The case of 13 po mu trees being cut down in Que Phong: The painful story of deforestation

(Baonghean) - The incident of 13 po mu trees being cut down in Pu Huong Nature Reserve shows that in Que Phong and other forested areas, the story of deforestation is always a painful one.

» 13 rare Po Mu trees in Pu Huong Nature Reserve were cut down by illegal loggers

One of the po mu trees cut down by illegal loggers in sub-region 148.

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Cam Muon Forest Protection Station (Pu Huong Nature Reserve) was the unit that discovered the incident, and took photos and recorded clips of illegal loggers cutting down trees. Vo Minh Nghia, a member of the station who participated in the capture of illegal loggers, said that while patrolling at compartments 9 and 13 (Sub-area 148), he heard the sound of chainsaws. Knowing that the forest was being illegally exploited, the members secretly searched the forest and discovered two groups cutting down po mu trees; one group had 2 members, and the other group had 4 members.

Because the force was small (the patrol team only had 3 people), they decided to get close to record evidence in the form of photos and clips to serve the investigation. After obtaining the evidence, the team rushed in and arrested a subject, confiscating a chainsaw. At the scene, 3 trees (identified as po mu) had been cut down. The trees were 70, 50 and 35 cm in diameter. The arrested subject confessed his name was Lo Van Phuong, residing in Cam Cang village, Cam Muon commune, Que Phong district.

At the second location, coordinates GSP 0504620 - 2149034, there were 4 subjects using chainsaws to cut trees. After secretly taking photos and filming as evidence, the group rushed in to arrest them. However, the subjects escaped, leaving behind a chainsaw and 5 cut trees; of which 2 were intact, 3 were still cut fresh. Through measurement, the trees had diameters from 40 to 60cm.

Due to the complexity of the case, to avoid the situation where the subjects organize forces to return to rob the evidence, the patrol team urgently contacted the Quang Phong Commune Forest Protection Management Board and the Pu Huong Nature Reserve Management Board, requesting to arrange forces to the scene to support and protect the evidence.

One of 13 po mu trees cut down by illegal loggers in Sub-region 148 was discovered on September 10.

On the afternoon of September 10, 2017, with the coordination of Quang Phong Commune People's Committee, Pu Huong Nature Reserve Management Board organized an inspection and made a record right at the scene. Through the extended inspection, it was discovered that 3 more po mu trees were cut down (with a diameter of 50 - 70cm), and it was determined that they had been cut down for about 3 days. At the same time, through image inspection, the inspection force also identified 2 subjects who cut down the trees, Lo Van Quan and Lo Van Tung, both residing in Cam Cang village, Cam Muon commune.

The special-use forest area of ​​Pu Huong Nature Reserve in Quang Phong commune has an area of ​​over 4,400 hectares, divided into 4 sub-areas 147, 148, 149, 150. In this forest area, there are many precious woods such as po mu, doi, sen, tau mat, de... so they are often stalked by bad guys. Therefore, on September 15, 2017, the Management Board of Pu Huong Nature Reserve sent a report to the People's Committee of Que Phong district and the police and forest rangers of the district. In particular, it is requested that Que Phong district direct relevant agencies in the area to coordinate in performing the task of forest management and protection; organize investigations to clarify and handle subjects who have illegally exploited the forest.

Are there any ringleaders organizing deforestation?

Illegal loggers cutting down po mu trees were caught red-handed by officers of the Cam Muon Forest Protection and Management Station at the scene on September 10. Photo: Provided by authorities

According to Que Phong Forest Protection Department, during the field experiment on October 26, 2017, the Investigation Police Agency of Que Phong District Police and other functional forces discovered that in Sub-area 148, there were 2 more po mu trees cut down by illegal loggers, with a volume of 1,627m3. Thus, up to now, it has been determined that Sub-area 148, Pu Huong Nature Reserve has 13 po mu trees cut down with a volume of over 15.3m3.³.

On October 27, 2017, working with the Quang Phong Commune authorities, Vice Chairman of the Quang Phong Commune People's Committee, Mr. Sam Van Minh said that since the incident, the commune has participated in many on-site inspections with the authorities. Of which, two were chaired by the Que Phong District Police (the first time on September 20, 2017; the second time on October 26, 2017).

According to Mr. Minh, Quang Phong is always a “hot spot” because the forest area in Sub-zone 148 is rich in precious wood and is often targeted by bad guys. In 2015, the authorities also discovered a case of transporting po mu wood products in Quang Phong commune, seizing over 10m³po mu wood, and prosecute criminal cases.

“Quang Phong commune had a subject who was dealt with by the law in 2015. However, the complications in the special-use forest area are often caused by subjects in the three villages of Cam Noc, Cam Cang, and Cam Pom of Cam Muon commune. In Cam Muon commune, there is a road built by Tan Hong Company that can be traveled by motorbike to the core of Sub-area 148. The convenient road makes it easy for subjects to have bad intentions towards the forest…” - Mr. Sam Van Minh discussed.

Lying across the mountainside is the only road previously opened by Tan Hong Company. The road connects Cam Muon commune to the forest area of ​​sub-region 148. Illegal loggers often use this route to commit deforestation.

According to information from the People's Committee of Que Phong district, after inspecting the scene on September 20, 2017, determining that 11 po mu trees were cut down, on September 26, 2017, the District Police Investigation Agency decided to prosecute criminal case No. 78 on the charge of "Violating regulations on forest exploitation and protection"; and at the same time reported the incident to the province for direction.

Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee, Mr. Le Van Giap affirmed: "To manage and protect forests, when an incident occurs, the district's viewpoint is to fight, clarify and strictly handle it according to the provisions of the law. Up to now, a number of subjects have surrendered, including local people and people from outside the area. Therefore, the police investigation agency is classifying the subjects and expanding the investigation...".

In recent years, in Que Phong as well as many other areas with primary forests in the province, there have been cases of deforestation. These include the case of 3 hundred-year-old sa mu trees in the core zone of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve being cut down by illegal loggers; the case of cutting down po mu trees in the border district of Ky Son; or the case of 189 po mu trees in the border commune of Tam Hop, Tuong Duong district being cut down...

Whenever there is information about deforestation cases, everyone is extremely indignant and wishes that the authorities find the culprits. In many cases, the perpetrators of deforestation have been found. But those are only the direct subjects of deforestation, most of them are indigenous people, with low legal awareness and many economic difficulties. Therefore, public opinion always wonders, is it possible that behind the deforestation subjects are poor people, or is there a ringleader, or any organization or individual that has not been clarified?

Through the chain of collected information, the case of illegal loggers felling 13 po mu trees was proactively detected and promptly coordinated by the authorities to fight and clarify. However, as the Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee, Mr. Le Van Giap informed, there were two groups of subjects who felled 13 po mu trees, in which one group had people from outside the area participating. Thus, it is very necessary to clarify whether or not there is a ringleader who organized subjects from outside the area to enter Sub-area 148, Pu Huong Nature Reserve to cut down precious wood for profit, in order to be able to handle the root cause of the law violation.

Nhat Lan - Dao Tuan