People are once again going into the forest to "eradicate" sour plums.

(Baonghean) - Around this time in previous years, the press, including Nghe An Newspaper, reported on the situation of people in mountainous areas entering the forest to exploit and destroy the sour ke tree, causing significant damage to the native forest environment. And this phenomenon is recurring in Chau Hoan commune (Quy Chau).

In Chau Hoan commune, we saw that along the village roads and alleys in villages like Nat Tren, Nat Duoi, and Na Cong, there were many leaves of a forest tree that the locals call "co to" - the leaves of the sour ke tree. The fruit of this tree is sour, slightly sweet when ripe, and grows in clusters like the fruit of the loquat tree but smaller. Currently, each kilogram of dried sour ke leaves costs 5,000 VND. For the past two years, in communes like Chau Hoan and Dien Lam (Quy Chau district), as well as many other mountainous areas, people have been flocking to the forest to harvest sour ke leaves.

Initially, people only stripped the leaves, but later the sour ke tree was cut down. According to some locals, in areas where sour ke trees were cut down, if only small branches were cut or leaves were stripped, the tree would recover after only a year, but if it was cut down at the root, it would take an unknown amount of time for it to regrow.

“In other communes, people come to place orders every year around this time. But in Chau Hoan commune, we’ve only seen orders coming in a few days,” said a woman from Nat Tren village. According to the villagers, a healthy person can carry 40-50 kg of fresh leaves a day, which yields 10-15 kg after drying. Mr. Vi Van Xuan, from Nat Duoi village, said that other places also buy fresh leaves. A man from Na Cong village, who identified himself as Vang Van Hien, said he buys sour ke leaves daily, claiming to collect over 100 kg of fresh leaves each day. “The sour ke leaf harvesting season is just beginning now, because people have finished their farming work and have free time…” Mr. Hien added. When we asked him who was buying the leaves and where they were from, he evaded the question: “People ask me to buy them and pay me, so I do it. I don’t know who they are! And I only earn a few tens of thousands of dong a day anyway.”

Meeting with Mr. Lo Van Hung, a forestry official in Chau Hoan commune, we discussed the matter with him. Mr. Hung confirmed that the indiscriminate harvesting of sour ke leaves by local people would significantly impact the forest. He stated that the harvesting of sour ke leaves is prohibited by the authorities, but when questioned, those carrying the leaves back from the forest all claimed they picked them from their own gardens. The difficulty is that there are currently no regulations prohibiting the harvesting of sour ke leaves; this type of leaf is also not classified as a non-timber forest product.

The harvesting of sour ke leaves will harm the forest. It is suggested that the local district and commune authorities should take note and address this issue promptly.

Huu Vinh - Dao Tho