Interdisciplinary team to protect forests on Truong Son mountain range

During the trip to cross Da Deo Pass, patrolling the forest at the foot of Giang Man Mountain in the Truong Son range, Mr. Tran Dinh Cuong, Head of Thuong Hoa Forest Protection Station (under Bac Quang Binh Industrial Forestry Company Limited) said that since before Tet, the unit has organized many forest patrols with interdisciplinary forces.

“This is a very sensitive time, so we have to increase our forces to guard the posts in the forest and patrol to keep a close eye on changes in the forest in order to have a plan to protect the forest,” said Mr. Cuong.

Joint forces patrolling the primary forest in Thuong Hoa. Photo: T. Phung.

This patrol involved the border guards of Ca Xeng station, Thuong Hoa Forest Ranger Station and the Phu Minh village community forest protection team. “The patrol schedule followed the coordinates of the primeval forest area of ​​Giang Man mountain, Thuong Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district. There are many precious trees such as lim, tau, go… and many rare animals. Therefore, the forces always have a plan to patrol and block to protect the forest,” Mr. Cuong shared.

The primeval forest area of ​​Thuong Hoa commune is large and extends all the way to the Vietnam - Laos border, so the patrol team has to go through old forests, sometimes cutting uphill where there are ancient forests with trees as big as two adult arms.

In this forest area, illegal loggers also frequently encroach to illegally exploit forest products and hunt birds and animals. There were times when Thuong Hoa forest was continuously encroached upon. Authorities organized raids, discovered and seized dozens of blocks of wood sawn into slabs that the loggers had hidden deep in the forest waiting for an opportunity to transport them out.

Joining the patrol team, Mr. Thai Xuan Hong, Head of the Phu Minh Village Community Forest Management Board, said that some illegal loggers are very aggressive, taking advantage of storms or holidays to destroy forests. They even use weapons to fight back against the forest rangers.

Nearly ten years ago, the State assigned Phu Minh village to manage over 800 hectares of community forest and forestry land. However, funding for forest protection was unstable, so people encountered many difficulties and the forest was often encroached upon.

In recent years, thanks to the income from forest protection and selling carbon credits, the villagers have focused on patrolling and protecting the forest. The village's workforce has been assigned to take turns to perform the tasks responsibly and enthusiastically. Each household participating in forest protection also has an income of several tens of millions of VND per year.

Forest rangers of the Bac Quang Binh Industrial Forestry Company Limited patrol the forest. Photo: T. Phung.

Mr. Hong excitedly boasted: “Since the joint forces of the army, forest rangers, forestry enterprises, and companies joined forces, the encroachment of bad guys on the forest has been almost completely eliminated. For more than two years, no cases of deforestation have been discovered in Thuong Hoa commune. Even when the forest patrol team patrolled for 2-3 days, they did not find any traces of illegal loggers or people secretly setting traps for animals.”

Mr. Tran Dinh Cuong, Head of Thuong Hoa Forest Protection Station, also said that the unit is currently assigned the task of protecting nearly 3,000 hectares of natural forests in rugged mountainous areas in the mountainous district of Minh Hoa.

However, with a staff of 6 people, it is very difficult to carry out the task. To protect the forest, the unit has proactively planned to coordinate with functional forces and adjacent forest owners to conduct regular patrols, surprise patrols and grasp information about forest changes.