The People's Committee of Tuong Duong District is addressing the issue raised in the report.
(Baonghean) - The Nghe An newspaper, in its September 24, 2013 issue, reported: "Tuong Duong: Locals enter the forest to exploit strange timber" in Quang Thinh village, Tam Dinh commune.
After receiving the information, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong District assigned the Forest Protection Department to investigate and handle the issue reported. On October 3, 2013, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong District issued Official Letter No. 174/UBND-KL, reporting on the inspection and handling of the illegal logging of exotic timber, with the following content:
The illegal logging occurred around the beginning of September, ordered by people from Con Cuong Town from some local residents, and some residents secretly entered the forest to harvest the timber. On September 18th, the Khe Bo Forest Ranger Station, in coordination with the commune's forestry officials, organized a raid to inspect and seize the illegally harvested timber scattered along the road and in the hillsides. They discovered and confiscated 100 logs, totaling 3.49 m³. In reality, this timber was illegally harvested by local residents, but no one claimed ownership during the inspection. The local forest rangers advised the local authorities of Tam Quang and Tam Dinh communes to hold a meeting with the residents to emphasize that they should not listen to the timber dealers or assist in illegal logging.
At the time of the inspection from September 27th to 28th, the situation had stabilized; people were not entering the forest to cut down illegal timber, and the scattered illegal timber in residential areas had been confiscated by the local station and taken to the station beforehand. To prevent a recurrence, the District People's Committee continues to direct the Tuong Duong Forest Protection Department to coordinate with the People's Committees of Tam Dinh and Tam Quang communes to implement several solutions in the coming period, specifically:
- Continue holding public meetings to educate people about the law and prevent them from assisting illegal loggers, thereby proactively preventing violations.
- Regularly organize forest patrols to monitor the forest security situation and prevent illegal logging.
- Further investigation will be conducted to identify the violators who exploited the seized timber (3.49 m3) and to handle the case according to the law.
- Study the biological characteristics, clearly identify the species and their uses in order to develop long-term management solutions.
- Investigate and gather more information about the buyers, exchange information with lower-level functional units to coordinate close management, aiming to sever the supply and demand relationship that has drawn local people into assisting in illegal logging.
- We are determined to implement a comprehensive range of measures to put an end to the situation described in the report and to sustainably maintain the local forest security.
The People's Committee of Tuong Duong District reported on the situation regarding the inspection and handling of the case mentioned in Nghe An Newspaper and continued to direct and inform relevant agencies to coordinate the effective implementation of the task.
People's Committee of Tuong Duong District