Planting raw material forests - shortcomings in management

(Baonghean) - Acacia growers are facing difficulties due to the fall in acacia prices in recent years, even in some places no one is asking to buy, many people have had to cut down young acacia. In addition, exploitation of planted forests is being done freely although according to regulations, households or groups that want to exploit planted forests must make a dossier to request local authorities and related sectors, then they will be allowed to exploit.

Glue price drop

On the way to Bong Khe - Don Phuc - Con Cuong, acacia trees are piled up in large piles along the roadside. Ms. Vi Thi Dinh in Thanh Dao village - Bong Khe sadly said: We just cut and peel the bark and leave it on the roadside waiting for traders to come and get them, but for several weeks now we have not seen any cars coming to buy acacia trees. The acacia trees have turned black from the sun and rain, so we have to bring them back to use as firewood. According to Ms. Dinh, "The price of acacia trees this year is both too cheap and difficult to sell. Mostly, traders "buy crows" and calculate that they only get 530,000 VND/ton of acacia trees, which is 20 million VND/ha. My family has 3 hectares of acacia trees but has only sold more than 1 hectare, the rest have not been sold because the price is too cheap." Ms. Ha Thi Niem in Thanh Dao village said: "It takes 5-6 years to harvest 4 hectares of acacia, but traders only pay more than 400,000 VND/ton, each hectare of acacia only brings in 15-16 million VND, which is still a loss". Mr. Hoang Van Tham - Head of Thanh Dao village said: Thanh Dao village has 124 households growing over 180 hectares of acacia, currently over 60 hectares of acacia have not been sold due to the low price. In addition to many households cutting it down for firewood, some households also split acacia into bundles of firewood to sell, each bundle costs 7,000-10,000 VND.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long in Thong Nhat village, Mau Duc commune shared: “My family grows over 30 hectares of acacia, the largest in the commune. All our capital is invested in acacia trees. We thought that when the harvest season comes, we will “change our lives”, but unexpectedly, the acacia trees cannot be sold. Currently, we have only sold nearly 10 hectares of acacia trees at a cheap price, an average of 12-14 million VND/ha, while over 20 hectares of acacia trees have reached harvest age but cannot be sold”. Mr. Long added: The cost of labor and transportation of acacia trees is high, hiring workers to cut and carry acacia costs 120,000 VND/day, the truck fare is 300,000 VND/ton, each truck rents 4-5 million VND in freight... so calculating that growing acacia trees is a heavy loss, in the near future we will have to consider planting other trees to replace acacia trees. Mau Duc commune currently has over 600 hectares of acacia trees, of which over 200 hectares are at harvest age, and currently over 130 hectares of acacia trees have not been sold. The current difficulty is that there is no road for raw materials for growing acacia, so the cost is very high, so the situation of people being forced to lower prices by "private traders" often occurs. Because of the loss of acacia cultivation, Mau Duc commune has also planned some areas after harvesting acacia to switch to planting meters and xoan dau. Con Cuong still has about 1,000 hectares of hybrid acacia in the harvest stage, people are having to sell them off at cheap prices.

People in Tam Quang (Tuong Duong) cut acacia trees for firewood.

Going up to Tam Quang - Tuong Duong commune, we saw acacia trees along the roadside, mainly cut down and dried for firewood by the people. Mr. Nguyen Thao in Bai Xa - Tam Quang village confided: His family currently has more than 10 hectares of acacia trees that are ready to be exploited, but for several weeks now, no cars have come to buy them. There are a few "private traders" who offer to pay 350,000 - 400,000 VND/m3 of wood, but on the condition that the wood must have a large "ring" to support the mine. In addition, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hung's family in Khe Bo village has nearly 20 hectares of acacia trees that are ready to be harvested, but they are still losing money, so they are still trying to "lie" and wait for the price. Tam Quang commune currently has more than 300 hectares of acacia trees in the harvesting stage, but so far only over 80 hectares of acacia trees have been cut down and sold, the rest have not been sold. It is known that in order to cope with the ineffectiveness of growing acacia, in the past few years, Tam Quang has boldly converted acacia land to over 500 hectares of xoan. The commune is mobilizing people to convert to growing xoan for higher economic efficiency. The whole district of Tuong Duong currently has about 800 hectares of hybrid acacia in the concentrated harvesting stage, mainly in the communes of Tam Quang, Thach Giam, Nga My, Tam Dinh, Tam Thai, Xieng My...

Regarding the reason for the low price of acacia, Mr. Dau Ngoc Binh, a glue buyer in Thong Nhat village, Mau Duc commune, Con Cuong, said: We buy acacia mainly to sell to processing factories in Nam Cam Industrial Park and base on the price here to pay for forest growers. The selling price at the factory is 920,000 VND/ton, the buying price for people at the source is 50% lower than the price at the factory because of high transportation costs.

