Huong Hoa district has a total natural area of 115,235.72 ha, of which the forested land area is 52,250.86 ha (natural forest: 40,565.69 ha; planted forest: 10,920.61 ha, unplanted forest: 764.56 ha), the forest cover rate is 44.68%. In addition, the district also has 16,535.39 ha of unforested land in the forestry planning.
Forest rangers of Huong Hoa district coordinate with local people to patrol and protect the forest - Photo: TN
In recent years, forest management in Huong Hoa has been focused on, and fluctuating forest areas have been checked and updated in a timely manner into management data. Up to now, the boundaries of 3 types of forests have been updated according to Decision 717/QD-UBND dated April 12, 2023 of the Provincial People's Committee on approving the adjustment of the Forest Protection and Development Plan of Quang Tri province with 14,669 lots, an area of 27,926.34 hectares.
Forest protection work has been carried out more effectively. The fight against, prevention, inspection, detection and handling of violations have been carried out resolutely and promptly. Forest use and development work has been closely monitored, forest owners have been actively guided to plant and care for forests in the right season, ensuring quality, contributing to increasing forest coverage, increasing the economic value of forestry land use, stabilizing and developing raw material sources for wood processing factories in the area.
However, the management, protection and development of forests in the district always face many difficulties and challenges. First of all, due to the hot and dry weather, which often lasts longer than in other places. The demand for cultivated land is high, so many people reclaim additional land areas along streams, interspersed with old fields for cultivation. These areas often have scattered naturally regenerated trees, so the risk of encroachment on these trees is very high.
Many areas of land of group II forest owners are expected to be handed over to the locality according to Decision 3359/QD-UBND dated December 5, 2017 of the Provincial People's Committee, but have not yet completed all necessary procedures for handover due to problems in land management and use. The overlapping forest land area between the Huong Hoa - Dakrong Protective Forest Management Board and the residential community of Ruong village, Huong Tan commune has not yet been resolved.
Forest management boards have not yet completely resolved the situation of encroachment and encroachment on forest land assigned to them for management. In addition, the awareness of a part of the people about forest protection is still limited.
To effectively implement forest management, protection, and forest fire prevention and fighting, the Steering Committee of the district's sustainable forestry development program has issued an annual inspection plan. In 2023 alone, it organized inspections of 16 units (including 12 communes and towns and 4 group II forest owners).
The inspection showed that the units have actively organized and implemented forest management, protection, and forest fire prevention and fighting, such as developing a complete forest fire prevention and fighting plan and organizing appropriate forest protection forces.
However, there are still some shortcomings and limitations that need to be promptly overcome, such as the updating of forest developments in some localities and forest owners has not been properly implemented, causing differences in the status between the map and the actual situation on the ground, reducing the forest cover rate according to statistics, affecting the overall indicators of the whole district.
Initial documentation of deforestation violations at the grassroots level is slow and not strict. Management and protection of vulnerable natural forest areas near people's farming areas in some communes is not good, causing encroachment into the forest.
The settlement of forest encroachment, production forest land encroachment, and protection forest land as requested by forest owners and people has not been resolved by the relevant authorities, commune-level authorities, and forest management boards. The disbursement of funds from the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is still slow, while forest protection work is still being carried out by commune forest protection teams, households, and communities assigned forests...
Therefore, the task of the forest rangers and the forest management, protection and development forces in Huong Hoa district is to continue to inspect, verify and update forest developments for areas of forest and forest land with fluctuations. Coordinate well in the allocation of forests to communities according to the approved forest allocation plan and continue to develop a forest allocation plan in sync with land allocation in the coming years.
Assign forest ownership to areas with unidentified owners to better serve forest management. Closely inspect projects related to conversion of forest and forest land use purposes in the area. Effectively organize and implement the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, ensuring that natural forest areas are effectively contracted for protection.
Implement well the coordination regulations between functional forces; between functional forces and People's Committees of communes, towns, and forest owners. Inspect the management, protection, use and development of forests in communes and forest owners. Resolutely resolve the situation of encroachment, forest land encroachment, and forest overlap. Inspect the production and trading of forestry seedlings; continue to monitor the exploitation of planted forests and planted forest areas invested by forest owners.
Head of the Huong Hoa District Forest Protection Department Bui Van Duan said: “In 2024, the forecast is that the hot and dry weather will come early and last longer. Illegal logging, buying, selling, and transporting of timber will still occur.
Therefore, the forest rangers in the district have planned to organize propaganda on forestry laws, propaganda on newly issued documents, especially focusing on areas with natural forests; propaganda on the role of forests in the lives of students and people living near forests.
Organize to receive and promptly handle information about forest fires; proactively grasp the situation, detect forest fires early, mobilize forces and means to fight fires promptly, and minimize damage caused by forest fires. Step up the fight, promptly prevent and strictly handle acts of deforestation, encroachment on forest land, illegal exploitation, trading and transportation of forest products, especially not allowing hot spots of deforestation to occur in the district.
Tan Nguyen
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