Forest destruction has become rampant in the central province of Nghe An's Quy Chau District after they were given to local residents for management.
Forest destruction has become rampant in the central province of Nghe An's Quy Chau District after they were given to local residents for management.
Authorities in Quy Chau District have found and dealt with as many as 23 forest destruction cases since the beginning of this year, seizing over 6.3 cubic metres of timber, and issuing fines of over VND 125 million to 18 violators.
Explaining the problem, Party Secretary of Quy Chau District People's Committee, Vuong Quang Minh, said that local residents, who are mostly from ethnic minority groups, have tried to clear some forested land to grow their own trees.
"For generations, local residents have got used to the forest clearing work to take land for cultivation," the official said. "Now all the forested areas have been put under the government's management for proper protection. And when we hire them to manage the forests, many of them have continued to clear land to grow their own crops."
Minh said that they have come to talk with the residents on their rights and roles when managing the forests so that they can properly understand the government's regulations and stop their illegal activities.
Chairman of Quy Chau District People's Committee, Nguyen Thanh Hoai added that a lot of forest land has been put on sale or transferred after being cleared.
"We have dealt with several such violations in Dien Lam and Chau Binh communes," he said. "In Chau Binh, we are still investigating a case in which nearly 8,000 square metres of forest were destroyed. Some violators have been fined, had their land use right certificates revoked or even faced criminal charges."