"Hot" questions about forest management and protection

(Baonghean.vn) -At the 5th session of the Provincial People's Council, the press and voters reported on the serious encroachment of primary forests and protective forests, and the laxity in forest management and protection. Therefore, at the beginning of the question-and-answer session this afternoon, July 12, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Tran Hong Chau asked the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to answer questions on this issue.

There were 12 rounds of questioning of Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the issue of illegal exploitation of forest products, violations in forest management and protection. Many opinions focused on the current situation of illegal exploitation and transportation of forest products in protective forests and special-use forests.

Delegate Nguyen Tri Nham asked: When you see illegal loggers carrying wood onto a truck to take away, where was the wood exploited? Which lot? Which section? Do you know? What solutions are there to reduce deforestation?

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: Faced with the situation of indiscriminate exploitation of forests, especially in special-use forests, upstream forests, and forests along the border belt, the province has established interdisciplinary inspection teams to focus on sweeping away "hot spots". However, this answer has not satisfied voters, because it is not just about which area or which lot, but the core of the problem is from that area or that lot, which forest ranger is responsible? Which forest owner is responsible?

Delegates Nguyen Thi Nga (Thanh Chuong) and Le Van Tri (Anh Son) asked: Responsibility for forest owners (belongs to provincial management), the state allocates a sum of money for forest protection but responsibility is not clear. So when there is a forest fire, what is the responsibility of the forest owner?

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: There are many types of forest owners: there are forests managed by the province, there are forests managed by the people. The responsibility for forest management and protection belongs to the locality. If a forest fire occurs in a locality, that locality must take responsibility.

Delegate Nguyen Tri Nham continued: border forests, nature reserves, so the forest owner is the state. With the responsibility as the Director of the Department, how many documents have you created and how many forest owners have you dealt with?

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: In the first 6 months of 2012: The Department of Agriculture advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Directive 31/CT - UBND on the sweep and confiscation of illegal forest products. Results: 762 cases of forest law violations were arrested, 538 m3 of round timber, 1,129.5 m3 of sawn timber were seized, 2 cars, 10 ox carts, 7 motorbikes, 7 mining vehicles were confiscated, and 15.4 billion VND was paid to the budget.

Delegate Lu Kim Duyen wondered: How can people live off the forest without having to exploit it? Currently, land for production is very difficult for people. People are suffering because they are only allowed to protect the forest. I have not seen any concrete solutions.

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: It is possible to convert some non-critical protective forests into production forests to hand over to the people. This is a solution that can be considered and the Department of Agriculture has advised the Provincial People's Committee to implement it in some forests.

Delegate Nguyen Nhu Khoi questioned: When reporters were working in Pu Hoat, Pu Huong, Pu Mat, they witnessed serious deforestation and forest exploitation. And more importantly, most of the people's lives are very difficult, depending on the forest. Can you tell us about the solutions to support people's lives to protect the forest?

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: People in the buffer zone and core zone in Pu Mat, Pu Huong... are poor, their lives depend on the forest. When building a conservation area, according to regulations, it is necessary to plan to relocate people out of the core zone, but this has not been done yet. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture will soon advise the Provincial People's Committee on providing production materials for people; vocational training for farmers, and policies to support people in the core zone of national parks; and soon have a solution to resettle people out of the core zone of national parks. If the medicinal plant project of investor TH is successful, it will also be another opportunity for farmers to work in forestry. Even those who have destroyed forests can be selected and enlightened to participate in forest protection.



Delegate Thai Thi An Chung questioned the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Another difficult question was posed to the Director of the Department of Agriculture, delegate Thai Thi An Chung asked: The responsibility of forest protection is assigned to many agencies, but in reality, forest exploitation is still complicated. So: The Director of the Department of Agriculture said: is it true that "no one cries for public property"?

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: The responsibility for forest management and protection currently belongs to: People's Committees at all levels, Forest Protection Boards, and Forest Rangers. The main responsibility is still local. In which: at the provincial level is the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, at the district level is the Forest Ranger Division. The Prime Minister has clearly defined each agency and each level. It is not that the forest rangers are responsible for everything. The forest rangers alone cannot do it, but the whole government must. When an incident occurs, all relevant levels and sectors must take responsibility.

With this question, voters believe that because “all levels and sectors are responsible”, the responsibility of each level and sector is still unclear. When forests are destroyed, the responsibility of district and commune authorities has not been considered.

The delegate continued to question: Illegal timber is transported downstream in large quantities and it is not difficult to detect. Is there any collusion from forest rangers?

- Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy: In fact, in the past, there was no timber transported by heavy trucks, only by buffalo carts, vans, etc. Illegal loggers transported timber by many means: at night, by river, by forest road. Therefore, patrolling and controlling work is very difficult. The forest rangers are not lax, but here and there, there are some "sour grains" that "stain the whole pot". The Department will handle it seriously if discovered.

This answer is still not very convincing, because forests have "doors", roads have stations...

Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development answered questions from delegates.

At the questioning session, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also proposed 11 solutions to strengthen forest management and protection, and reduce deforestation. In particular, it focuses on propaganda for people living near and in the forest, handing over forests to forest owners to properly implement the coordination regulations between forces to protect forests, strengthening coordination between relevant sectors and forest rangers in the fight against and preventing violations of the law on forest protection; promptly and strictly handling according to the law the ringleaders who violate the law on forest exploitation, illegal trading and transportation of wild animals.

In particular, the solution is to strengthen the forest ranger force, screen the team, regularly rotate and have a mechanism to protect the forest ranger force. Strengthen inter-sectoral inspection teams to combat and prevent violations of the Law on Forest Protection.

For the first time “on the stage”, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development answered quite fully 12 comments from the delegates. The answers were all on point, providing a lot of information for the delegates and voters. The investment in the explanatory report was quite thorough, the preparation of the content to answer the questions was quite thoughtful. However, some issues were not “sharp” or specific.

Regarding this issue, on behalf of the Provincial People's Council, comrade Tran Hong Chau concluded: Recently, forests have been destroyed. The press and voters' reflections are true. The agricultural sector seriously accepts people's opinions. Through the explanation, it is found that: Forest management work still has many violations. Regarding the main responsibility: it must be affirmed that the authorized advisory body of the province, the Forest Ranger Force, must bear the main responsibility and the authorities at all levels.

Regarding solutions: It is necessary to strengthen coordination and propaganda to help people understand the role and effects of forests. Forests are not only economic and property but also the ecosystem and environment of the whole community. The Department of Agriculture needs to promptly advise on the area of ​​forest with and without owners to hand over to forest owners for management. Re-plan residential areas, move residents to core and buffer zones, strengthen forest rangers, and avoid overlap in forest protection organizations. Many violations that have occurred in deforestation in recent times have had the support of forest rangers, and need to be strictly handled and prosecuted before the law. The industry needs to coordinate with local authorities in the management and operation of processing facilities. Coordinate with the police and forest rangers to investigate, prosecute, and strictly handle violators of forestry laws to set an example.

However, voters do not care about whether the answer is "good" or "bad", the issue is to determine responsibility for the forest, responsibility for the current situation: the forest is still being destroyed! It is not that once the explanation is finished... it is done!

Pearl -Photo: Sy Minh