45 years of dedicated forest protection

Although he no longer works as a forest ranger, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trong still occasionally goes into the forest as a hard-to-break habit - Photo: LT

For the green of the homeland

Ru Linh primeval forest is about 100 hectares wide, located in the eastern part of Vinh Linh district, in the border area between Hien Thanh and Vinh Hoa communes. With the terrain of the Northern Truong Son range, the climate in Ru Linh is divided into two distinct seasons. Summer is very hot and dry, while winter is relatively cold and humid. Thanks to that, Ru Linh forest has a rich vegetation such as green lim, lau gu, wild chestnut, agarwood, ivy ... and many unidentified species. This primeval forest is home to about 73 species of birds and 12 species of animals. Ru Linh is considered the green "lung" of the locality, so it is especially cared for and protected by the people.

Since the end of 1975, Ru Linh primeval forest has been assigned to some local people for protection, including Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trong. While leading us deep into the forest, Mr. Trong shared that after the reunification of his homeland, he worked as an irrigation worker. Later, he returned to his hometown to apply for a job as a forest protection worker in Ru Linh.

Mr. Trong's job was not only to patrol and count forest trees and animals, but also to propagate and mobilize people not to cut down forests, and sometimes directly prevent cases of illegal hunting of rare animals. Although there was a forest ranger force to coordinate, at that time, because life was still difficult, some people often went to Ru Linh to cut down trees and hunt animals, making forest protection difficult and arduous. Mr. Trong recalled that one time while on patrol, he discovered a group of people illegally digging up an ancient banyan tree. Because he was alone, he could only wait for the group to pull the tree out of the forest before daring to call out to the villagers to stop him. After being discovered, the subjects were stubborn and threatened him.

The author talks with Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trong in Ru Linh forest - Photo: LT

During many years of working as a forest protection officer, Mr. Trong was subjected to all sorts of tricks by “forest bandits”, from blocking the road and threatening to beat him, throwing his motorbike into a ravine, throwing rocks at his house, threatening his wife and children, to destroying dozens of his family’s rubber trees. Despite facing such dangers on a regular basis, Mr. Trong still sticks to Ru Linh forest, because he considers it his “second home”.

“As someone who was born and raised next to Ru Linh, I understand better than anyone the value that the forest brings. Therefore, if I see the forest trees being destroyed, I cannot bear it. Therefore, when I accepted this job, I always kept in mind that I must try to preserve the forest, not for anyone else but to protect myself and my future generations,” Mr. Trong confided.

“ As a thank you”

That was Mr. Trong's sincere sharing when I asked about his name being given to a newly discovered and announced tree species by botanists from the Institute of Life Sciences, the Central Vietnam Scientific Research Institute and the Kagoshima University Museum (Japan). Mr. Trong confided: “To be able to protect the forest right in my hometown is both a blessing and a responsibility for a local like me. Although there was a time when I only received a small allowance for this job, the important thing is that I contributed my small efforts to keep the green color of my hometown. Therefore, when I heard that my name was given to a new plant species, I was really surprised and happy. I consider this work as a way to show my gratitude and encourage me and my family throughout the past 45 years of contributing to protecting the forest so that today scientists can research new species like this.”

When a new plant species is discovered, it is usually named after its Latin (or English) name, the place where the species was discovered, and to honor the person who first discovered it or the person who made contributions to the research of that species. In the case of the new plant species being named LASIANTHUS TRONGII after Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trong, it is to recognize his great contributions during the 45 years of protecting Ru Linh forest.

The newly discovered plant species of the genus Lasianthus (Xú hương) was collected in the forests of Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces. Ru Linh was the first place to discover and collect specimens of this plant species. The genus Lasianthus is a large genus in the family Rubiaceae with 292 species distributed worldwide. Previously, Vietnam recorded 74 species of this genus.

Mr. Le Tuan Anh, PhD in Botany, Central Institute of Scientific Research

By 2022, due to his old age, Mr. Trong asked not to participate in the work of protecting Ru Linh forest. But with his responsibility, he still occasionally brought a machete into the forest, following familiar nooks and crannies to watch and observe. Every time he discovered people illegally dumping garbage or cutting firewood on the forest edge, he reminded and recommended that the local authorities take action. “In the past, Ru Linh was a primeval forest with many wild animals living there. There are ancient trees hundreds of years old that are preserved here. Therefore, people often call it “Rú” in the local language and “Lĩnh” is the name of a tree species that grows a lot in this forest. During the war, due to the destruction of bombs and bullets, only a few precious trees and animals are protected to this day,” Mr. Trong told me, tapping on the bullet hole through a chestnut tree.

Because of the unique flora and fauna of this unique forest in the middle of a residential area, according to Mr. Trong, many research groups, interns, and botanists have come to explore. Most of them have contacted him to be a "navigator" to go into the forest to learn. "Now I am old, my health is not as good as before, whether I want to or not, it will be difficult to go into the forest regularly. But today, seeing each tree in Ru Linh forest still growing, and wild animals still living peacefully, I am very happy. Not only me but everyone in the area hopes that the forest will be preserved and protected forever," Mr. Trong expressed.

Sharing about the "forest keeper" Nguyen Dinh Trong with reporters, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hien Thanh Commune Nguyen Thuan Hieu said: Mr. Trong is one of the people who has been attached to and understands a lot about Ru Linh forest for a long time. His achievements and contributions to the existence of Ru Linh are recognized not only by the locality but also by many agencies, units and people. Therefore, naming a newly discovered plant species after him is a meaningful and necessary act, recognizing his journey of more than 45 years of tireless forest protection. Now, although he no longer goes to the forest regularly, his suggestions and recommendations to contribute to beautifying and protecting Ru Linh forest are always listened to by the locality.

Le Truong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/45-nam-tan-tuy-giu-rung-192884.htm