Nghe An has 27 border communes with Laos and these communes all have large forest areas. With the participation of all levels, sectors, local authorities and each person, forest protection work along the border is being carried out with a high sense of responsibility, the primeval forests are becoming greener day by day.
To carry out this topic, we went to the remote district of Que Phong. We met Mr. Luong Van Tung, Head of Mo village of Nam Giai border commune, who is also a member of the forest protection team of the village, who is preparing for a forest patrol. Mr. Tung said that every week, the forest protection team of the village patrols the primeval forests bordering Laos...
The Mo village primary forest protection team was established in 2014, with 90 members, divided into 4 groups. Each week, the groups are assigned to patrol the forest once. The State has assigned them to manage and protect 2,483 hectares of primary forest in the border area, mainly high mountains, dense forests, and trails, so each patrol trip, the groups have to walk through the forest for 2 consecutive days. The patrol task is to control the cutting of trees, hunting animals and monitoring the exploitation of secondary forest products by the indigenous people. Although it is hard, difficult and somewhat dangerous, the remuneration for the whole group is only 219,000 VND/ha/year paid by the State.
“The groups all have notebooks with full information on the number of patrollers. During the forest patrol, if there are signs of deforestation or trapping of wild animals, we will take pictures and carefully record them to report to the local authorities. As a border village bordering Laos, there used to be a situation where Lao people encroached on the forest, but now, thanks to good patrol work, the border forests are no longer “bleeding”. In the primeval forests in this border area, there are still hundreds of years old trees, tens of meters high, with trunks of over 2 meters in diameter. There are a series of sa mu, tau, sen trees... and under the cool green canopy of the forest are many precious medicinal plants such as bon bo, ginseng, wild banana, dong leaves... which are the source of livelihood for the people”, said Mr. Luong Van Tung.
Indeed, on the way to the villages in the border commune of Nam Giai, under the forest canopy are countless bon bo trees. Mr. Lo Van Xuyen, in Mo village, excitedly said: Bon bo trees in the forest are countless, their fruits are the source of income for the villagers. Last year, my family harvested more than 200kg of bon bo fruits, sold for 50,000 VND/kg, earning over 10 million VND, along with raising livestock, growing rice... so life is stable. The house is near the forest, so all members are responsible for protecting each forest tree, and when they discover a stranger entering the forest, they immediately report to the village cadres. Therefore, every year the villagers have a source of income under the forest canopy and the greater benefit is that the natural forest produces an abundant source of water for the villagers to produce.
Mr. Vi Van Ky, also a resident of Mo village, added that in the natural forest there are many types of secondary forest products used to make brooms such as cotton, thorn, and muong; climbing plants to tie houses; rattan, reed, and giang... for weaving; roots used to make medicine such as bon bo fruit, yellow flower tea, and countless ung chac chieu, cogon grass roots, u bo tree, gypsum, and yam... all of which are found in well-protected forests. "Every day, the local people find many medicinal herbs, earning millions of dong. Not a single saw blade or axe blow; the "river" is full of tau, sen, and doi... but no one dares to touch it," said Mr. Ky.
According to Mr. Lo Minh Tuong - Chairman of Nam Giai Commune People's Committee, as a border commune bordering Laos, there are nearly 12,000 hectares of forest. Of which, nearly 8,000 hectares are natural forests, the rest are forests assigned to households and community groups, according to Decree 163/CP. Although the mountainous terrain is fragmented and difficult, the villages have done a good job of zoning and protecting forests, so the forest coverage rate of the commune has increased every year, currently reaching 83.73%. One of the important factors contributing to good forest protection is that the commune has established 6 community forest protection groups in 6/6 villages. Thanks to that, people's awareness of forest protection has been raised, from 2020 to now, people have not cut down forests, hunted wild animals, or illegally exploited wood for housing.
“Nowadays, more and more people in the commune are building houses with concrete. Using concrete to build houses has many benefits: no deforestation, no termites, long-term use, more solid houses... Illegal logging has stopped, natural forests are getting denser, so Nam Giai never lacks water for daily use. The whole commune has more than 200 hectares of land for wet rice production, each year planting 2 crops for high productivity, because of sufficient irrigation water. Not to mention, almost every house in the commune has a pond for raising fish, full of water all year round...”, said the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Giai commune.
People in Nam Giai commune also develop their economy under the forest canopy by planting cinnamon, cassia and bon bo trees, combined with pig raising and raising native chickens. Cinnamon is a crop that brings many benefits, so people in the commune actively plant it between vacant lots in the forest and home gardens. Nam Giai currently has 278 households, each house grows hundreds of cinnamon trees, the total area of the commune is estimated at about 80 hectares. In recent years, cinnamon products have been sold at good prices, not only cinnamon bark, but also roots and leaves are purchased by traders.
