Knowing that the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board was assigned to plant a forest to replace the National Key Project of Ban Mong Reservoir with an area of 100 hectares, at the end of December 2023, we contacted them and asked to go to the field. Although we agreed, the Board Director, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dung, made an appointment for a nearer date, because the planting sites were all in remote mountainous areas, and the weather was cold and rainy, so we could not go there. Mr. Dung said: “In 2022, we deployed at 5 sites in Luong Minh, Yen Thang, Nhon Mai, Mai Son and Huu Khuong communes. The road to these places is very difficult, when the weather is favorable, we will contact ...”. Asked about the initial results, Mr. Dung replied: I can only say that the board has tried its best ...”.
Then in mid-January 2024, we were arranged by the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board to go to the forest planting site in Yen Thang commune, which was assessed to have the most favorable route. At 8:40 a.m. on January 17, we arrived at Khe Bo town. Here, we transferred to the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board's car, followed National Highway 48E to the center of Yen Thang commune, then followed the winding mountain road through Vang Lin and Xop Coc villages and stopped at Tat village. Stopped by the house of Mr. Vi Van Tien Nam - Secretary of the Tat village Party Cell to "prepare for the journey up the mountain", it was almost 10 o'clock. We asked the Head of the delegation, Duong Van Chuan - Head of the Science and Technology Department of the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board about the upcoming journey, and were told: "Now we have to go over Cang Hem slope, about 1 hour...".
The top of Cang Hem slope is about 800m high. Although the path has been renovated, due to previous heavy rains, it was slippery, and the group's time to climb the slope was longer than expected. When they got there, in the middle of the undulating mountains, they saw trenches more than 1m deep, more than 1 span wide, with rows of barbed wire fences on top. "The land within the surrounding trenches is where we plant replacement forests, an area of more than 23 hectares...", said Mr. Duong Van Chuan. Having heard information from Director Nguyen Thanh Dung about the native trees, the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board chose to plant the meter tree variety, starting from 2022, they were surprised to see that within the area of more than 23 hectares, there were mainly lawns, bare land, and a few bushes and small trees. Asked Mr. Duong Van Chuan: Where are the meter trees that you planted, why can't you see them? The Head of the Science and Technology Department, who was approaching retirement age, replied: “Most of them were damaged. The remaining seedlings were stunted and could not grow. Only by crossing the trench to look inside could we find them…”.
Indeed, when crossing the trench into the 23 hectares of land for replacement forestation, we encountered some meter bushes. Meter trees are also called luong, if they grow well, they have straight trunks, and can be up to 12-15cm in diameter. However, the meter bushes planted by the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board on Yen Thang mountain, although they have reached their second year of age, are only about a few dozen centimeters tall, with trunks as small as the tip of a finger, and a few clusters of small leaves. "There are trenches and fences, but they still cannot prevent the people's buffaloes and cows from entering and destroying them, so they are all damaged. The Board had to buy more seedlings to plant, but it still did not work...", said Mr. Vi Van Vien - a young officer of the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board.
Tat village Party Secretary Vi Van Tien Nam said that he coordinated with the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board to direct the work of reforestation. As for the people of Tat village, because of their desire to restore the forest, they also actively participated. However, reforestation encountered many difficulties because this was a long-standing grazing area for buffalo and cows of the people of Yen Thang and Yen Hoa communes.
Mr. Vi Van Tien Nam said: “I also regularly participate in protecting and chasing away buffaloes and cows, but it is ineffective. Because I can only stop buffaloes and cows from Tat village, but not those of Vang Lin village or Yen Hoa commune. In the early days, the meter trees were as big as knife handles, but after being eaten by buffaloes and cows once or twice, they died, and the remaining ones could not grow. The most difficult thing about planting forests on Cang Hem is protection, there must be people on duty regularly to chase away buffaloes and cows.”
Listening to Mr. Vi Van Vien and the Party Secretary of Tat Vi Van Tien Nam village discuss, I felt worried. Because with more than 2,000m of trenches dug very elaborately, and with barbed wire fences, the entire 23 hectares of meter forest were almost completely lost due to the impact of buffaloes and cows, it was somewhat excessive. Therefore, we should ask Mr. Duong Van Chuan to clarify this matter. As the Head of the Science and Technology Department, Mr. Chuan said that he was responsible for directing the staff of the department to survey the soil and land, evaluate plant varieties, provide technical guidance, etc. He said: “Initially, we assessed that the mountainous area of Yen Thang commune generally met the conditions and standards for forest planting according to regulations. From the soil and land, the regenerated tree layer, etc., the Forest Protection Department and Tuong Duong Forest Protection Department also inspected the site and made such an assessment before approving the forest planting dossier. The selection of meter trees as a native tree to plant in the Yen Thang mountainous area also had a high consensus…”. But even so, Mr. Duong Van Chuan has realized that along with the destruction caused by buffalo and cows, there are other causes. These are the site conditions, weather, and quality of seedlings.
