Part 1: The 'Hot Spot' in Quy Chau

(Baonghean) - Editor's Note: In mid-July 2016, the Provincial People's Committee announced that illegal buying, selling, and transferring of forest land and land used for purposes other than those intended were occurring in the province. Accordingly, it directed relevant agencies to conduct a review and take measures to prevent this. Thoroughly investigating the situation at the local level and gathering accurate information on the actual circumstances and causes is absolutely essential.

Border guards and forest rangers patrol and protect the forest.

"It's been a hot topic since the year before last..."

Quỳ Châu is called a "hot spot" because, since the end of 2014, Nghe An Newspaper has investigated and uncovered the illegal buying, selling, and transfer of forest land, as well as the misuse of forest land in the area; and even though nearly two years have passed, the problem of deforestation remains complex, while the area of ​​forest land illegally bought and sold amounts to over 3,400 hectares.

The illegal buying, selling, and transfer of forest land, and the unauthorized conversion of forest land use in Quy Chau, were discovered in the villages of Pa Co, Ke Ninh, Dinh Tien, and Ta Co in Chau Hanh commune. These villages are mostly inhabited by the Thai ethnic minority. Mr. and Mrs. Ha Van Linh, Lim Thi Tuong, Bui Van Yen, and Vi Thi Luyen (village heads, Party branch secretaries, and influential figures in Pa Co and Ke Ninh villages) discussed the matter, stating that during a review and compilation of a list of families without forest land for the district and commune authorities to allocate, this issue came to light. They then compiled a list of many households that had been allocated forest land under Government Decree 163 in 2003-2004 and had sold it to a business at rock-bottom prices in 2010-2011.

According to the head of Ke Ninh village, Mr. Bui Van Yen, there are about 25 households in his village, and "not only in Pa Co and Ke Ninh, but also in neighboring villages like Dinh Tien and Ta Co, the situation is the same." Meanwhile, the head of Pa Co village, Mr. Ha Van Linh, said: "In Pa Co, about 45 households have sold their forest land use right certificates. This is the number we've counted; the actual number could be higher..."

Through discussions with many residents in the villages of Kẻ Nính and Pà Cọ, we gathered sufficient evidence regarding the buying and selling of forest land; and the question arises: What are they doing with the forest land they are collecting from the people? The residents stated that after collecting the forest land use right certificates, the company (Nghệ An Green Joint Stock Company) brought in machinery and equipment to build roads into the forest areas, clearing the land to plant acacia trees. “They hired dozens of workers to clear large areas of forest, build houses, and plant acacia trees there…” – many residents in Kẻ Nính said.

Together with the local police officer, we ventured deep into the forest of Chau Hanh commune, reaching the Khe Nhôm area, where Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company hired people to clear the forest, build houses, and plant acacia trees. It was a desolate area of ​​regenerating forest. Interspersed among patches of bamboo and trees with diameters of 15-30 cm were stretches of hills that had been completely cleared. In some areas, after clearing, acacia trees about 1 meter tall had been planted. In this area, a four-room stilt house had been erected for the workers and security guards.

The area where Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company is clearing and planting acacia trees is located in Sub-area 175, Chau Hanh commune. (Photo taken in December 2014)

It has been learned that most of this area is owned by Mr. Phan Bá Giang, Director of Nghệ An Green Joint Stock Company, residing in Châu Bình commune (Quỳ Châu district). "Mr. Giang bought the forest land that the State had allocated to the people. I don't know the exact amount, but it's a lot, hundreds of hectares, stretching all the way to Châu Thuận commune. He spent a lot of money hiring machinery to build a road into this area. Once the road is built, he brings in workers to clear the land and plant acacia trees," said someone claiming to be Mr. Phan Bá Giang's brother-in-law.

The house that Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company built in Sub-area 175 to clear forest for planting acacia trees. (Photo taken December 2014)

Prior to 2014, the Quy Chau area was always a hot spot in the province regarding issues related to forest land, so those responsible there quickly received the information and requested the newspaper's cooperation to clarify the matter. The then Chairman of the Quy Chau District People's Committee, Mr. Phan Duc Dong, also determined that Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company showed signs of violating the law, and therefore discussed the matter:

“The press should report on matters that have been investigated and verified. Regarding the district, according to the law, in addition to allocating land, issuing certificates of land use rights for forest land, and guiding the implementation of forest protection and development plans and forestry production for the people, the two levels of government are responsible for directing forces in the area to detect and promptly prevent acts of forest encroachment.”

The District People's Committee will assign the Forest Protection Department to these areas to investigate and clarify the situation, question the individuals involved, and handle violations accordingly, in accordance with the law. The illegal buying, selling, and transfer of forest land and the arbitrary changes in the purpose of forest land use cannot be allowed to continue..."

The Nghe An newspaper subsequently published an investigative report titled "Rectifying the situation of 'clandestine' transfers and illegal conversion of forest land."

... up to now

In late 2014, a task force from the Quy Chau Forest Management Unit conducted a field inspection, identifying the area where Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company was building roads, clearing land, and planting acacia trees in Sub-area 175; and discovering instances of illegal land transfers by residents in Chau Hanh. These illegal transfers occurred between approximately 2008 and 2011, using two forms: "land use rights transfer contracts" and "land use rights lease contracts for a period of 50 years"; the transfer prices ranged from 380,000 to 6 million VND.

After the transfer contracts were executed, the households received the money, while Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company held the land use right certificates. In the two villages of Pa Co and Ke Ninh, 37 households illegally transferred forest land with a total area of ​​465 hectares.

Evidence shows that Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company illegally acquired forest land from local people.

Since then, the review and gathering of information regarding the illegal transfer of forest land in Quy Chau has continued, confirming that 11 out of 12 communes in the area have this situation, involving 486 households/3,433 hectares (including land with land use right certificates and temporarily allocated forest land). According to the Quy Chau Forest Protection Department, this is "information gathered through investigation. The actual situation is likely even larger because many households are showing signs of concealing the illegal transfer of forest land."

Besides Mr. Phan Ba ​​Giang's Nghe An Green Joint Stock Company, to whom did the people in Quy Chau illegally transfer forest land? Investigations revealed that it fell into the hands of several individuals, including some who are state officials. These organizations and individuals, after receiving the illegally transferred land, depleted the forest and then planted acacia trees to seek personal economic gain.

"Many forest lands have been illegally converted to other uses. And in the past, there have been many cases that the district, police, forest rangers, and commune authorities have handled..." - an official in Quy Chau district affirmed.

Cutting down small trees, thereby depleting the forest and changing its intended use, is a common tactic used by land speculators to acquire forest land.

According to our statistics, from the beginning of 2016 to the present, Quy Chau district has handled 116 cases of forest encroachment; of which, 3 cases are currently under investigation by the district police; one case has been brought to trial in a mobile court (2 individuals involved were sentenced to pay 150 million VND in compensation to the state budget and served 15 years in prison). Furthermore, the Chau Hanh commune authorities recently had their case file returned by the district People's Committee regarding the illegal logging of nearly 2 hectares of forest in category 1c at Lot 1, Section 5, Sub-area 197 (Khe Doong, Nam Bong, Chau Hanh commune). The reason given was to continue the investigation because there were indications that current officials were behind this incident…

(to be continued)

Text and photos:Nhat Lan