11 households assigned to protect the Săng Lẻ forest, even though this forest has been managed by the Tương Dương District Forest Management Unit for over 20 years.

“It’s very difficult for the forest rangers to protect the forest alone; the villagers need to participate. Eleven households take turns, with two people patrolling each day. If they detect anything unusual, they report it immediately to the forest rangers,” Mr. Canh said, adding that this forest protection team was established in 2016, selected from the most reputable and dedicated forest-loving people in Quang Thinh village.

Not only are they responsible for protecting the Săng Lẻ forest, but they also have the task of safeguarding over 170 hectares of the buffer zone of this forest, which they still refer to as the "forbidden forest".

Mr. Vi Duong Canh, one of the 11 households currently tasked with protecting the forest. Photo: Tien Hung

The 70-hectare forest of Săng Lẻ trees has, for many years, not only become a tourism symbol of Tương Dương district, but also represents the tireless spirit and determination of the Thái ethnic villages here to protect the forest.

“Now it’s about to become an ecotourism area. But few people know that preserving it has been a long and arduous battle against illegal loggers for the local people,” Mr. Canh recounted. Mr. Canh’s house is located right next to National Highway 7, and behind it are towering, ancient sandalwood trees.

When discussing the contributions to preserving this forest, people often mention Mr. Vi Chinh Nghia, former Deputy Head of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of Nghe An province. Mr. Nghia passed away two years ago at the age of 87. However, Mr. Canh and the elders here say that Mr. Nghia was just one of the sons of Quang Thinh village who continued the tradition of preserving the Săng Lẻ forest that has existed for many generations.

“Mr. Nghia is my uncle. Before he built his hut in the forest to manage it, this village already had a customary law to protect it. We consider it a forbidden forest, a sacred forest,” Mr. Canh said.

According to Mr. Vi Vo Tuan, head of Quang Thinh village, there used to be many sparsely growing trees around this area, which were later cut down by villagers to clear land for farming and building houses.

“The current forest is special because it’s so densely packed, with towering, straight trees that look very beautiful. This place is considered the ‘furnace of Indochina’ because of the intense heat in the summer, but once you go into the forest, the climate becomes pleasantly cool. That’s why, since ancient times, our ancestors have had a traditional custom of preserving this forest,” Mr. Tuan said.

According to current counts, each hectare contains up to 240,000 large sandalwood trees. The forest, covering over 70 hectares, is equivalent to nearly 17 million trees densely packed together, each tree reaching a height of 30-40 meters. Some trees are so large that it would take three people to encircle them. "Now we've built a patrol road surrounding the forest; before, its boundary was just streams."

"Even if the villagers want to build a house, no one dares to go into that forest to cut down trees; they'd rather go further afield. Everyone is aware of the warnings of their elders. Besides, if they're caught cutting down trees in the forest, they'll be severely punished," Mr. Tuan added.

"Guardians" of the forest

In 1964, the "treasure" of the people of Quang Thinh village faced the risk of being wiped out. At this time, the Tuong Duong Forestry Station requested the People's Committee of Nghe An province to exploit the Săng Lẻ forest. Immediately, Vi Chinh Nghia, a son of the village who was then the District Party Secretary, submitted a petition to preserve the forest, and the province approved it.

By 1989, Quang Thinh village officially had a written village charter with prohibitions to protect the forest. Accordingly, villagers were not allowed to cut down sandalwood trees for any reason, and were not allowed to graze livestock in the forest.

“If people want to cut down trees to build houses, they have to submit a request to the village for approval. Then the village will decide how much wood to cut and in which forest area it can be cut. Except for the current Săng Lẻ forest, nothing is allowed,” said Mr. Vi Dương Cảnh. In addition, the villagers are also responsible for regularly organizing trips into the forest to clear away vines clinging to the Săng Lẻ trees.

Mr. Canh said that once, a villager, lacking wood for building a house, secretly went into the forest to cut down a single sandalwood tree and dragged it back. The incident was discovered by the villagers, and the household subsequently had to sell their buffalo to pay the fine.

National Highway 7 runs through the forest for about 1 km. Photo: Tien Hung

The village agreement protected the forest from being cut down by villagers for houses or farming, and the forestry station couldn't exploit it because the province had allowed the district to retain it. But for illegal loggers from other localities, the Săng Lẻ forest was a tempting target.

National Highway 7 runs through the forest for more than 1km. In just a few minutes, illegal loggers can cut down ancient trees along the roadside, load them onto trucks, and make their getaway. The situation was most tense in the early 1990s, when most of the surrounding forests had been devastated into barren hills, making the Săng Lẻ forest a coveted target for countless illegal loggers.

The forest was then under the management of the Tuong Duong District Forest Protection Department. Due to the threat from illegal loggers, the Department decided to assign Mr. Canh to build a hut in the middle of the forest for protection. “I went there to protect it, but only for a short time; the illegal logging continued,” Mr. Vi Duong Canh recalled. The District Forest Protection Department then had to “seek help” from Mr. Vi Chinh Nghia. By then, Mr. Nghia had retired and returned to his hometown in Quang Thinh village.

“Mr. Nghia then requested a small plot of land from the district in the middle of the Săng Lẻ forest, next to National Highway 7, to build a watchtower and move there with his wife. He was very healthy and walked through the forest every day to patrol. As a highly respected figure in the locality, in the beginning, he discovered a few cases of violations and reported them to the forest rangers, resulting in very heavy penalties. As a result, the illegal loggers were terrified of him and dared not approach the forest,” Mr. Canh recalled.

Since then, the Săng Lẻ forest has remained virtually intact. In 2008, by which time Mr. Nghĩa was "tired and weary," finding it difficult to patrol, he requested to retire, entrusting the forest protection to another reputable person in the village.

In 2012, President Truong Tan Sang awarded the Second Class Labor Medal to Mr. Vi Chinh Nghia for his outstanding achievements in his work, contributing to the cause of national construction and defense.

The dense growth of the Săng lẻ tree makes it stand tall and reach heights of over 30 meters. Photo: Tiến Hùng

According to the village head of Quang Thinh, after Mr. Nghia passed away, the house in the forest where he and his wife lived remained intact, even though no one lived there. Remembering his contributions, the villagers still regularly come here to offer incense and prayers.

Tien Hung