Unmanaged exploitation of planted forests

While the story of output for acacia trees is difficult, the issue of management of plantation forest exploitation is raised. It can be said that for a long time, the functional sector has only focused on the management and protection of natural forests and special-use forests (to prevent illegal logging and transportation of forest products), and has paid little attention to the management of plantation forests. According to Circular No. 35/2011/TT-BNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, households or groups wishing to exploit plantation forests must prepare documents to request permission from local authorities, levels and sectors, and then be allowed to exploit. Decree 157/ND-CP/2013 stipulates administrative sanctions for forest management (including plantation forest management). However, currently, most people grow and exploit massively for sale, and the functional sector has not yet handled administrative violations of plantation forest exploitation.

Indiscriminate exploitation of planted forests that are "shorn" is also the cause of land erosion and ecological imbalance. Even in the Khe La - Nghia Dung - Tan Ky area, over 1,000 hectares of protective forest (bordering Yen Thanh) have been converted to production forest land. For a long time, due to disputes, people have destroyed protective forests to plant acacia trees. When the acacia harvest season comes, people exploit them continuously and cut them bare, causing the entire forest area to lose its protective capacity. Many people in the Khe La area have reported that due to indiscriminate exploitation, the planted forests have not been able to cover the area in time, so in the dry season, the streams here dry up, disrupting the lives of the people here. Mr. Dinh Van Hai, Deputy Head of the Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board, said: Although the above area has been adjusted and reviewed to be assigned to the locality for use as production forest, to increase the protective nature, it is necessary to plant forests in many layers, during the exploitation process in lots and compartments, to ensure the protective function.

Acacia exploitation in Met village, Luc Da commune (Con Cuong).

Ms. Vi Thi Ty in Met village, Luc Da commune - Con Cuong is hiring more than 10 workers to cut down more than 2 hectares of acacia. When asked about the exploitation procedures, Ms. Ty said: For a long time, no one has reported to the local authorities about the exploitation of acacia, and no one has come to check, but the acacia trees in our house are cut down as soon as someone buys them. When going to Ke Trang and Thong Nhat - Don Phuc villages, people are cutting down acacia trees lying haphazardly on the roadside. Mr. Vi Van Tinh, who works on 2 hectares of acacia, said: We have only heard through village meetings that when exploiting, we must go through procedures with the commune and forest rangers before being allowed to exploit, but in reality, when exploiting acacia, no one checks. Mr. Lo That - Chairman of Mau Duc Commune People's Committee shared: We have accessed Circular 35, Decree 157... however, the commune has only organized propaganda through village meetings, and for a long time, no households have come to the commune to do procedures before exploiting acacia. The commune has not yet made it "tense" because the price of acacia has been too cheap for a long time, consumption is difficult, so it still creates conditions for people to consume. However, in my opinion, it is necessary for forest growers to implement Circular No. 35/2011/TT-BNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, because during the exploitation process, the commune has an accurate grasp of the area and exploitation design, so that it can have a reasonable forest planting plan, intercropping in lots and spaces to avoid indiscriminate exploitation affecting the ecological environment. Due to free exploitation, most people sell acacia to traders, mainly "crows" selling acacia whole hills according to estimates, there are acacia hills that are not measured in area but sold for 20-50 million VND, which is a loss for acacia growers.

Mr. Le Quang Hop - Head of Con Cuong Forest Protection Department discussed: For the exploitation of concentrated planted forest timber using budget capital (planted forest timber area of ​​Con Cuong Forestry One Member Co., Ltd.), when exploiting, forest owners all complete procedures to send to the District People's Committee, request form, exploitation design explanation... The remaining forest area planted by people has not completed exploitation procedures according to Circular 35 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. According to Decree No. 157/ND-CP dated November 11, 2013, Article 13, violations of general regulations of the State on forest protection, forest rangers are fined from 500,000 - 1,000,000 VND for cases of exploiting planted forest timber when exploiting without the consent of local authorities. However, in reality, the forest rangers have not yet punished any cases of planted forest timber. The reason is that the newly issued decree has not been understood by the people, and furthermore, because of difficulties in consuming planted forest wood, the forest rangers are mainly focusing on propaganda work. It is known that in most districts with planted forest wood areas such as Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Yen Thanh, Tan Ky... most of the people have not complied with Circular 35 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development but are freely exploiting.

Mr. Le Cao Binh - Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department explained: To manage planted forests well, it is necessary to focus on propaganda and mobilizing people to implement Circular No. 35/2011/TT-BNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which can be implemented from models, then replicated. Propagating people not to cut down young acacia trees for sale, recommending that cutting down young acacia trees not only reduces economic value but also affects the ecological environment. Mr. Binh also added that although there are sanctions for exploiting planted forests, it is very difficult to handle, in fact since the implementation of Decree 157, the forest protection force has not handled any cases. Many people think that the forests they planted on their own land are free to exploit.

Van Truong