Forest rangers in the Pu Mat wilderness

(Baonghean) - Born from the forest, grown up thanks to the forest... Even though life is still poor, every day the forest still protects them from all disasters and gives them food and clothing. For them, protecting the national primeval green forest is protecting their home...

Attached to the forest

Located in the Western Nghe An natural biosphere reserve with a core area of ​​94,804 hectares and a buffer zone of 86,000 hectares, spread over 3 districts of Tuong Duong, Con Cuong and Anh Son, Pu Mat National Park is home to the Thai, Mong and Dan Lai ethnic groups for many generations.

People and staff of Pu Mat National Park patrol to protect the forest.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to accompany the staff of the Science Department of Pu Mat National Park to the core zone of the park for nearly a week. In our group, there were 4 staff of the park and 6 local people. At first, seeing that we seemed surprised to have so many local people with us, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, an officer of the Science Department of Pu Mat National Park, explained: "Those are local people who participate in protecting the forest. They will help carry research equipment, food and guide the way."

The accompanying households belong to families contracted to protect the forest. Most of them are ethnic minorities, born and raised living close to the forest, so they are proficient in guiding patrol and research groups in the core zone of Pu Mat National Park. In addition, they have the task of accompanying the park staff on patrols and reporting to the authorities when there is deforestation. They have truly become a solid and reassuring support for the park staff every time they enter the core zone for patrols.

Pu Mat National Forest is still wild, so there are no trails in the forest. But for these indigenous people, they remember every inch of forest land like the palm of their hand. They always give precise and safe advice on travel, accommodation and scheduling for groups to visit and learn. In addition, moving through the forest with their support during long forest trips requires bringing along a lot of food and machinery, which is really valuable.

“In the past, each of our trips could not last for a day because the amount of food we brought with our machines was limited. But now, with the help of the locals carrying food and machines, our trips can last up to half a month. Not only that, the local people's understanding of the weather in the forest has helped the groups avoid floods and rains many times when going to the forest,” Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung added.

During this long trip to the forest, we were treated to many rustic dishes of the forest people. These were sticky rice, elephant ear vegetable soup, boiled bamboo shoots, banana buds, boiled wild banana flowers... Every time the group stopped to rest, some people set up a shelter, the forest chefs quickly found those foods around the shelter. The simple meals were mainly vegetables, but with the skillful hands of the forest workers, they became delicious and interesting meals...

Set up a temporary shelter to rest during a forest protection patrol.

Protect the "green house"

The people who accompanied us on this trip were all Thai ethnic people living in Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district. Most of their families are in difficult circumstances, their lives mainly depend on slash-and-burn farming. However, these people all said that they have contracted to protect the forest, which is mainly to protect their living environment and their lives.

“Since we were born and grew up, people in my village have lived off the forest for generations. But cutting down the forest is only a way to fight hunger in the short term, and if the forest is gone, there will be nothing left to eat. So for a long time, we have always considered protecting the forest as protecting our own home. Thanks to the forest, we can avoid flash floods and ensure irrigation water for our fields. Therefore, since 2013, the State has had a policy to support forest protection contracts, and our family has signed with Pu Mat National Park to protect 15 hectares of forest. Not only does it help the State protect the primeval forest, but it also provides our family with additional money every year to ensure our lives and use when needed,” said Lo Van La (born in 1972, residing in Tung Huong village, Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district).

Although the level of support in forest protection contracts is not high and many people take advantage of this to attract more people to participate in forest exploitation with higher income. But with the spirit of "As long as the forest remains, the home remains", many people have flatly refused the invitations of those who destroy the forest. Sharing about this, Mr. Vi Van Doan (born in 1950, residing in Lien Huong village, Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district) said: "There have been many times when strangers came to the village to entice us to cut down forest wood. They also gave us money and rice in advance and said that they would pay us much higher wages than those who contracted to protect the forest. But with the determination to protect the forest and the importance of primary forests pointed out by the National Park officials, we firmly refused."

Meals in the middle of the primeval forest of Pu Mat National Park.

According to Mr. Tran Xuan Cuong - Director of Pu Mat National Park, by 2016, 854 households living along the buffer zone and core zone had been contracted to protect the forest. Each household protecting 1 hectare of forest will receive support of 200,000 VND/year; ethnic minority households in zones 2 and 3 will receive forest protection contract money of 400,000 VND/ha/year; households in zone 30a will receive an additional 15 kg of rice per person/month.

“The forest protection contract with the people has been implemented since 2013. This contract has greatly helped the National Park protect the forest and conduct patrols in the core area. It has also raised the spirit and awareness of the local people in protecting the primary forest. Many violations and encroachments on the primary forest have been detected and reported to the National Park staff by the people so that they can intervene and take timely measures. Currently, there are 854 households receiving forest protection contracts and in the coming time, we plan to contract more than 1,000 households located in the buffer zone and core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park in Anh Son, Con Cuong and Tuong Duong districts,” Mr. Cuong added.

Xuan Hoa