Nghe An: People use lack of land as an excuse to destroy forests

(Baonghean.vn)- A major cause of deforestation in Quy Chau is the lack of land for production among the people. However, some households still use this reason to legitimize deforestation.

A charcoal kiln is located right in the middle of the forest edge in Chau Hoi commune.

Through verification by Nghe An Newspaper reporters, local authorities all admitted that deforestation was a reality. In 2015, Chau Nga Commune authorities handled 9 cases of encroachment on unimproved forest areas. Since the beginning of 2016, Chau Hoi Commune has handled 10 households who arbitrarily cleared forest areas assigned by the State for protection. Regarding the phenomenon of cutting down forest wood to sell to traders, at first the local authorities did not confirm that this phenomenon existed. Only when reporters presented evidence did the leaders of Chau Nga and Chau Hoi Communes appear "dumbfounded" and say that they would investigate and handle the matter.

Timber transport trail in Khe Quen area, Tan 2 village, Chau Hoi commune

Local authorities and village officials all share the same opinion that the cause of the massive deforestation in some communes in Quy Chau district is due to the lack of land for production and employment. The allocated forest areas are becoming increasingly depleted, with very little timber of economic value left, while people are having difficulty in renovating them to convert to growing acacia or other crops that can generate income.

Lacking land for production, people have no choice but to go into the forest to clear fields to plant acacia trees, dig ponds to raise fish, and reclaim rice fields, while most of these areas are only allocated for protection. When people lack food or need money to cover living expenses, the most feasible way for them is to go into the forest to cut wood and sell it.

Another reason why the forests in Chau Nga and Chau Hoi communes are still being gutted is that there are still timber brokers and sawmills operating openly in the area. According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Khanh - Deputy Head of Quy Chau Forest Protection Department, only a few sawmills in Chau Nga commune are granted business licenses. Where there is demand, there will be supply. Timber brokers are still operating openly, so people still go into the forest to cut wood for sale.

During our field trip to Ke Tan 2 village, we visited Mr. Lu Van Phong's house. The 44-year-old man with a haggard appearance said that his family has 5 mouths to feed, and is raising 2 children to go to school, but only has 700m²rice fields, while the allocated forest land is not allowed to be renovated. With little forest, this family has to buy firewood from others to burn charcoal to cover daily expenses and send their children to school.

In Thanh Son village, Chau Nga commune, there are 76 households and most of them have been allocated land and forests according to Decree 163, but because they are not allowed to renovate although many areas have become poor, most people still lack land for production. Thanh Son village chief, Mr. Lo Van Cuong shared: In the village, up to half of the households are currently going into the forest to burn firewood and charcoal or cut wood to sell to brokers, in general, these are illegal activities that harm the forest.

Wood lying on top of Lao slope (Chau Nga commune) due to untimely transport by the exploiters

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa, Chairman of Chau Nga Commune People's Committee, also said that the whole commune has 2,115 people distributed in 6 villages but only 59 hectares of agricultural land. Developing a multi-sector economy in this area is very difficult. During the off-season, people mainly go to the forest to pick bamboo shoots and collect firewood. Many households think that leaving the forest as it is will not generate profit, so they want to convert it into production land.

Thus, it can be seen that a major cause of deforestation in Quy Chau is the lack of productive land among the people. However, it must be added that there are still households who use this as an excuse to deforest. Therefore, the solution of the district government is still "resolute handling".

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Ngo Duc Thuan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Chau district, said: Since March 1, 2016, the district has established a team to crack down on deforestation, inspect and handle illegal sawmills, and cut off electricity to unlicensed workshops. There are many forest owners in the area. If any forest owner violates the law, that forest owner will be resolutely dealt with.

Large trees were cut down to... burn charcoal.

To prevent people from encroaching on areas that are not allowed to be renovated, Mr. Ngo Duc Thuan added: Every year, the district government coordinates with the commune to inspect and review depleted forest areas so that people can renovate them and find new livelihoods. As for forest land areas under the provisions of Decree 163 where people violate, the government has made a record, handled administrative violations and will issue a decision to reclaim this area.

It seems that administrative handling or land recovery from people is probably just a temporary measure. For people living near forests who have difficulty developing their professions, such as in Chau Nga and Chau Hoi areas, it is understandable that people go into the forest during the off-season or clear the forest for production land. However, there are also people who disregard the law, "seeing others can clear the forest, I can do it too" and need to be resolutely dealt with. In addition, the propaganda about forest protection laws has not yet received attention from authorities at all levels. As soon as the phenomenon of encroachment on forests that were only protected, the Chau Hoi commune government only convened village chiefs to propagate but did not have a plan to propagate the law about forest protection to the people.

NPV