Nghe An: Handing over forestry land to businesses... people feel sorry

(Baonghean) - People in Que Phong district reported a dispute over forestry land between some households in Quang Phong commune and Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited; and in Con Cuong, it was the allocation of upstream forest land to Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company.

People react

The area where the forest land dispute occurred in Quang Phong commune (Que Phong), in the Khe Ton mountain area, is located near the newly completed Quang Phong road to Quy Hop and Tan Ky districts. Previously, the Khe Ton mountain area was under the management of Que Phong Forestry Enterprise.

However, for many years now, many households from Pao 1, Pao 2 villages... of Quang Phong commune have come to reclaim land for slash-and-burn farming and livestock farming. Mr. Sam Van Minh - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said that there are 38 households in total. "The land belongs to the forestry farm, but people have been doing business for a long time. Like Mr. Sam Van Xuyen's household in Pao 1 village, Mr. Sam Van Thuong in Pao 2 village, Mr. Sam Van Dung in Pao 1 village, Mr. Lo Van Du in Pao 2 village...".

According to Mr. Luong Van Phuoc - a cadastral officer of Quang Phong commune, around 2009, Que Phong Forestry returned the Khe Ton mountain area to the province; the province returned it to the district, and the district returned it to the commune for management.

Forest land in Quang Phong commune (Que Phong) where there is a dispute between local people and Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited.

In early 2013, Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited was assigned to carry out the forest planting project. However, it was not until 2015 that people from this company came to the commune to complain that people were fighting over forest land...

Mr. Sam Van Thuong's camp is located next to Khe Ton mountain, just over 500 meters from the asphalt road. Here, the land is fertile, Mr. Thuong grazes buffaloes, cows, raises chickens and pigs; cultivates fields and grows xoan trees for the family economy.

Mr. Thuong said that in Pao 2 village there are only houses but no gardens; so he and his wife went to Khe Ton mountain area (about 5km from the village) to do business for about 20 years. “We did not know anything about Thanh Thanh Dat Company.

At the end of 2015, someone came here and said that the land belonged to the company, preventing us from planting trees and farming...' Mr. Thuong said. Mr. Thuong's wife, Ms. Quang Thi Nham, was upset: "In 2015, someone came and said the land belonged to them. This year, they came and told people not to plant trees... If we don't do anything, how will people live? We still have to do it...".

According to Mr. Lang Minh Dung - Chairman of the Quang Phong Commune Fatherland Front, implementing the direction of the District Fatherland Front Committee, he reported the actual situation of the State area for Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited, which is in sub-zones 133, 138 and 139, which are areas where people graze cattle. Therefore, the people requested the District Fatherland Front Committee to work with relevant agencies of the district and the province to answer if the enterprise planted forests, what benefits would the people get?

According to Mr. Vi Thai Diep - Chairman of Quang Phong Commune People's Committee, recently, when the National Assembly delegates came to meet with voters, the people reported the matter of the State allocating land to Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited but they left it fallow, did not plant forests while the people had no land for production. Mr. Diep said: "The people requested the National Assembly delegates to report to the province, reclaim the land granted to Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited's project to return it to the people for cultivation and production...".

At the Que Phong District Fatherland Front Committee, when informed about land disputes in Quang Phong Commune, the representative of this organization said that this situation occurred not only in Quang Phong Commune but also in Nam Nhoong Commune. “We have received reports from two communes. Around 2013, the province allocated forestry land in Quang Phong and Nam Nhoong Communes to Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited to implement a project to plant raw material forests.

In Quang Phong, there are over 500 hectares, in Nam Nhoong, there are over 600 hectares. However, for nearly 3 years, this company has done nothing. Meanwhile, people now understand the benefits of planting forests, and really want to plant forests, but there is no land. Therefore, everywhere, people hope that the province will withdraw the project to hand over the land to the people..."

Basis of concern

The incident of handing over upstream forest land to Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company was reported by an official of Con Cuong district. This person affirmed: “With the locations shown in the documents, they are all upstream forest land, previously protected forests. If we hand them over to grow raw material forests, it will be very inappropriate. Reporters should go to Thach Ngan, Mau Duc, and Don Phuc communes to verify and it will be clear...”.

Mr. Sam Van Thuong: “We have reclaimed land to do business here for about 20 years. Now the company prevents us from planting trees, farming…”

Arriving at Thach Ngan commune, the information about allocating forest land to enterprises for planting raw material forests is correct. Vice Chairman of the commune People's Committee, Mr. Lo Thanh Hieu led us to sub-area 751, in Pieng Coc area, where the land allocation marker was set for Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company.

