Law

'Historical day' of Dan Lai Pu Mat people

Nhat Lan - Thanh Cuong - Hoai Thu; Performed by: Huu Quan • September 1, 2025 10:04

For decades, the planning of Pu Mat National Park has invisibly been like a "golden ring" covering the land of the Dan Lai people in Bung and Co Phat villages of Mon Son commune, causing many difficulties for them in building their lives. This sad situation has ended since July 5, 2025, after a long period of intervention by all levels and sectors of Nghe An province.

Nhat Lan - Thanh Cuong - Hoai Thu• September 1, 2025

Having visited the Dan Lai people in the core of the primeval forest of Pu Mat National Park many times, we still cannot know exactly the history of this "sitting sleeping tribe", and there is no exact information about when they have lived here. We have read many documents, but realized that there has not been any reputable research on the origin as well as the settlement time of the Dan Lai people in the upper reaches of the Giang River. During our working trips, we only felt that they have lived in that deep forest for many generations. And one thing is certain, the land of many generations of the Dan Lai people in Bung and Co Phat villages in Mon Son commune is located in the planning area of ​​Pu Mat National Park; causing the Dan Lai people to have a narrow living space, lose their means of production, making their already difficult lives even more difficult.

Saying that, because every time we crossed the Giang River into the core of Pu Mat forest recently, it has become a habit for us to meet the most outstanding Dan Lai people, such as Bung village chief Le Van Chin, or Co Phat village front work committee chief La Van Linh... We met to hear their stories, and to know what changes the Dan Lai people in the deep forest and deep water have made over time. Calling Le Van Chin, La Van Linh... outstanding Dan Lai people, but they, in appearance, are no different from their compatriots. Their clothes are shabby, their skin is burnt black, their faces are haggard, and they often smile with a very gentle smile. The only difference is that these people are willing to listen to questions, present quite fluently what is asked, and know how to convey their wishes to help their community.

Remembering the last meeting in 2024, Bung village chief Le Van Chin clearly stated that, out of 125 households in the village, only 3 households were considered near-poor, the rest were still poor. Explaining the persistent poverty of the people of Bung village, according to Le Van Chin, a fundamental reason is because of the small amount of land. Bung village is located in the middle of vast mountains and forests and also has quite large sloping land along the Giang River, but each household here only has 40 - 50m²land.

The few fields and land around the house are all in the planning area of ​​Pu Mat National Park, so life still depends mainly on the forest. Village chief Le Van Chin said: “When the bamboo shoot season comes, we go into the forest to get bamboo shoots. When the bamboo shoot season is over, we don’t know what to do. If we want to develop livestock, grow rice, and grow crops, we need land. Therefore, we hope that the State will pay attention to providing land for people…”.

Similarly, Mr. La Van Linh - Head of the Front Committee of Co Phat village said that out of 126 households in the village, there are 121 poor households, only 5 near-poor households. Co Phat is different from before, with a new school, and a number of young people working far away in the southern provinces, at factories and industrial parks in the district and province. But the livelihood of Co Phat villagers still mainly depends on the forest. "People go to the forest to collect bamboo shoots and catch bees. The land is still under the management of Pu Mat National Park, so they cannot do anything they want. I hope that the authorities will pay attention to allocating residential land and production land so that people can stabilize and develop...", Mr. La Van Linh said.

During our trips to the Dan Lai ethnic minority area, we had to go upstream on the Giang River for approximately 20 km, taking about 3 hours, often accompanied by officials from Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district (old) and Pu Mat National Park officials. During these limited times, we heard many stories about the land difficulties of the Dan Lai ethnic minority.

