Prime Minister bans cutting down peach trees to celebrate Tet
Government leaders require that absolutely no peach trees and other trees in the forest are cut down and brought back to the city to celebrate Tet.
Speaking at the agricultural sector conference on the afternoon of December 24, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc raised the "topical question of what people will eat this Tet, what flowers and plants will grow, and what will the prices be?" He said that units and localities must prepare for this issue from now, including ensuring supply and not letting pork prices increase.
"It is absolutely forbidden to cut peach blossoms and other trees from the mountains and forests, especially the Northwest mountains and forests, and bring them back to Hanoi to sell during Tet. Today, I declare that anyone who cuts, buys, sells, transports, or consumes forest trees is in violation," the Prime Minister said, and assigned the Government Office to issue a document to seriously convey this directive.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Photo: VGP |
He cited that during Tet, walking on the dikes and streets, one would see many beautiful wild peach trees being cut down and brought back to display, or if they could not be sold, they would be used as firewood. "How can there still be a countryside or mountainous area with beautiful forests? Localities must strengthen inspection and strictly handle cases of cutting down wild peach trees and transporting them to the lowlands to celebrate Tet," the Prime Minister requested.
The Government leader also mentioned launching and implementing a plan to plant 1 billion trees in urban and rural areas; maintaining a stable forest cover rate at 42% and improving forest quality.
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| A branch of wild peach blossom for sale in Hanoi in 2016. Photo: Ba Do |
On the morning of December 25, Professor Dang Huy Huynh, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, expressed his support for the above direction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
"This is very practical, because every Tet holiday, I see many people cutting down wild peach trees and bringing them to the city, affecting the landscape and nature of the mountains, and it is very offensive. Wild peach trees brought to the city can only survive for a short time because they cannot adapt to the environment and climate," Professor Huynh stated.
"Every time Tet comes, if people stop playing with wild peach trees, the trees will be kept in the mountains, contributing to the development of local tourism and demonstrating civilized behavior towards nature," Mr. Huynh added.
