Many goals of the project to preserve the ethnic group that sleeps sitting up in Nghe An have failed.

On the afternoon of March 21, in Con Cuong town, the People's Committee of Nghe An province held a conference to summarize 10 years of implementing the Project on Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Dan Lai ethnic minority currently living in the core zone of Pu Mat National Park.

Comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the conference.

Conference scene. Photo: D.T

The Dan Lai community lives in Con Cuong district (Nghe An) with about 3,000 people. Previously, the Dan Lai people lived in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park, most concentrated in the upper reaches of Giang River - Khe Khang. After a long period of living in isolation from the outside world, the main way of living of the Dan Lai people is hunting, gathering, and relying on nature. Therefore, they face economic and social risks and racial degradation due to inbreeding.

Delegates attending the conference. Photo: Diep Phuong

Dan Lai people have long lived by simple, primitive methods. Photo: TL

Faced with that situation, the Party and State have issued many policies to support the Dan Lai community to integrate and develop sustainably.

On December 16, 2006, the Prime Minister issued Decision 280/2006/QD-TTg approving the Project "Conservation and sustainable development of the Dan Lai ethnic minority currently living in the core zone of Pu Mat National Park, Con Cuong district.

The project's goal is to improve living conditions and socio-economic development to preserve and sustainably develop this ethnic group, while ensuring border security and protecting the ecosystem of Pu Mat National Park.

The total initial investment capital under the Project was 93,244 billion VND, after many adjustments it increased to more than 278,311 billion VND.

Mr. Luong Thanh Hai - Head of the Provincial Ethnic Minorities Committee spoke at the conference. Photo: Diep Phuong

After 10 years of implementing the project, 78 households with 531 people have moved to resettlement areas in Tan Son and Cua Rao villages (Mon Son commune), and Thach Son village (Thach Ngan commune - Con Cuong). According to the assessment, the households moving to the resettlement area are basically stable in terms of socio-economic conditions, facilities, traffic infrastructure are guaranteed, electricity, water, irrigation systems... have met the needs of the people. In addition, through the propaganda work of departments and branches, the awareness of the Dan Lai community has changed a lot, backward customs are gradually eliminated.

Mr. Vi Van Son - Chairman of Con Cuong District People's Committee spoke at the conference. Photo: D.T

However, the reality also shows that there are currently 224 households still living in their old residences, of which 30 households are allowed to stay according to the Project planning, 40 households are planned to resettle in 2 villages: Ke Tat and Ba Ha in Thach Ngan commune but are not eligible to move and resettle due to lack of land fund. A resettlement project for 64 households is not feasible due to lack of land fund and lack of domestic water source...

Due to lack of capital, many transportation and infrastructure projects serving daily life cannot be implemented. Even households that have moved to new places of residence still face many problems regarding social security and unsustainable development.

At the conference, many delegates raised a number of issues related to the preservation of the Dan Lai community. Among them, there were opinions that the project had been implemented for more than 10 years but many goals had not been achieved; The capital estimate was inaccurate, so there was a large gap between the project and reality; The capital source could not meet the demand, so the project was prolonged; The planning of resettlement areas and the assessment of natural conditions were also inadequate, so many projects were not feasible. According to the project, only 30 households of Bung and Co Phat villages were to be kept in the core area, but up to now, there are still 224 households with nearly 1,000 people living here.

Comrade Le Minh Thong gave a speech at the conference. Photo: Diep Phuong

Speaking at the conference, comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed that with the attention of the Party and the State, the lives of the Dan Lai people have had positive changes, and policies have contributed to changing people's lives. However, reality also shows that the effectiveness of the project has not met the requirements. The duration of the project to preserve the Dan Lai ethnic group is 3 years, from 2007-2009, but up to now it has not been completed. "The goal of relocating 146 households but only 78 households have moved to new residences after more than 10 years is a failure" - comrade Le Minh Thong affirmed.

To overcome the limitations of the project and at the same time support the Dan Lai people to develop sustainably, comrade Le Minh Thong requested Con Cuong district, relevant agencies and departments to review and re-evaluate the project, ensuring it is close to reality. In addition, in resettlement areas where people have settled down, attention should be paid to investing in infrastructure, improving people's lives, paying attention to issues of housing, land for production, health care, education, etc. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also directed units to carefully study the areas where residential clusters are living in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park to find appropriate solutions.