Exposing the truth about the illegal timber route

Approaching the illegal timber bosses

When mentioning journalist Hoang Chien and his colleagues at Nong Thon Ngay Nay/Dan Viet Newspaper, we still know about the long-term reports attacking the "dens" of deforestation. Those resounding reports have contributed to building the trust of readers, especially people in many mountainous areas.

Journalist Hoang Chien recalled: “At the end of 2022, a truck driver delivering express delivery goods on the Lai Chau - Hanoi route came to us. This person drove for a reputable postal company, and has now quit his job because he could no longer support such illegal transportation of banned goods. According to him, many drivers are forced to transport rare ironwood downstream, and if the authorities check the origin, it will be extremely dangerous.”

After meeting and talking with the group of reporters, the driver gave them an inventory of forest products. Through investigation, the group learned that this was a list of precious woods from the auction, some people took advantage of this list to circulate, using it many times to transport wood by post and spreading it to all provinces and cities. From the driver's clue, the group of reporters went to the mountainous communes of Lai Chau province to learn about the illegal wood business there. Posing as a famous wood trader in many provinces, with knowledge of precious woods, ... the group obtained a lot of important information in the underground world of illegal wood traders.

Journalist Hoang Chien penetrated reality in the forest of Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province.

Journalist Hoang Chien shared: “Because we have spent time learning very carefully about precious woods, becoming an “expert” on precious woods, we are confident in communicating and are led by the owners of mountainous wood processing facilities to visit wood workshops and precious wood warehouses with expensive woods displayed in different large rooms. Through these stories, we also know how they get wood, produce, process, trade, livestream online sales, how to transport and sell 6 to 7 tons of precious wood a day without any problems?”.

Hoping for a new method to make it easier for precious wood to “roll” downstream, the group took on the role of timber traders to ask some forest rangers about timber trading procedures. They went to the commune cultural post office to ask about documents to legalize the goods, making it easier to send parcels from the village to the downstream, to the recipient’s address. Next, in the role of students asking for a ride on the postal vehicle, the reporter heard many stories about why the vehicle was not checked when passing through the forest rangers’ checkpoints!

Wishing to get to the bottom of the problem, so that readers can better understand the origin of the incident, journalist Hoang Chien recalled: “We spent a lot of time deep in the forest, pretending to be YouTubers exploring the forest, with the purpose of filming scenes of cutting down and sawing precious trees. We approached and asked some illegal loggers, creating intimacy, at this time many people had knives in their hands. At that time, if there was a small mistake in words and actions, and we were discovered to be reporters, we don't know what would happen."

Contribute your voice to nature conservation for sustainable development

The project was launched at the end of 2022, but it was not until March 2023 that the group completed it and sent it to readers. The direct work lasted about 3 months, with many trips to the mountains. In the huge amount of collected materials, the group divided the tasks, the writer, the video editor, and the images in a scientific way that was suitable for the script, so that the story had highlights to attract readers.

In addition to choosing attractive topics, the group always strives to make each article beautifully and impressively presented. The information embedded in the e-magazine format creates highlights for the story, making it easy for readers to access, view, and read. As for the clips in the article, the images and words are all appropriate to the context, many scenes are filmed by reporters to help readers visualize and see the story most objectively and realistically.

To make the information more convincing, the group also interviewed lawyers and state management agencies, dissecting and analyzing loopholes in management and implementation of legal policies from the central to local levels. Throughout this process, the group only had one wish to contribute their voice so that the authorities could tighten their management. Not for profit, but to help transport any goods of unknown origin or prohibited from trading.

Like many other colleagues, journalist Hoang Chien only wishes to “contribute the voice of the press to protect forests and conserve nature for sustainable development. Condemn illegal trading of forest products, so that functional forces and local authorities can enhance their role in management. Propose policies and solutions to support appropriate livelihoods, thereby preventing people from participating in forest destruction…”

Le Tam

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lat-tay-chan-tuong-duong-di-cua-go-lau-post299580.html