Here, according to Mr. Hieu, the high mountain areas, where there are dense forests, bamboo and vegetation, were previously protective forests managed by the Con Cuong Protective Forest Management Board. Around 2012, the commune saw officers from the Forestry Planning Investigation Team come to inspect but did not understand what they were doing. Recently, it was said that they had been handed over to enterprises to manage and plant raw material forests.

Mr. Hieu said: “Hearing that, the commune is very concerned. These areas are upstream forests, which regulate the climate, protect the environment and preserve water resources. In Thach Ngan commune, the movement of planting raw material forests is developing strongly, but the commune does not allow conversion of forest land with forests. Now that businesses are allowed to come in, if people follow suit, illegal exploitation of forest products and deforestation will occur, which is very worrying…”.

Similar to Thach Ngan, in the communes of Mau Duc, Don Phuc…, those in charge all expressed their concerns. Because as they said, all are upstream protection forest lands. If they are given to enterprises to grow raw material forests, it means they will destroy the forest to… replant it. Losing the forest will lose the water source, how can people produce?

Mr. Lo Van That - Chairman of Mau Duc commune said that the whole commune has only over 300 hectares of agricultural land, and all depend on the only water source of Khe Boi. At the source of Khe Boi, there are about 200 hectares of forest that the State has assigned to enterprises. "If the forest and water are lost, people will not be able to produce..." Mr. Lo Van That worried.

According to Mr. Vi Van Duc - Vice Chairman of Don Phuc commune, he expressed his frustration that forest fires are always a concern for the commune and district authorities. The upstream forest area in the commune that the State assigned to the enterprise requires a whole day of walking. However, since the assignment, the enterprise has neglected to manage it, leaving the authorities to deal with it.

Mr. Duc said: “The viewpoint of Don Phuc commune is to request the authorities at all levels not to allow Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company to change the purpose of forest use. The regenerated forest should be kept intact to protect the environment and water resources. In case the enterprise undertakes protection, it can be accepted, but we must require them to commit to coordinate with the locality to protect and prevent forest fires…”.

Need answers

At the People's Committee of Con Cuong district, it was learned that Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company was approved by the Provincial People's Committee to adjust the detailed planning of raw material areas for the forest planting project in Decision No. 1291/QD-UBND dated April 20, 2012. According to this decision, Viet Real Estate and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company was assigned an area of ​​1,804.3 hectares in the 8 communes of Thach Ngan, Mau Duc, Cam Lam, Chau Khe, Don Phuc, Lang Khe, Mon Son, and Luc Da.

A leader of Con Cuong district confirmed and commented: “We share the concerns of the local authorities. The decision on forest allocation and forest lease associated with forestry land allocation is under the authority of the province. However, Con Cuong district is oriented by the province as an ecological area of ​​the West for tourism economic development, so it wants to keep the natural forest intact…”.

As for the People's Committee of Que Phong district, the shortcomings in the allocation of forestry land to Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited not only occurred in Quang Phong, Nam Nhoong but also in Nam Giai commune. In Nam Giai, Nam Nhoong, the project planning for Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited overlapped with the State forestry land allocated to the people according to Decree 163. When the people expressed their opinions, the district directed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the authorities of Nam Giai and Nam Nhoong communes to conduct a review and statistics; the area of ​​overlap was up to nearly 300 hectares.

Mr. Lo Thanh Hieu - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thach Ngan Commune (Con Cuong): "The storm peak area is all forest with protective value, preserving water resources. If the forest is lost, it will be very worrying...".

A leader of Que Phong district said: “Currently, the People's Committee of Que Phong district has reported to the higher level about the overlapping situation of the raw material forest planting project of Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited. We are also directing to continue reviewing all raw material forest planting projects in the area to have an accurate and complete assessment. After that, we will recommend to the competent authority to direct the handling…”.

With a large forestry land fund, since the Government issued Decision 147 on a number of forest development policies (2007), Nghe An province has identified planting raw material forests as one of the socio-economic development policies, especially for the Western districts. To implement this, enterprises are identified to play an important role. However, according to research, although it has been implemented early, the role of enterprises has not yet achieved the desired results; there are even potential consequences such as in the two districts of Que Phong and Con Cuong.

These issues are complex and directly related to people's livelihoods and socio-economic development. Therefore, in addition to accurately grasping the current situation, the authorities of Que Phong and Con Cuong districts need to consult relevant departments and agencies to find solutions and propose the Provincial People's Committee to promptly issue instructions for handling./.

Nhat Lan - Dao Tuan