Secretary of Chau Khe Commune Party Committee Lo Van Thao (before July 1, 2025, Chairman of the People's Committee of the old Con Cuong district) was born and raised in Mon Son commune and said: The Dan Lai people have lived in the core of Pu Mat forest for a long time, up to hundreds of years. There was a time when people lived a nomadic lifestyle, so the State had a resettlement policy, moving some of them closer to the center of Mon Son commune. But few households wanted to stay in the new place, most of them went upstream to the Giang River, Khe Khang area. Around 1993 - 1994, then in 2005, the State continued to implement the resettlement policy to change the lives of the Dan Lai people for the better. Some households were moved to Tan Son, Thach Son, and then Ke Tat, Ba Ha. But in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park, there are still more than 200 Dan Lai households remaining. Regarding Pu Mat National Park, the predecessor of Pu Mat Nature Reserve, was established around 1995; at that time, for unknown reasons, the entire residential and production land of Dan Lai people was included in the planning of Pu Mat Nature Reserve. From that time on, Dan Lai people were no longer the owners of the land, and their lives faced many difficulties...

Having the responsibility to strictly manage the assigned special-use forest area, including the land area of ​​Bung and Co Phat villages, however, Pu Mat National Park officials soon realized that there were many shortcomings and sympathized with the living conditions of the Dan Lai people, so they always looked forward to the day when the land would be returned to them.

According to Mr. Le Anh Tuan - Director of Pu Mat National Park, when the land was put under management, all production activities, from growing rice to growing raw materials, were not allowed. Some households arbitrarily planted acacia trees on vacant land, and when it was time to harvest, they asked to cut them down but were not approved. Over time, the acacia trees naturally rotted while the people were very poor, always lacking food and clothing. "We feel sorry for the people but we cannot go against the regulations...", said Director of Pu Mat National Park Le Anh Tuan.

Due to these shortcomings and sympathy for the people, in 2022, when developing a sustainable forest management plan, Pu Mat National Park proactively reviewed and recommended the Provincial People's Committee to return the land area related to the Dan Lai people in Co Phat and Bung villages to the local authorities.

On August 4, 2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 2288/QD-UBND approving the sustainable forest use plan for the period 2022 - 2030 of Pu Mat National Park. In particular, it determined to remove 401.32 hectares of residential land and agricultural land of the Dan Lan community in Co Phat and Bung villages, Mon Son commune from Pu Mat National Park, and hand them over to the local authorities for management and use. After that, the People's Committee of Mon Son commune and the People's Committee of Con Cuong district (old) issued documents requesting the Provincial People's Committee to set up detailed boundary markers for the land area removed from Pu Mat National Park according to the approved plan in Decision No. 2288/QD-UBND; moving towards granting land use rights to households and individuals in Co Phat and Bung villages.

As in Document No. 1148/UBND.TN dated September 27, 2022, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district (old) proposed: "To ensure the rights, social security issues, and create livelihoods for households in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district respectfully requests the Provincial People's Committee to reclaim an area of ​​401.32 hectares (residential land and agricultural land) according to the approved plan; at the same time, direct Pu Mat National Park to carry out detailed demarcation according to the approved plan; support funding for detailed measurements to hand over to the People's Committees of districts and communes for management and use according to the planning and plan. On that basis, the district will direct the People's Committee of Mon Son commune to develop a land use plan to allocate land and issue land use right certificates to households and individuals in the above two villages.".

On October 4, 2022, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (old) issued Document No. 6175/STNMT-QLDD instructing Pu Mat National Park to prepare a land recovery dossier in Mon Son commune. Based on the instructions, Pu Mat National Park organized a review of the current status of land use management, then on October 13, 2022 issued Document No. 417/VQG-KL voluntarily returning 360.6 hectares of land for the Provincial People's Committee to hand over to the People's Committee of Con Cuong district (old) to prepare a land use plan and allocate land to Dan Lai households in Co Phat village and Bung village.