Regarding bon bo, implementing a non-governmental project, since 2013, Nam Giai people have planted over 200 hectares under the forest canopy, which is currently well protected, bringing income to people from picking fruit. According to the Chairman of Nam Giai Commune People's Committee, now every year people have a steady income under the forest canopy, by planting precious medicinal plants and other forest products, not to mention the whole commune receives over 2 billion VND each year from the State's forest environmental service payment source.
On this occasion, we also visited the community forest protection model in Hamlet 1, Linh Son Commune, Anh Son District, where Comrade Le Minh Hoan - Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development once visited. Looking out at the immense green forest, Mr. Phan Hoang Linh, Head of Hamlet 1, Linh Son Commune, shared: Previously, this entire forest area was mostly poor forest, bare land, and bare hills. But since 2019, this forest has been assigned to 27 households for management and protection, thanks to which more than 50 hectares of forest have been revived. Many natural trees such as chestnut, beech, and mulberry... are now luxuriant with branches and leaves, with some tree trunks having to hug almost an adult's arm.
Following the small trails deep into Doc Cao forest, we heard the village chief Phan Hoang Linh tell more stories about forest protection. Village 1, Linh Son commune with 27 households, established 2 forest protection teams, each team divided its forces into small groups, assigned management plans to each specific member, with the task of patrolling and protecting the forest day and night. In which, patrols are periodically conducted every week to protect and prevent forest fires. Currently, the whole village protects and takes care of 40 hectares of natural forest and production forest including acacia, xoan, bamboo, rattan, meters...
Since 2019, when receiving management, protection and protection of the forest, Nghe An Forest Protection Department has supported the people of Hamlet 1, Linh Son commune with 48 million VND per year to carry out activities such as organizing forest patrols and inspections in the model area. Organizing propaganda conferences, training, fire prevention and fighting, providing guidance on forest protection techniques; setting up 50 boundary markers of the model area; building 2 propaganda signs. Although from 2021 to now, this source of funding for forest protection is no longer available, the people of Hamlet 1, Linh Son commune are always aware of the need to protect the regenerated forest well to protect the living environment for the people themselves. From there, having water for daily life and developing agricultural production such as building a comprehensive farm, digging ponds to raise fish; raising and developing herds of buffalo, cows, pigs, goats, etc. is also more convenient. In particular, when the forest develops well, beekeeping for honey is very feasible and profitable.
The family of Hamlet Chief Phan Hoang Linh is one of 27 households in the hamlet participating in forest protection. Currently, Hamlet Chief Linh's family is raising goats under the forest canopy and has a high income. He shared: The family received the protection of 4 hectares of regenerated forest. When the forests are green and the water source is abundant, we take advantage of raising goats under the forest canopy. Initially, we only raised about 20-30 goats, but realizing that the land fund in the forest fringe is large and has natural grazing conditions, since 2020, I have invested hundreds of millions of VND more to build barns, increasing the herd to 250-300 goats; selling 5-6 tons of goats every year, with a revenue of over 600 million VND.
Through the chestnut forest of Linh Son, we came to Mr. Hua Manh Thang's family with an effective beekeeping model under the forest canopy. Mr. Thang shared: Since 2017, he started raising bees, but by 2019, he had increased the scale to 50 hives. Raising bees here is very favorable, the vast natural forest with a variety of chestnut flowers, xoan flowers, and yellow flowers... gives delicious honey quality, bringing economic value 2 to 4 times higher than other types of honey. In addition to raising bees for honey, Mr. Thang also breeds bees to sell to households. Every year, Mr. Thang sells 300 liters of honey, earning 60 million VND; breeding and selling 30 hives earns an additional 30 million VND. Along with raising chickens, pigs, and producing livestock under the forest canopy, Mr. Thang's family has an income of about 150 million VND/year.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thu - Chairman of Linh Son Commune People's Committee, added: Since the forest in the commune has been protected and greened, 27 households that have received forest protection have all effectively developed their economy under the forest canopy, mainly raising livestock and poultry. In addition, some households have had income from secondary forest products such as collecting chestnuts for sale. The commune is encouraging people to expand beekeeping under the forest canopy, and expand 2-3 hectares of freshwater fish farming. During the visit, Minister Le Minh Hoan assessed and acknowledged the positive awareness of Linh Son people in forest protection, both protecting the ecological environment and combining effective economic development under the forest canopy....
