Coconut forests were destroyed to be replaced by rubble and illegal houses - Photo: BD
On the afternoon of March 19, a delegation of officials from the People's Committee of Cam Thanh commune (Hoi An, Quang Nam) made a record requesting to stop expansion and maintain the current status at the tourist area of Cam Thanh Coconut Forest Eco-Tourism One Member Co., Ltd.
Destroying Cam Thanh coconut forest in Hoi An, commune chairman admits 'current situation is very serious'
Leveling coconut forest to build a guest house
The tourist area of Cam Thanh Coconut Forest Ecological Tourism Company Limited is located next to Vo Chi Cong Street, passing through Hoi An City. Looking from the outside, you can see the dense coconut forests.
However, when going inside, there are rows of impressive houses with steel frames. Many items are solidly built with reinforced concrete.
At the scene on the afternoon of March 19, many workers were reinforcing and installing equipment in a row of houses hundreds of square meters wide, built on a natural forest.
Near the old coconut forests, rubble and sand were dumped down to crush the natural coconut forests. Rows of houses were built with concrete foundations and steel frames right on the encroached land, destroying the trees.
Nipa palm forests are destroyed for encroachment and construction - Photo: BD
Not far from this restaurant, water coconut trees were uprooted and thrown into piles, lying dry in the water.
The incident originated in the past few days, with many reports reflecting that Cam Thanh coconut forest - in the buffer zone of Cu Lao Cham World Biosphere Reserve - is being encroached upon.
On the afternoon of March 19, Tuoi Tre Online reporters spoke with the chairman of Cam Thanh Commune People's Committee. Here, Mr. Tran Chien - the commune chairman - firmly affirmed that there was no such thing as the coconut forest being destroyed or leveled.
When Tuoi Tre Online reporters went to record the reality and provide images of a business being built right on coconut forest land, Mr. Chien expressed surprise and led some officials to the scene to inspect.
Row of houses illegally built in the coconut forest of Cam Thanh Coconut Forest Ecotourism Company - Photo: BD
Seeing the current situation of great devastation, not far from the commune People's Committee headquarters, and the fact that Cam Thanh commune officials were asked to increase inspection and supervision in recent days but did not detect anything, Mr. Tran Chien had to admit that "the current situation is very serious".
"Commune officials go around every day without detecting or reporting this case. We will handle it immediately. On March 20, a delegation from Hoi An city will come down to work. This is a buffer zone of a biosphere reserve, no one is allowed to impact the forest," said Mr. Chien.
Businesses that have violated and been punished
In the records related to Cam Thanh Coconut Forest Ecotourism and Tourism One Member Co., Ltd., this enterprise was discovered at least once to have illegally built and expanded in the coconut forest and was administratively fined 45 million VND in 2017.
However, the government later agreed to reduce the fine to half due to a request for review because the business owner was in "difficult circumstances".
At that time, the director of this company, Mr. Le Van Nhuc (commonly known as Nhut), wrote a commitment to fix the problem and not let it happen again.
On the afternoon of March 19, after measuring the scene, the Cam Thanh commune team determined that 315 square meters of coconut forest had been leveled and destroyed. However, this is only the initial statistics, the number may change when the records related to this enterprise are fully extracted.
Mr. Le Van Nhuc said that because he saw a lot of customers coming and there was a lack of space, he arbitrarily expanded it.
Workers are completing an illegally built house in Cam Thanh coconut forest - Photo: BD
Responding to Tuoi Tre Online reporter, Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee, said that Hoi An's interdisciplinary delegation and other units will inspect the entire Cam Thanh coconut forest.
Not only Cam Thanh Coconut Forest Ecotourism and Tourism One Member Co., Ltd., but Mr. Son affirmed that there were many violations.
Meanwhile, on the afternoon of March 19, Vice Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee Ho Quang Buu said he would ask the locality to report specifically.
The precious coconut forest like treasure in Hoi An
Cam Thanh coconut forest (also known as Bay Mau coconut forest) is located at the mouth of Thu Bon river, Hoi An city with a total area of about 300 hectares. This is a special habitat with a system of green water coconut forests.
The coconut forest has long been a very famous tourist destination, receiving an average of 3,000 visitors every day. Currently, there are more than 1,000 households working as boatmen to transport tourists.
Cam Thanh coconut forest has long been located in the buffer zone of Cu Lao Cham World Biosphere Reserve. Hoi An City is preparing a dossier to submit to UNESCO to recognize Cam Thanh coconut forest as the second core zone of Cu Lao Cham - Hoi An World Biosphere Reserve.
Basket boat in the middle of Bay Mau coconut forestSource
Comment (0)