However, to remove the residential land and agricultural land of Co Phat and Bung villages from the planning of Pu Mat National Park, and to grant the Certificate of Land Use Rights to the Dan Lai people, is not simple. Pu Mat National Park, formerly Pu Mat Nature Reserve, was established with the permission of the Government; the law stipulates strict protection of the special-use forest area of ​​the National Park... Therefore, the processes and procedures for implementing this content are not only within the jurisdiction of Nghe An province but also related to the central level and sectors. The work of land recovery and marking, extracting and measuring additional cadastral maps of the land of Pu Mat National Park voluntarily returned encountered many difficulties. There was a time when the officials of Mon Son commune and Con Cuong district (old) thought it was at a standstill. Until December 9, 2024, when National Assembly delegate Do Van Chien - Politburo member, Party Central Committee Secretary, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and National Assembly delegates of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province met with voters of Con Cuong district (old), voters of Mon Son commune continued to petition to speed up the progress of granting land use rights for residential land and production land to Dan Lai people in Co Phat and Bung villages.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son Commune, Luong Dinh Viet, formerly the Standing Deputy Secretary and Chairman of the People's Council of Con Cuong District (old), said: Attending the meeting with voters, on the side of Nghe An province, there were Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung (as of December 9, 2024) and many leaders of provincial departments, branches and sectors. Listening to the petition from voters of Mon Son Commune, National Assembly delegate Do Van Chien acknowledged that this was a legitimate petition, requesting Nghe An province to devote more resources and pay more attention to the Dan Lai ethnic people. On the other hand, National Assembly delegate Do Van Chien also said that he would give opinions so that central agencies could pay attention and remove difficulties and obstacles within their authority.

Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung (as of December 9, 2024) also affirmed that he would direct the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (old) to pay attention to and resolve the issue of granting land use rights for residential land and production land to Dan Lai people; remind Con Cuong district (old) to closely follow up with the province, departments and branches to resolve problems in measuring and making records... He also discussed that the province will make recommendations to the Central Government to resolve issues beyond its authority; direct branches to pay attention to reviewing and resolving issues under the province's authority.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son Commune, Luong Dinh Viet, added: “The Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and all levels and sectors of the province are very interested in resolving land issues for the Dan Lai people in Co Phat and Bung villages. However, it can be said that after this meeting with voters, thanks to the voice of National Assembly delegate Do Van Chien and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Duc Trung, the “bottlenecks” related to resolving land issues for the Dan Lai people in Co Phat and Bung villages have been gradually resolved…”.

Following the above content, we confirmed what Mr. Luong Dinh Viet had discussed. By the beginning of 2025, the work of surveying cadastral maps and preparing documents to issue Land Use Right Certificates for the Dan Lai people in Co Phat and Bung villages was being accelerated. Dozens of officials from the Provincial Land Registration Office, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district (old), and the People's Committee of Mon Son commune spent months, day and night, staying at Co Phat and Bung villages to carry out the tasks of surveying, measuring, and preparing documents to issue Land Use Right Certificates for each Dan Lai household.

On the side of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, on March 31, 2025, Official Dispatch No. 780/SNNMT-QLDD advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Decision No. 37/QD-UBND dated April 15, 2025 to adjust Decision No. 486/QD-UBND.DC dated November 25, 2013 on approving the results of reviewing the current status of land use management of Pu Mat National Park. Accordingly, the adjustment reduced 221.87 hectares of residential land and agricultural land of the Dan Lai people living in Co Phat village, Bung village, Mon Son commune within the boundary of Pu Mat National Park...

On July 5, 2025, the provincial working delegation led by Comrade Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province crossed the Giang River to Co Phat and Bung villages to inspect the work of supporting families with housing difficulties. At the same time, the organization awarded Certificates of land use rights and production land to Dan Lai households.

Joining the working group, we visited the border guards and local military forces... who were assisting in dismantling old, dilapidated houses made of thatch and bamboo, to prepare for the construction of new houses so that the people could have new, spacious places to live. Then we went to the community cultural houses of Co Phat and Bung villages, where the working group organized the handover of certificates of land use rights for residential and production land.

That day, perhaps because of many years of waiting, the Dan Lai people, both young and old, came here in large numbers. The Dan Lai people were still the same. Still wearing shabby clothes, and on their dark faces, they still kept very gentle smiles. Each person, each person waited in order for their turn, attentively listening to the instructions of the officers of the Provincial Land Registration Office, then emotionally fumbling to point their fingers to receive the Land Use Rights Certificate.

Sharing the joy of the Dan Lai people in the core of Pu Mat primeval forest, the officials in the provincial working delegation all exclaimed: “This is a truly meaningful day. It is a historic day for the Dan Lai people…”.