The Head of the Science and Technology Department of the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board discussed that in the highlands, people have planted many meter forests, however, they are all in low areas, along rivers, streams, and creeks. In the Cang Hem slope area, the altitude is from 700 - 800 meters above sea level. Thus, with the experience of local people, the altitude is not really suitable. Using technical terms, the site conditions are not really guaranteed. Regarding the meter tree varieties, since being assigned the task, the Science and Technology Department has taken the time to research. However, in the province, there is no unit with legal status to produce quality seedlings. The reason is that in recent years, forestry companies and forest farms have no longer produced meter tree seedlings. Also in 2022, the board also worked with Tuong Duong Forestry Company to discuss the production of seedlings for replacement forest planting. However, the results were not as expected because the seedlings produced did not meet the standards. Therefore, the households contracted to plant replacement forests had to go to Thanh Hoa to buy seedlings. The Department of Science and Technology also went directly to Thanh Hoa, to each household producing seedlings to check the quality. However, the transportation from Thanh Hoa to Tuong Duong, then up the mountain to the planting area, through such a long and difficult distance, caused the seedlings to be affected, with negative effects such as broken pots and damaged roots.
In addition, a very negative impact on the seedlings is the weather. The Board chose to bring the seedlings back when the weather was rainy. But then, in Xiangyang, there was sunshine, sometimes for a whole week. Everyone knows that Xiangyang is famous for being the hottest area in the country. In addition, there are Lao winds for many months. Therefore, this area often suffers from heat, drought, and lack of humidity for the seedlings to grow.
Tell Mr. Chuan: Met is a native tree. But then, are the Met seedlings brought back from Thanh Hoa province exactly the same as the native tree name of our province? He replied: “If we analyze all aspects thoroughly, it is not really accurate…”. Then he sighed: “Choosing and bringing Met trees from Thanh Hoa to plant is the last resort. Because in Tuong Duong, we cannot choose any other native tree that is better to replace it while ensuring the regulations of the State…”.
In the discussions of the Head of the Science and Technology Department, Duong Van Chuan, there are many contents that we pay special attention to. For example, the budget spent to plant replacement forests in district 30a Tuong Duong was spent by the forest planting households themselves and "did not dare" to advance from the project source that had been paid into the budget. Specifically, at the planting point on the top of Cang Hem slope, households invested more than 300 million VND to renovate the road; rent trench digging machines; build fences to prevent buffaloes and cows; buy seedlings; hire workers to dig holes, plant meters, and protect... As an acceptance officer of the board, Mr. Chuan knows this issue well, and determined that the contracted households have been very meticulous and methodical in planting forests. However, with such a situation, they did not sign the acceptance payment, and assessed the forest planting as not meeting the requirements!
In 2022, the Tuong Duong Protective Forest Management Board will implement replacement forest planting in the communes of Yen Thang, Luong Minh, Huu Khuong, Nhon Mai, and Mai Son. According to Mr. Chuan, the two areas near the Huu Khuong and Mai Son reservoirs, although not yet reaching 100%, still have results; but in the communes of Luong Minh and Nhon Mai, as well as in Yen Thang, they have not achieved results. In a troubled mood, he said: “The households that are contracted to organize forest planting are brothers in the unit. To do this, they have to borrow money from the bank, but with this reality, they will fall into a situation of loss and debt. On the board's side, the results of forest planting are limited, but I think there is also luck. Because if it were a household that was contracted, it would be very difficult because it would be impossible to recover the money spent, and there is a risk of being disciplined. For me personally, as well as the officers doing the acceptance work, we have determined that we cannot be lenient, because that would require creating fake records, which would violate the law when ...”.
Question: With this reality, do you have any good solutions? He said that the households contracted to plant forests have come up with a new plan, requesting to replant. However, Mr. Duong Van Chuan personally still has many concerns, he pondered: “I have discussed many times with the contracted households that need to calculate carefully, should study and change the seedlings, and propose that the committee recommend the superior agency to consider adjusting the unit price to ensure the cost. The reason is that in highland areas with difficult terrain and harsh weather, the required techniques are higher, the seedlings must be large enough, which means the cost will be more expensive…”.
